To prevent illegal immigrants arriving:

Australia seeks Lankan labour

Lakshmi de Silva

A high official of the Australian government has arrived in Sri Lanka to explore the possibilities of recruiting around 200,000 unskilled workers from here. The aim was to stop the influx of illegal immigrants coming into their country in boats, Immigration and Emigration Commissioner P.B. Abeykoon told the Daily News yesterday. He said the illegal immigration racket was still going on with each person paying around 1,500,000 to go to Australia.

They are usually taken on board illegal boats. The official has arrived to take measures to recruit unskilled workers as most of those who migrate illegally in boats were unskilled persons.

This was a sudden decision taken by the Australian government after discussions they had with Sri Lankan authorities to discourage illegal migration to Australia considering the high risks taken by the migrants and the problems they cause to other countries, he said.

There are already around 200,000 Sri Lankan professionals or skilled personnel working in Australia but this new unskilled labour market would give the opportunity to get employment in different fields to earn a good income to a large number of Sri Lankans, he said.

The visiting high official from Australia would have discussions with the Foreign Employment Bureau, Immigration and Emigration officials and the Foreign Affairs Ministry officials regarding the recruitment of unskilled labour from our country.

It was an open secret that the LTTE and their agents were sponsoring people to migrate to Australia as asylum seekers. They charge them 1,500,000 rupees to send them in trawlers or deep sea fishing vessels. Later they also charge around 25 to 50 percent of their monthly earnings, another senior official said.

Considering all these facts the Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka had taken steps along with the International Organization for Migration and the Catholic clergy to educate people in areas like Negombo from where most of the illegal migration was taking place.

Meanwhile a release from the Australian High Commission in Colombo stated that search and rescue efforts in relation to a vessel reported to have sunk to the north-west of the Cocos Islands are continuing.

Initial reports indicate that 39 people were believed to be on board the vessel. At this time, only some passengers have been rescued.

The rescue effort is ongoing. Two foreign flagged commercial vessels are offering assistance. Australian authorities are coordinating search and rescue efforts, but the closest Australian vessel was over 24 hours away at the time of the sinking and has not yet reached the scene.

The Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Kathy Klugman, has expressed grave concern over the fate of those still missing.

She said “this tragic event shows the dangers of maritime people smuggling. The people smugglers are prepared to put people at awful risk in order to profit from their suffering. Australian authorities are doing their very best to help with the rescue effort but grave concerns are held for those who are still unaccounted for.”