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“Maids in the UAE are treated better than anywhere else in the Gulf,” a top senior Sri Lankan emissary in the country has said.
Wasantha Senanayake, Sri Lanka’s Consul-General in Dubai, told Emirates 24|7 that the number of complaints they have received from its nationals working as maids in the country has drastically reduced.
“I am not saying that there are no complaints what so ever. But it is negligible. The way you treat your maid, or whoever it could be for that matter, is a reflection of ‘the cultural background’ and we have had very good examples here in the UAE,” he said.
“People here are exposed to different cultures,” he said. Gulf countries continue to attract the largest number of Sri Lankan maids.
“Saudi continues to lead the list in the Gulf, followed by Kuwait and the UAE. The numbers are also a reflection of the demand,” he added.
Meanwhile, commenting on the recent fiasco with the on arrival visa scheme, he said. “It was a good decision to withdraw the order that cancelled the on-arrival visa scheme. It would have had a severe impact on the tourism in the country,” said Senanayake.
“The number of tourists from the region has increased significantly in 2010. It has been going up steadily ever since the internal conflict was resolved. The numbers in 2009 increased by 36 per cent compared to 2008. We registered a 50 per cent growth in January this year compared to the previous year. The trend has continued so far,” he added.
Investment from the Gulf to Sri Lanka has also increased. “We organised one programme for investors in the UAE a couple of months ago. The consulate will organize a second meeting with possible joint venture partners in the coming months. There will be a field trip as well. UAE has been the biggest investor so far. Etisalat has entered Sri Lanka in a major way,” he added, emirates247 reports.
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