1,000-liter ‘teapot’ for Haj use

By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS

MAKKAH: An engineer working for the Tawafa Establishment for South Asian Pilgrims has developed an electric heater that can boil up to 1,000 liters of water to make tea and other hot drinks.

While commending the efforts of Abdul Aziz Mahboub, electrical engineer at the Tawafa’s field office No. 23, chairman of the Tawafa establishment Adnan Katib called on other field offices to benefit from the equipment, which fulfills hygienic and security specifications.

Mahboub told Arab News that his new system would make available tea and coffee to pilgrims in crowded tents at any time, day or night, without the assistance of tea boys.

The number of pilgrims in a normal pilgrim tent reaches up to 5,000 and a number of tea boys are required to serve them. He said the 1,000-liter tank will have to be heated initially for two hours and a continuous water supply could be ensured with a buoy-like device.

The equipment is priced approximately at SR15,000, including installation costs, and will have a 10-year operating life.

The external wall of the tank is heat-insulated with a fiberglass cover to protect users. The tank has nine outlets and can serve 6,000 paper cups. An inbuilt stainless steel boiler enables the preparation of tea.

Head of the field office Talal Mahboub has personally funded the development and installation of the system, the engineer said.

He added that the device was ideal for pilgrim camps and other large gatherings because of its safety and hygiene levels.

By installing the system, which minimizes the risk of fires in pilgrim camps, Tawafa establishments can save on wages of tea makers and suppliers, Mahboub said. The equipment can be operated anywhere and can easily be transported from one location to another, he added.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article517640.ece

Learning about Islam in the Maldives

By Idris Tawfiq - The Egyptian Gazette Monday, October 17, 2011 08:08:23 PM With an average land height of just one and a half metres above sea level, the Republic of Maldives in the Indian Ocean is the lowest country in the world.  It is also, probably the most beautiful place on earth I have ever visited. The highest point on any of the country's nearly one thousand idyllic islands is just 2.3 metres above sea level. Little wonder, then, that Climate Change and Global Warming are a cause for real concern, since it would take only a very small rise in sea level to make the islands disappear altogether.
Whilst the government of the Maldives is doing everything possible to make the world aware of their plight, there is another consideration which puts all of this into its true perspective. For Muslims, all things come from Allah. In everything they do they declare, "inshallah." Even the sun coming up in the morning depends on His will.  Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) urged his followers to "tie your camel, then trust in Allah." In other words, Muslims should do everything they possibly can, and then when they have done everything they put their trust and their faith in the One who controls all things.         On approaching Male, the capital of the Maldives, from the air, the most immediate impression is how beautiful the islands are. Upon arrival at the airport, visitors are reminded of this in a peculiar way. In most of the world's airports, travelers are asked to declare if they are bringing drugs or alcohol into the country. In the Maldives, they are not only asked this, but also if they are carrying idols of worship, which, being anathema to Muslims, are similarly banned.           Islam came to the Maldive islands in the twelfth century. It was another of those countries never approached by Muslim armies, but by traders from the Arab world. Their example eventually led the whole population to embrace Islam. In a country which rejoices in being one hundred per cent Muslim, one of the first things visitors see as they travel by boat to the nation's capital is the splendid golden dome of the Sultan Mosque.         Egypt’s Al-Azhar has always played a central role in leading and guiding the Muslim world. The Islamic Centre in Male, which is a truly impressive building and which incorporates the country's largest Mosque, was built with the help of many Arab and Muslim nations.          This is a visible sign of the unity and brotherhood which exists among Muslims. The Opening Ceremony was attended by the late Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Jadul-Haqq, who traveled to the Maldives in November 1984 especially for this. Even today there is an Al-Azhar school in Male.         There is only one Islam. The beauty of Islam, though, is that it has so many beautiful faces throughout the world. These faces don't change Islam, since Islam is at home in every country and in every culture, but they do show its colours and its diversity. In fact, they show how practical and sensible Islam has been throughout the centuries in making its message relevant to all people on the face of this earth. The Maldivian people have their own very beautiful portrayal of Islam.          In fact, no matter how beautiful the sea or how white the sand, or even how peaceful the atmosphere, the real treasure of the Maldive islands is the friendliness and simplicity of its people. As Muslims we should never forget the real treasure of ordinary Muslims that is always in our midst.         The Maldives, like every country, has its own particular problems. Sometimes, as Muslims, we get distracted by our own national situation and forget to look at the bigger picture. The bigger picture shows us that Islam is alive and well and that Muslims are thriving. Perhaps this is why Islam is now the fastest growing religion in the West.         In a sense, the people of the Maldives can cling so closely to Islam because of their very way of life. This way of life has something to teach us all. Many of its people are fishermen, at one with the sea and its seasons, and they are in tune with their Creator. It is when we become so sophisticated and so caught up with the affairs of this world that we begin to lose something of Islam's simplicity.       Islam is indeed simple, but we have managed to make it seem so complicated. Anyone staying in the Maldives for even a short time is reminded just by being there that we need to remain focused on Allah, not on the things of this world. When we do remain focused on Allah, all things fall quite naturally into perspective and we see that all things come to us from the hand of Allah. With such an attitude, there is nothing that can overcome us – not even Climate Change and Global Warming!   The author of eight books about Islam, British Muslim writer, IdrisTawfiq, divides his time between Egypt and the UK  as a speaker, writer and broadcaster. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com   http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=21706&title=Culture:%20Learning%20about%20Islam%20in%20the%20Maldives

