28th July, 2020
Melbourne, Australia
Mr. Amantha Perera, an independent journalist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka and currently pursuing post-graduate research on online trauma threats faced by journalists at CQUniveristy in Melbourne, discussed about the impact of COVID-19 on Sri Lankan economy and migrant workers in a virtual panel discussion held on the topic “Migration Management during COVID-19: Practices from Latin America, Africa and Asia”, conducted by the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism [GRFDT] on 28 July,2020.
Impact of COVID-19 on Migrant Workers
Mr. Perera stated that, based on the data released by the Sri Lankan government, 1.5 million Sri Lankans were working as migrant workers overseas, which amounts to approximately‘ one in every twenty’ of the total population. Post COVID-19, almost 40,000 Sri Lankan migrants have lost their jobs and are returning back to their home country. According to Mr. Perera, while the government had initially made arrangements for the repatriation of these migrant workers, they suddenly put this on hold owing to a sharp spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, allegedly caused by the arrival of overseas migrant workers. “Repatriation might start again, but we are looking at huge numbers if they are to bring them back into the country”, Mr. Perera pointed out.
Mr. Perera also stated that, ironically, during the Presidential Elections of Sri Lankain November last year, these very same migrants were hailed as heroes for returning to Sri Lanka just to cast their votes; and fast forward one year, they are not welcome anymore.
This has resulted in the migrants facing an identity crisis, with the question of “where do we actually belong?”, disturbing them.Migrants are now fettered by self-doubts on whether they would be able to come back to their own country, whether they would be welcomed there and most importantly, how would they be treated once they return.
Limited Outreach of Media
From a journalist’s perspective, Mr. Perera accused the media for going after lurid and sensational stories with a selfish intent of increasing their TRP and following, by covering only the sub stories of migrant issues. Consequently, he laments that the media is not highlighting the important issues such as the impact of paucity of remittances due to returning migrants on the Sri Lankan economy or the lack of quarantine facilities for the returning migrants.
“Because of tabloidish coverage that lacks substance, important stories are missing out and what’s important is the impact of migrant workers and the remittances they are sending to the country, on the economy.”: Mr. Amantha Perera
Role of Remittances
Remittances by Sri Lankan migrants account for 8% of the country’s GDP. Amounting to almost USD 7 billion annually, they are the largest inflow of foreign currency in the country. With so many migrants losing their jobs, stranded in host countries and returning back to their homes, the country has taken a big hit on its foreign exchange remittances. With almost 8% of every Sri Lankan household depending on the remittances from their household member who is a migrant, the return of these migrants is going to “severely impact the lives of the poor and middle-income groups in the country”. According to Mr. Perera, the worst affected are the people in the North and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka, who were already affected by the Civil War. More than 20% of the households here is heavily dependent on remittances as their source of income.
On the social front, there is the fact that a large proportion of returning Sri Lankan migrants are females who were working as domestic workers in the Gulf countries, making them a very vulnerable section of the society in the current scenario as their remittances dry up. Mr. Perera reiterated his regret that the media was not highlighting these societal impacts of the pandemic on the migrants. Along with the reduction of remittances, the loss of income from tourism and dent in exports shall further exacerbate the economic crisis faced by the country.
Concluding his address, Mr. Perera re-emphasizes the concern that “Sri Lankan media is not skilled to identify the deeper issues in terms of migrant workers and their larger impact.” What the media is bringing out are stories that are “dramatic and sensational” rather than the serious discussion on “pertinent issues”. As a result, the Sri Lankan people are unable to see, understand and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on their fellow citizens- the migrants who are returning home to a wrecked economy.
Megha Rangaraj, The Writer is an under graduate student with Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, Pune, India. She is an avid advocate for the emancipation of women and passionate about social issues. She can be found on twitter handle @MeghaRangaraj