The Government is planning to expand its mission of repatriating Sri Lankans stranded in countries overwhelmed by the Covid 19 pandemic, beyond South Asia.
SriLankan airlines will send two flights to London and Australia shortly to bring back groups of Sri Lankans who desire to return to the country under this initiative, Additional Secretary for President on Foreign Relations Jayanath Colombage announced recently.
Last week the Foreign Ministry concluded the first leg of this mission to bring back the students stranded in South Asian countries. The students and some forces personnel who underwent training in Pakistan were among the 1,065 people brought back on special Sri Lankan airlines flights last week.
Foreign Affairs and Labour relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said over 60 Sri Lankan diplomatic missions worldwide are actively gathering information on how the Sri Lankan expatriate workers and others were coping during the pandemic. He said this mechanism is in operation 24/7.
Since the outbreak the 67 Missions have been assisting and facilitating Lankan expatriates who are in need of help. In addition to providing dry rations and medicines, where necessary with the assistance of local Sri Lankan community and religious organizations, Missions are also facilitating the extension of visa, enabling repatriation/transfer of funds through banking channels, and coordination with educational institutes, the Foreign Ministry stated. International organisations such as IOM, Caritas and Red Crescent societies are assisting the Missions in this task.
We are also looking into direct government to government programs to assist Sri Lankans affected by the pandemic overseas, the Minister said. Some expat workers have reached the end of their terms of contract during this crisis and others whose contracts are yet to expire feel uncertain about their jobs due to the economic recession Covid 19 will unleash. The Minister said he has been in contact with foreign Ministers of affected countries and many of them pledged to safeguard the interests of Lankan workers.
He said the workers in the Middle East, are advised to remain in those countries since the governments have pledged to look after them. “But we will help them channel their funds to their families in Sri Lanka since that is one of their biggest issues.”
The Minister said therefore expatriate workers in many countries have nothing to fear, yet the situation in Italy and France were different, the workers are anxious to return and the Government was looking into this issue.
This is the first time in recent history that a disease has caused an impact of this magnitude worldwide. The whole world was unprepared for an unprecedented health crisis like this which has claimed tens of thousands of lives so far. Thus, the Minister noted that it is understandable that there are many who want to return to the country immediately from the places where they are now. Parents have requested to get their children studying in foreign countries returned, which is a top concern for the Government. Some who have left the country for medical treatment are also waiting to come back, they are also a priority group, the Minister noted.
Apart from students in South Asian destinations, most of the students in China have returned, but he observed that a significant number of students were in Russia waiting to return to their families. The foreign media reported that the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin was diagnosed with Covid 19 and the country has over 110,000 patients while there have been over 1100 deaths attributed to the global pandemic.
He said President Rajapaksa took a crucial decision, before many countries did, to shut down airports to stop the inflow of infected persons who would contribute to spread the pandemic within Sri Lanka.
The Foreign Ministry is also in the process of facilitating some thousands of stranded foreigners in Sri Lanka to return to their home countries. There are 10,000 foreigners still stranded in Sri Lanka.
Many countries have offered to help the country with equipment to treat the patients.