Why democracy is so good

Since 1973, approximately 50 million babies have been slaughtered in the United States before they were even born.

It is estimated that 500,000 babies that will be born this year will be sexually abused before they turn 18.

Law enforcement officials estimate that about 600,000 Americans and about 65,000 Canadians are trading dirty child pictures online.

More pornography is created in the United States than anywhere else on the entire globe. 89 percent is made in the U.S.A. and only 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.

The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other country on the planet.

The United States has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.

There are more than 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States every single year.

In the United States today, it is estimated that one out of every four girls is sexually abused before they become adults.

Maldivians voice against US Green Card Gambling

A group of about 100 Maldivians have petitioned Islamic Ministry to prevent the activities carried out in Maldives by US Embassy officials to recruit Maldivians to the Green Card Lottery programme. 

A petition signed by 107 people described the activities carried out by officials of the US Embassy in Colombo as “an addition to the different efforts by non-Muslims to introduce poker to the Maldives”. US Embassy officials held public presentations in Addu City on Saturday and in Male last evening to provide information about the Green Card Lottery programme.

US Embassy’s Visa Section head William Dova told an audience of about 50 last evening that winners of the lottery should pay visa fees despite the registration being open for free. The Green Card winners are eligible to apply for US citizenship after five years of residence in the country, he added. Registration for the Green Card Lottery programme will open on October 4 and will continue until November 5. 

The lottery is gambling, which is haraam. Allah, may He be exalted, says in His Book (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and gambling, and Al‑Ansaab (stone altars for sacrifices to idols etc), and Al‑Azlaam (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytaan’s (Satan’s) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful. 91. Shaytaan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allaah and from As‑Salaah (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain?” [al-Maa’idah 5:60-61].

Maldivians in Kochi under scanner

KOCHI: City has been becoming a home to lot of people from various parts of the country. But the presence of many Maldivians in the city has forced the Special Branch to conduct a thorough checking of the various pockets in the city where Maldivians have been found camping.

Though the city police have not come across any incidents of smuggling or anti-national activities involving Maldivians, they have launched the drive as part of a precautionary measure.

"We don't know why there has been a surge in the arrival of people from Maldives to the city.

The special branch wing has been able to identify an area near Karugapilly in the city where large number of Maldivians has been staying," said M N Ramesh, city special branch assistant commissioner.

