5.9. Government Actors at the Grassroots

5.9. Government Actors at the

Grassroots

Among the many stakeholders that have been appointed to extend support to migrant workers, the FEDO is one of the key figures. Significantly, a majority of workers interviewed did not view the FEDO as a central figure in the migration process. The exception was with those who had to secure the FBR clearance and even in such cases, interactions with the FEDO was limited to securing the report only. The nature of the FEDO’s work, with a heavy time commitment towards the FBR regulation, has led to the FEDOs lacking information on male migrant workers. The FEDOs were also quite aware of the limits to their authority especially in relation to the strong linkage the migrant workers have formed with the sub-agent. The FEDOs were frustrated by their inability to counsel the women to re-think their options and migration trajectories.

‘‘There really is no need for an intermediary. My opinion is that a migrant worker should approach the agency directly. The intermediary lies to the migrant worker and creates a world that does not exist in reality because they are trying to somehow send these women to make money... they don’t come to us asking for information. We are the last stop and by then, it is difficult to change their minds because the agency and the subagent have done all of this beforehand.’’ - Kandy, FEDO, female.

‘‘They come to us to hand over the “AGA” paper. They trust the intermediaries. By the time they come to us, the agencies have already helped them make up their minds.’’ - Kurunegala, FEDO, Female.

Among those interviewed, information regarding human trafficking and what it entails was found to be lacking. Although the FEDOs had received trainings, both from the Ministry of Foreign Employment (MFE) and where applicable, from the stakeholders engaging in safe migration related implementation projects including the ILO, the absence of information was rather stark. This could also be due to the fact that some of the officers were relatively new. But as an experienced officer at the District level pointed out, identifying trafficking cases has its inherent challenges:

‘‘There is a high risk of trafficking in our areas, there is no solution like a task force for them, and we’ve only had a discussion about it. One really can’t distinguish trafficking in Colombo because both parties are completely aware of the process. The person knows he is going in an illegal way and still opts to do it. In Colombo a person can even get a death certificate by spending some cash. You can see what people to do to put their children into a school no? People go without any proper documentation.’’ - Colombo, District level FEDO, male

Rather than being voluntary, the relationship to the FEDOs has come to be defined through government regulation and thus is largely an institutionalized relationship. This inability to engage constructively with the migrant workers is further compounded when the FEDOs reject the FBR application.

In contrast, as an official with greater access to the communities at the most local level, GNs are well placed to support any efforts targeting either prevention or protection elements. The GNs continue to play a rather important role in the migration process, despite being sidelined in the FBR process. Since many of the migrant workers, male or female, require the DS-4 certificate confirming one’s residence within the GN division, they have to approach the GN and share details regarding the decision to migrate for work overseas. Even where such information is not forthcoming, the GN is still better placed to find out about such cases because his/her list of duties invariably put them in touch with such families, be it for drawing up the voters’ list or to extend/refuse social security. Therefore, ironically, in some ways, the GNs are better placed than the FEDOs to offer assistance to prospective migrant workers.

As a majority of those interviewed pointed out, migrant workers do not approach the GN to lodge a complaint upon return, but the GNs come across these stories through their regular interactions with community members. And therefore, unlike the FEDOs, the GNs possess a wealth of information on not just those who have migrated from within their jurisdiction, but also the particularities of each of these cases and the ways in which such families have coped.

There is a high risk of trafficking in our areas, there is no solution like a task force for them, and we’ve only had a discussion about it. One really can’t distinguish trafficking in Colombo because both parties are completely aware of the process. The person knows he is going in an illegal way and still opts to do it.

- Colombo, District level FEDO, male -