Over 40 Sri Lankans are stranded in Iraq after having migrated without the approval of the Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB).

According to the FEB, these employees have been sent to work with American contractors who are engaged in the construction sites in Iraq. The FEB has discovered that these employees are first sent to Kuwait and afterwards sent to Iraq. “Since November 2004 the FEB had ceased approving migrating employers to Iraq due to its security situation. But some of the recruitment agencies have sent these employees without the approval of the FEB,” FEB Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka said.

He remarked that contacting these Sri Lankans has been quite a challenging issue since none of the Sri Lankan representative authorities are operating in Iraq. (LP)

“That was another reason why we did not grant approval to send employees to Iraq as we would have difficulties in contacting them when necessary,” added Ranawaka.

He said that about eight months back the FEB raided some of these fraud agencies that send employees to Iraq without approval. “But at the same time these people who have been sent, know that they are engaged in an illegal action. So, I think it will be convenient for everyone if these people adhere to the rules that have been set as they exist for a reason,” pointed out Ranawka.

He said that the Foreign Ministry is working on bringing the Sri Lankans who are stranded in Iraq back to Sri Lanka.