The official said the police had conducted a preliminary enquiry to identify the reasons for the rise in arrival of Maldivians and it had been ascertained that these people were gradually moving out of Thiruvananthapuram,where they usually camp, due to various reasons.

Ramesh said that most of Maldivians staying in the city have been making use of a loop hole in the visa rules to stay permanently in the city.

"According to the rules, people from Maldives can stay in India continuously for 90 days without visa. What they usually do is to leave India on the 89th day and return the next day.

They keep on doing this to stay permanently in India," the official said."Most of them come to Kochi for business purpose. We intercepted a couple of Maldivians on suspicion and found that they were carrying large quantity of spare parts of various vehicles.

They brought the spare parts from various shops in Kochi," said the sources in the state police.

The sources added that they would be coordinating with the immigration wing of airports in the state, mainly Thiruvananthapuram, to ascertain the exact number of Maldivians landing in the state. 

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Maldivians-in-Kochi-under-scanner/articleshow/9829007.cms

Woman disables anti-Islam websites

DAMMAM: An Alkhobar woman studying in the United States is taking credit for destroying 23 Danish websites that denigrated the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Thursday.

Nouf Rashid told the Arabic newspaper she was hacking into Danish websites having references to cartoons of the Prophet along with other sites that had questionable content in her view.

She said she had also destroyed a number of pornographic sites and hacked into the computer systems of young men who had tried to blackmail girls by threatening to publish their private photos. She gained expertise in the field out of a desire to learn new things in the IT field.

Nouf said she entered the hacking world to save a girl who was being blackmailed by a young man who wanted to marry her and had obtained a private photo of her. The victim’s friend had requested Nouf to look for a hacker in the US to save her from the man.

“In fact, I contacted some of my hacker friends at university and I learned from them the art of hacking,” she said.

“After this, I took the opportunity to save many women from youths who tried to blackmail them using their pictures. By the grace of God I was able to hack into their systems and erase most of their photos.”

Nouf said she had hacked into some of the Danish websites that denigrated the Prophet and shut them down. “I also sent messages and articles about Islam and the Prophet to those who managed those sites,” she pointed out.

Nouf urged girls to be cautious when using the Internet and not to open any suspicious e-mails. “We should take adequate protective measures. When doing computer maintenance, we should approach companies and individuals whom they can trust, because some workers in maintenance centers plant viruses that can spy on their clients,” she said.

According to Western media sources, more than 900 Danish websites have been hacked by groups in many countries along with individual hackers recently.

The BBC reported that the attacks typically replace home pages with pro-Islam messages and condemn the publication of the blasphemous images of the Prophet.

“We have never seen so many defacements that are politically targeted in such a short time,” Roberto Preatoni of the Internet monitoring group Zone H told BBC. He noted that most of the interference involves defacement of the website although some of the hackers have threatened the Danish people with revenge.

Like the United States, Saudi Arabia also maintains tough hacking laws with penalties up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $1.8 million.

Preatoni told BBC that most of the sites targeted were run by small organizations and companies that do not have dedicated security workers and cannot keep up with the latest alerts and patches for vulnerabilities. However, he noted that many of the sites had been restored within 24 hours.

Source: Arabnews

King Abdullah to lay foundation stone to Makkah Haram expansion works

JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will lay the foundation stone to the Makkah Haram expansion works in a few days. The project is called the King Abdullah Expansion of the Makkah Haram.

The king will also open a number of other development projects that aim to improve the safety and comfort of pilgrims at the two holy mosques and holy sites.

The projects currently underway at the Haram include the expansion of the northern courtyard of the Grand Mosque, the Masaa (the running course between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah,) the King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project, the King Abdul Aziz Road, the Mashair Railway connecting Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, the Haramain Railway to link the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, the Central Zone Development project and new circular roads in addition to flood drainage projects in the holy sites and the Al-Jamarat complex, Al-Riyadh daily reported on Thursday.

