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With
new guidelines to be introduced to immigration laws, foreign spouses
of Lankans finally feel they are not second class citizens These guidelines
seek to address some of the injustices the foreign spouses have
suffered for many years for no other fault other than being married
to a Sri Lankan and choosing to live in this country, rather than
in their country of birth. "Now we
are happy," said Susanna Loos-Jayawickreme, who has been married
to a Sri Lankan for nine years. "We will no longer have to
trudge to the Immigration Department each year with a letter from
our spouses to extend our visas for a further one year. We will
now be able to obtain a work permit. After a certain period of marriage
and living in Sri Lanka we can get permanent residence. We are indeed
happy that the Prime Minister has taken a personal interest in the
matter." It is estimated
that there are about 2000 foreign male spouses and 5000 female spouses
married to Sri Lankans resident in Sri Lanka. They do not have a
formal association but some of them meet once a month and welcome
anyone who wishes to attend their meetings. When the government
slapped an annual visa fee of Rs. 20,000 on the foreign spouses
in the March 2001 budget, they protested and implementation of the
visa tax was suspended. The foreign spouses then decided that it
was time they appealed against the difficulties and injustices they
suffered. A formal appeal was lodged with the Human Rights Commission
of Sri Lanka in January this year. "It took
us 1 1/2 years to achieve something," said Gunn Pieris, who
is married to a Sri Lankan for 41 years and has lived here since
her marriage. Throughout this period, she has had to go to the Immigration
Department year after year, with all her documents, to renew her
temporary residence visa. This includes a letter from the Sri Lankan
spouse to say he has no objection to her staying on. "I have
lived here for 41 years. If I go to Norway, where I was born, I
do not get any benefits because I am not a tax payer there. So we
are floating, without a vote in Sri Lanka or in our country of birth,"
Mrs. Pieris said. "Some
foreign wives have husbands who do not earn large salaries but they
are not allowed to work here to supplement the family income. Even
voluntary, unpaid work is not allowed. It is also a loss of manpower,"
she added. "Most
of us have integrated in Sri Lanka, learning the language and culture,"
Suzanna Jayawickreme said. Suzanna who was Editor of a newspaper
in Germany has had a restricted work permit and has done the occasional
feature article for local newspapers. "We are promoting Sri
Lanka abroad, and helping in local charities but we have been treated
worse than second class citizens. Even at the Immigration Department,
where we have to go for our visas we have been treated very shabbily.
However, things are changing now. With the current Controller of
Immigration, the people in charge are looking at our situation in
a more positive manner and treating us as human beings." Both Suzanna
Jayawickreme and Gunn Pieris are part of the foreign spouses committee
that had several meetings in the Prime Minister's office with Mr.
Bradman Weerakoon and Mr. Mervyn Wijesekera, Controller of Immigration
and Emigration. The need to make changes in the Immigration Guidelines
was acknowledged by the authorities. "The Prime
Minister was very keen that the guidelines be changed and implemented
soon," Mr. Bradman Weerakoon, Secretary to the Prime Minister
said. He felt that the old regulations were very harsh. "The
foreign spouses were living here, almost on sufferance. These are
people married to Sri Lankans and they should be made welcome."
Controller
of Immigration and Emigration Mr. Mervyn Wijesekera, said a few
matters need to be sorted out and some amendments may be needed
in the Immigration Act as regards the period of the Residence Visas.
He said action is being taken to publish the new set of guidelines
soon. According to
the draft of the new guidelines, Residence Visas will be issued
to eligible spouses initially for a period of two years. At the
end of two years, given that the required conditions are satisfactorily
fulfilled, a five-year Residence Visa will be issued. Further, at
the end of the 7 year period of duration of the union, no further
renewals would be necessary and the holder would be deemed to have
acquired Permanent Residence Visa status. Provision has
also been made for divorcees or widows to reapply for Residence
Visas. The period of stay of the visa holder in Sri Lanka, the age,
number of children and the status of children of the union and the
extent of material property belonging to the visa holder are factors
that would guide the Controller in granting these visas. Under the
old guidelines, widows and divorcees have no reason to stay on in
the country. "The visas of divorcees will be decided case by
case, while widows will get the same visas as the spouses,"
Suzanna said. "It is a more humane approach." Another problem
the foreign spouses often face is being charged tourist rates at
the Cultural Triangle and other places of interest in Sri Lanka.
They hope that an identity card system could be worked out for such
purposes. "They often do not believe us when we say we are
married to a Sri Lankan," Mrs. Pieris said. "The wildlife
parks accept the driving licence as proof of residence but there
are no definite guidelines given to the officials at the Cultural
Triangle sites. When the question of Dual Citizenship comes up,
our request is that we be charged a nominal amount and not lakhs
of rupees because many of us cannot afford it. We depend on the
income our husbands earn in Sri Lanka." "We need to have the guidelines eventually incorporated into the law so they cannot be changed easily," Suzanna Jayawickreme said. "The next stage in the discussions will be regarding dual citizenship and citizenship and inheritance rights for the children. Many young Sri Lankans who marry foreigners have opted to settle abroad because the situation here was difficult for the foreign spouses. We want to make it better for young people who marry Sri Lankans and want to settle here."
But who needs
the traditional tree? Look around you and you'll soon discover that
there's an entirely new array of Christmas trees dreamed up by some
creative masterminds. They're made from anything and everything,
red chiffon, x-mas lights, dried chillies... At the Crescat
Market, opened only a few weeks ago, foot tall trees catch your
eye. Made of a log and dried red chilli these are truly Sri Lankan,
one might say. In the lobby areas of the Crescat Boulevard are more
trees, this time made of dried twigs, spray painted in silver. At 'The 500'
optician shop also situated at Crescat, shoppers gaze at a strangely
different Christmas Tree. The leaves and branches of the tree do
not make up the traditional cone shape but instead they provide
a spine for the Christmas lights that form the cone. Created by
the employees of the store, this tree definitely deserves a second
look. Meanwhile,
on the roof of Crescat Boulevard is one of the tallest trees in
town, consisting of yellow lights that fall into hoops; a beautiful
sight at night. The Taj Samudra
Hotel too has gone to great lengths to create a unique Christmas
Tree. Their Christmas tree which is the focal point of the lobby
is made entirely of mirror panels cut into rectangles. The mirrors
are arranged to form the different stages of the tree, while each
junction is decorated in red, gold and silver. Reflecting the light
from the chandeliers above, it glitters and glimmers. The Archies
Gallery Christmas Tree is mounted on a single pole dipped in gold
paint. Here the cone shape is achieved by styled gold painted wires
adorned with pine cones and fairy lights. Red, gold, green and silver
baubles add colour. In another
shop window we spotted an exquisite crystal Christmas tree, small
in size but reflecting light in all directions while mice in Santa's
gowns sit on the cloth Christmas trees that decorate the Barefoot
shop window. How much more innovative can they get? The People's Church (Assembly of God) down Kirimandala Mawatha, Narahenpitiya have organised a Singing Christmas Tree which will be made of the Church Choir who will sit in the form of a six-layered Christmas Tree singing Christmas carols this evening at 6 p.m. |
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Ltd. All rights reserved. |
