Over the weekend Sri Lankan authorities scrambled to collect data on Sri Lankan citizens residing and employed in Israel, and to verify information coming out of the region in the wake of the most recent round of violence which have left thousands dead, more injured and hundreds taken hostage.
While many other nations have moved to issue warning advisories restricting their citizens from travelling to the region and have initiated repatriation missions, Sri Lanka simply issued a statement expressing its concern.
Countries like Thailand, Mexico, Albania, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and several EU nations have mobilised their Air Forces and civilian airlines on Sunday and Monday and began to repatriate their citizens in Israel. It is understandable that Sri Lanka may not have adequate state assets to airlift or sealift a sizable number of her citizens from a conflict zone. However, like many other countries, we too should have contingency plans prepared to use or charter assets in hand for such purposes.
However, Sri Lanka is only considering their options now, with the matter apparently discussed at the Cabinet and among senior officials yesterday. Governance in Sri Lanka is so efficient that it takes days for a “plan” to be discussed, and further, to implement.
It is learnt that the President has ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the safety of Sri Lankans in Israel. Is this something the President has to order? Should it not be a standard practice and part of the Foreign Ministries’ duties to do so? The President also has instructed the law enforcement agencies to provide security for Israeli citizens in Sri Lanka, fearing them being targeted on home soil. The Government’s move to highlight that the Executive involvement in directly dealing with some issues, may be comforting to some, and also provide good optics for the rulers, but it also highlights that our systems are so weak and cannot function effectively on their own without political direction. And that is an indication of a weak statecraft.
The question must be asked, why the President has to issue instructions on such matters to initiate action, when it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Security to formulate contingency plans to deal with a range of logically anticipated threats, possible at both local and international level. Were these institutions sleeping? This is not the first instance as such evacuations have happened before. Sri Lanka has had a large diaspora community in the Middle East for decades and have we learnt nothing from the past? Sri Lanka on matters of security and international affairs has a track record of belated action. Which leads to negative outcomes for the Sri Lankans who work and live overseas.
The Government often makes much of the foreign remittances received by Sri Lankans working overseas. The hard earned monies from Sri Lankans working overseas has been a lifeline to keep Sri Lanka afloat during the economic crisis. However, the State emphasis extended to ensure safety of our hard-working citizens overseas or have the relevant safety nets in place, seems so minimal, as is evident from the time taken to act on the current matter.
The Daily Morning earlier reported that a Sri Lankan caregiver is feared dead in the ongoing violence between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Unconfirmed social media reports coming out of Tel Aviv indicated that a 40-year-old Sri Lankan woman who was working as a caregiver was found dead following an attack by Hamas. However, the death is yet to be verified. According to the Government, there are 8000 Sri Lankans employed in Israel, and that is the official figure of persons who have registered. It seems that Sri Lanka is not sure about how many Sri Lankans are in Israel, nor in the adjacent countries which are at risk of being drawn into the conflict. If the conflict becomes a regional war, the repercussions and impact on Sri Lanka could be harsh. Sri Lanka’s already weak energy security will be adversely affected, it is likely that shipping – a core strength of Sri Lanka, could also be disrupted. Let’s hope that the Government has contingency plans for such issues. Because, at the moment, they don’t seem to have any to save our fellow Sri Lankans trapped in Israel.