The project at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah include the expansion of the courtyards around the mosque in all directions so that its capacity climbs to 350,000 people.

The huge projects implemented at the orders of the king include the development of the Al-Jamarat Bridge with the aim of increasing its capacity to 5 million pilgrims and the Mashair Railway that is scheduled to become fully operational before the beginning of the upcoming Haj in November. The metro service will operate 17 trains with 12 coaches in each train. A train will carry 3,000 pilgrims.

The development of the King Abdul Aziz Endowment project comprises six residential towers and a five-star hotel. The frontal towers of the towers are 28 stories high while the rear towers are 35 stories. Its side towers are 45 stories high while the hotel tower is 60 stories. The entire complex with 11,000 rooms and suites will accommodate 35,000 pilgrims.

The water management project in the holy sites includes construction of several feeder canals to gather floodwater from nearby mountains and a number of check dams and subterranean ducts.

The canals will start from the foot of the Eastern Ras Al-Shoayb mountain and will extend to the border of Mina at the King Fahd Tunnel.

The project also includes three concrete check dams on the basin of the flood course to the north of Mina and at the western side of the Al-Shoayb mountain and at the north of the King Khaled Road near the Square 28 and the Magar Kabsh area.

Another tunnel will be built to channel the floodwater collected on the other side of the Magar Kabsh dam to the western side of the Al-Shoayb mountain. Tunnels will also be built to carry the water to Al-Moaysim side.

arabnews

World has more private security guards than police

By ROBERT EVANS | REUTERS

GENEVA: The private security industry is growing rapidly around the globe and employs twice as many people as governments have police officers, according to an authoritative report issued on Wednesday.

The documented 20 million security guards, representing an increase of between 200-300 percent over the past two to three decades, form an industry whose rapid growth “has outpaced regulation and oversight mechanisms,” it said.

Efforts at the international level to fill in regulatory gaps were at a very early stage, according to the Small Arms Survey, based on a review of 70 countries.

The survey is produced annually by a team of experts based at Geneva University’s Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and tracks trade in the weaponry and moves to control it.

The latest edition puts the total trade in small weapons — like handguns — and light weapons — which include mortars, grenade launchers, recoilless rifles and portable missiles and rockets — as running at $7.1 billion a year.

It also says the trade in light weapons, which account for $1.1 billion of the total, “is significantly less transparent than the trade in other weapons, including small arms,” saying only a fifth of it is officially recorded.

In 2008, the last year for which figures could be compiled, the United States, as in previous years, was both the top importer and top exporter of small and light weapons, according to the survey.

As an exporter it was followed by Italy, Germany, Brazil and Switzerland, with Israel, Austria, South Korea, Belgium, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Norway and Canada also exporting this weaponry to a value of over $100 million a year each.

Behind the United States as importers at over $100 million annually were Canada, Britain, Germany, Australia, France and Pakistan, said the survey, which did not give a breakdown of each country’s imports and exports.

“Despite evidence that some private security companies have engaged in the illegal acquisition of firearms, have lost weapons through theft, or have misused their arsenals, there is no systematic reporting of such misconduct,” the report said.

Firms working in Iraq and Afghanistan had been equipped with fully automatic assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles and in some cases rocket-propelled grenade launchers, “raising questions about their stated defensive roles,” it declared.

Overall, the private firms hold up to 3.7 million firearms worldwide, more if undeclared and illegally held weapons could be included, against 26 million held by police and 200 million by armed forces, according to the survey.

Outside of armed conflict settings, it said, private security companies in Latin America had the biggest arsenals with ratios of weapons per employee about 10 times higher than those for their counterparts in Europe.

Blogger's note: This shows the need for islamic sharia in the world. Isn't it?

A ferry to the Maldives in 30 hours

Ruchika Chitravanshi / New Delhi July 10, 2011, 0:00 IST

Travelling to the Maldives might just get a little more exciting with the government now considering starting a sea route facility to the smallest Asian country. The shipping ministry in order to boost tourism to and from the Maldives will run a passenger liner for travellers either from Cochin port or the Tuticorin port.

“We are examining the projects. We are in discussion with the Maldives government on the modalities for a ferry service and development of ports for trade and tourism,” said K Mohandas, secretary-shipping ministry. A delegation led by the secretary, shipping, along with chairpersons of Cochin and Tuticorin Port Trust, an official from DG Shipping and Shipping Corporation of India are currently visiting the Maldives.

The sea route to the Maldives is expected to take about 30 hours to travel. The cost parameters are still being studied. Government officials will visit the ports as well as the Maldives to understand the demand and the economic viability of the project. “At this stage, we don’t have any details about the cost and frequency of such a service to the Maldives. But after Sri Lanka, this is the second neighbouring country to which we want to provide easy access,” Mohandas added.

Last month, the shipping ministry started a sea route to Sri Lanka from the Tuticorin port. The shipping service, which runs twice a week, costs about $50 for a passenger, with travelling time of 12 hours. The ship called Scotia Prince with capacity to ferry 1,044 passengers is operated by Flemingo Liners.

The Maldives is towards south of Lakshadweep Islands where the Indian Navy had captured 28 Somali pirates in February this year. “The Indian Navy has been guarding the area very well ever since the last incident occurred. Security will not be an issue,” Mohandas said.

According to tourist arrival figures of the Maldives for 2009, China ranks fourth among the top 10 tourism destinations, with over 69,000 arrivals. India stands at the 10th position with over 15,800 tourists visiting the country. In 2009, the Maldives’ total tourist arrivals were 655,852.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/a-ferry-tomaldives-in-30-hours/442157/

A small number of Sri Lankan women are forced into prostitution in the Maldives

Although Sri Lanka does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking the country is making significant efforts to do so, the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report released Monday by the United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton which placed Sri Lanka among Tier 2 countries said.

Tier 2 countries are the countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.

Sri Lanka is yet to ratify the United Nations TIP protocol of 2000, the protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

The report noted that the Sri Lankan government convicted three traffickers, in the first case under its anti-trafficking legislation, and rejuvenated its inter-agency task force.

However, serious problems remain unaddressed, such as the detention of identified trafficking victims (including those who provided evidence to support the three convictions), the failure to achieve criminal convictions for fraudulent recruitment agencies involved in trafficking in persons, and official complicity in human trafficking, the TIP Report noted.

The Sri Lankan government increased law enforcement efforts in addressing human trafficking cases over the reporting period. Sri Lanka prohibits all forms of trafficking through an April 2006 amendment to its penal code, which prescribes punishments of up to 20 years imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offenses, such as rape. Amendments passed in 2009 to the Foreign Employment Act expanded the powers of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) to prosecute recruitment agents who engage in fraudulent recruitment, prescribing a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment and fines of $1,000, and restricting the amount that employment agents can charge. It added.

The report said Sri Lanka is primarily a source and to a much lesser extent, a destination for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.

The TIP report recommended among other things for the government of Sri Lanka to vigorously investigate and prosecute suspected trafficking offenses, and convict and punish trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for recruiting victims with fraudulent offers of employment and excessive commission fees for the purpose of subjecting them to forced labor.

Excerpt on Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA (Tier 2)

Sri Lanka is primarily a source and, to a much lesser extent, a destination for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Sri Lankan men, women, and some children (between 16 and 17 years old) migrate consensually to Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Bahrain, and Singapore to work as construction workers, domestic servants, or garment factory workers. Some of these workers, however, subsequently find themselves in conditions of forced labor through practices such as restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and threats of detention and deportation for immigration violations. Many of these migrants pay high recruitment fees usually about $1,500 imposed by unscrupulous licensed labor recruitment agencies and their unlicensed sub-agents and assume debt in order to satisfy these costs. This indebtedness contributes to debt bondage in destination countries. A recent Human Rights Watch report noted that over one-third of Sri Lankan domestic workers in Jordan are physically abused by their employers, 11 percent were sexually assaulted, 60 percent were not paid wages, over 60 percent had their passports confiscated, and 80 percent experienced forced confinement these are abuses that indicate forced labor. In the past year, there were high-profile reports of Sri Lankan domestic workers who were subjected to forced labor and physical abuse in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan, including having more than 20 nails hammered in their bodies, or being forced to swallow nine nails. There were also reports of cases in which some Sri Lankan recruitment agencies committed fraud by engaging in contract-switching: promising one type of job and conditions but then changing the job, employer, conditions or salary after arrival, which are documented risk factors for forced labor and debt bondage. Sri Lanka is reported to be a transit country for men, some of whom may be trafficking victims, traveling from Pakistan and Bangladesh to Dubai, UAE. In several cases, men were stranded in Sri Lanka by the employment agent. Some Sri Lankan women were promised jobs as domestic workers in other countries, but after arriving were instead forced to work in brothels, mainly in Singapore. A small number of Sri Lankan women are forced into prostitution in the Maldives.

Within the country, women and children are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels, especially in the Anuradhapura area, which was a major transit point for members of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces heading north. Boys are more likely than girls to be forced into prostitution this is generally in coastal areas for domestic child sex tourism. In 2009, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) estimated that approximately 1,000 children were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation within Sri Lanka although some NGOs believed the actual number was between 10,000 and 15,000. NGOs expressed concern that the recent increase in tourism in the very poor post-conflict areas on the east coast may increase demand for child sex tourism. There are reports of children being subjected to bonded labor and forced labor in dry-zone farming areas on plantations, and in the fireworks and fish-drying industries. Some child domestic workers in Colombo, generally from the Tamil tea-estate sector of the country, are subjected to physical, sexual, and mental abuse, nonpayment of wages, and restrictions of their movement. Some women and children were promised garment industry work by agents and were instead forced into prostitution. A small number of women from Thailand, China, and countries in South Asia, Europe, and the former Soviet Union may be subjected to forced prostitution in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government convicted three traffickers, in the first case under its anti-trafficking legislation, and rejuvenated its inter-agency
task force. However, serious problems remain unaddressed, such as the detention of identified trafficking victims (including those who provided evidence to support the three convictions), the failure to achieve criminal convictions for fraudulent recruitment agencies involved in trafficking in persons, and official complicity in human trafficking.

Recommendations for Sri Lanka: Vigorously investigate and prosecute suspected trafficking offenses, and convict and punish trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for recruiting victims with fraudulent offers of employment and excessive commission fees for the purpose of subjecting them to forced labor ensure that victims of trafficking found within Sri Lanka are not detained or otherwise penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked, such as visa violations or prostitution establish law enforcement capacity at shelters in embassies abroad develop and implement formal victim referral procedures train local law enforcement and judicial officials on investigating and prosecuting trafficking crimes facilitate the speedy repatriation of foreign trafficking victims by providing airfare and not obligating them to remain in the country if they choose to initiate law enforcement proceedings provide witness protection and incentives for victims to cooperate with law enforcement to enable prosecutions stop the practice of forcing foreign trafficking victims to remain in Sri Lanka if they are witnesses in a case improve services, including quality of shelters, legal aid, availability of counseling, and numbers of trained staff at embassies and consular offices in destination countries promote safe tourism campaigns to ensure that child sex tourism does not increase with expected rapid growth of tourism and improve regulation and monitoring of recruitment agencies and village-level brokers, with an emphasis on ensuring provision of accurate and enforceable employment contracts and working to ending the charging of illegal and excessive fees.

Prosecution

The Sri Lankan government increased law enforcement efforts in addressing human trafficking cases over the reporting period. Sri Lanka prohibits all forms of trafficking through an April 2006 amendment to its penal code, which prescribes punishments of up to 20 years imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offenses, such as rape. Amendments passed in 2009 to the Foreign Employment Act expanded the powers of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) to prosecute recruitment agents who engage in fraudulent recruitment, prescribing a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment and fines of $1,000, and restricting the amount that employment agents can charge. In March 2011, three traffickers were convicted and sentenced to nine years each for forcing women into prostitution, in one case. This is the first recorded convicted case under Sri Lanka s counter-trafficking amendment. However, the Uzbek sex trafficking victims in the case were detained in an immigration detention facility in Sri Lanka for over a year until their testimony was complete. The Attorney General s Department claimed two additional convictions in 2010 for violations of the penal code s statute on child sexual exploitation both convictions may have involved human trafficking crimes. Both convictions resulted in suspended jail sentences. Each trafficker had to pay a fine of approximately $900, and one had to pay compensation of $450 to the victim. In January 2011, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) completed an investigation and could not determine the whereabouts of the remaining boys allegedly in armed service with the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP)/Karuna Faction some of these boys may be trafficking victims. There were no prosecutions against persons allegedly responsible for conscription of child soldiers.

During the year, there was some evidence of government officials complicity in trafficking. There were allegations that police and other officials accepted bribes to permit brothels to operate some of the brothels exploited trafficking victims. Many recruitment agencies were run by politicians or were politically connected. Some sub-agents cooperated with Sri Lankan officials to procure forged or modified documents, or real documents with false data, to facilitate travel abroad. There were no reported law enforcement actions taken against officials complicit in human trafficking. The Sri Lankan Police continued to teach a counter-trafficking module to all police recruits during their basic trainings. Additionally, police officers who were previously trained in IOM training-of-trainers courses conducted 16 training workshops at local police stations on counter-trafficking in the reporting period.


Protection

The government made limited progress in protecting victims of trafficking during the year. The government placed two Uzbek women who were found in forced prostitution in late 2009 in a detention center, which they were allowed to leave during the day but were locked up at night. The government did not permit them to leave Sri Lanka for over a year until they had the opportunity to provide testimony against their alleged traffickers, instead of allowing the Uzbeks to leave the country while their cases were pending or to remain in the country with protections such as immigration relief, freedom of movement, and the right to work. They were then given permission to leave the country, and with the assistance of IOM, departed Sri Lanka in December 2010. The government forces foreign trafficking victims to remain in Sri Lanka if they are witnesses in a case until evidence has been given. The government continued to provide some counseling and day care for abused children through the operation of six resource centers, although it is not known how many trafficked children, if any, were assisted in the reporting period. The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) operated nine short-term shelters in 2010 in Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as well as an overnight shelter in Sri Lanka s international airport for returning female migrant workers who encountered abuse abroad. It is unknown how many trafficking victims were assisted in these shelters in the reporting period. While the missions provide shelter and legal aid, domestic workers seeking assistance complained of long waiting periods with little information about their cases. In addition, there were complaints that the shelters were grossly overcrowded with unhygienic conditions. In a news report of female Sri Lankan workers who fled their employers in Jordan due to lack of paid wages and abuse, one worker noted that the Sri Lankan embassy shelter was no better than a prison, as it did not permit the domestic workers to leave the premises. There have been some reports of abuse by Sri Lankan embassy officials in shelters abroad.

A Workers Welfare Fund is maintained by the SLBFE, also funded by fees charged to workers upon migration. Through this fund, the widely reported case of the female in domestic servitude in Saudi Arabia who returned with 24 nails in her body received approximately $4,500 to build a house, with the assistance of the National Housing Authority. Neither the government nor NGOs or international organizations provided protection facilities for men. The Ministry of Child Development and Women s Affairs (MOCDWA) has a memorandum of understanding with IOM to establish a shelter which can house 10 to 15 women and child victims of trafficking and abuse. When the building is renovated and prepared with a tentative deadline of later this year the ministry will take over operation and management of the shelter.

Government personnel did not employ formal procedures for proactively identifying victims. The National Counter Human Trafficking Resource Center of the Sri Lanka Department of Immigration and Emigration trained 10 immigration officers on the identification of trafficking victims, in partnership with IOM, in 2010 50 officers were trained in 2009. The government pursued a partnership with the Salvation Army to transfer women and child victims of abuse to protection facilities, though it is unknown how many trafficking victims, if any, were referred in the reporting period. Foreign trafficking victims could not seek employment in Sri Lanka. The government permitted foreign trafficking victims to leave the country unless they were witnesses in a case, in which case the government forced them to remain until evidence had been given. IOM reported several cases of victims who chose to leave the country rather than file a complaint. The Commissioner General for Rehabilitation, with the assistance of the NCPA, continued to operate two rehabilitation centers specifically for children involved in armed conflict, some of whom may be trafficking victims, in partnership with UNICEF. The Commission also continued to run a vocational training center with donor support. These facilities served approximately 700 former child soldiers in the reporting period. The Sri Lankan government has reported that all former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) child soldiers completed rehabilitation and were released in May 2010. However, at least 250 children formerly associated with armed groups faced a number of security issues, and some were arrested by police.

The government did not encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases instead, they sometimes forced victims to testify if they chose to file charges. While Sri Lankan trafficking victims in theory could file administrative cases to seek financial restitution, this did not happen in practice due to victim embarrassment and the slow pace of the Sri Lankan legal system. In addition, prosecutors were prevented under Sri Lankan law from meeting with witnesses outside of formal court proceedings. Thus, they had to rely on police to convince a witness to testify. The government penalized adult victims of trafficking through detention for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Most commonly, these acts were violations of their visa status or prostitution. All detainees who were awaiting deportation for visa violations, including trafficking victims, remained in detention facilities until they raised enough money to pay for their plane ticket home, which in some cases has taken years. The government provided no legal alternatives for the removal of foreign victims to countries where they may face hardship or retribution. The SLBFE continued to provide training on protection and assistance to its staff members who worked at embassies and consulates in foreign countries, although many of the labor attaches working in labor-receiving countries are political appointees who do not receive any training.

Prevention

The Sri Lankan government made some progress in its efforts to prevent trafficking during the last year. The government formed an inter-ministerial anti-trafficking task force in October 2010, led by a coordinator from the Ministry of Justice, and developed a terms of reference on how government agencies will work together to combat trafficking. This task force took over the monthly meetings previously held by the MOCDWA, and met six times in the reporting period. While it does not include civil society, the coordinator of the task force recently announced it would soon open up quarterly meetings to NGOs and community organizations. The government limits the recruitment fees to $70 for jobs paying less than $200 per month and $100 for jobs paying over $200. The SLBFE requires migrant domestic workers with no experience working in the Middle East to complete a free 12-day pre-departure training course. It is not known how many migrant workers completed this course in the reporting period. The SLBFE and the Department of Labor conducted awareness programs on safe migration. In measures that could prevent transnational labor trafficking of Sri Lankans, the SLBFE reported that it filed 727 charges against recruitment agencies in 2010 under Sections 398 (cheating) and 457 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), conducted 84 raids against employment agents, and fined recruitment agencies found to be guilty of fraudulent practices over $40,000. The Criminal Investigation Division of the police, in cooperation with Interpol and the Royal Malaysian Police, investigated four fraudulent recruitment agents who may have been responsible for the forced labor of Sri Lankans in Malaysia.

While most Sri Lankans have birth certificates and (after the age of 16) national identity cards, many of the 250,000 to 350,000 internally displaced people a group very vulnerable to trafficking did not have these documents. The Government of Sri Lanka continued to provide personnel time to conduct mobile documentation clinics for conflict-affected people with UNDP. The Government of Sri Lanka did not report any efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts during the reporting period. The Ministry of Defense provided training to all Sri Lankan peacekeepers prior to their deployments for international peacekeeping missions relating to human rights, including trafficking. Sri Lanka is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2011/6/68443.html