Selvakumar Sounthararani, a 36-year-old woman from the war-scarred northern town of Vavuniya, Sri Lanka, worked in Beirut, Lebanon, as a housemaid to earn and save money for a tubewell in her garden. She speaks to Feizal Samath of this tryst with water and the troubles it brought her
Why did you go to Lebanon?
Survival was a struggle. My husband earned a pittance as a vegetable vendor and we had to take care of our two boys and three girls. The children were then 19, 17, 15, 14 and 4, respectively. They needed food, clothes, books and shoes. It became really tough when my third child, Kajendani, attained age in 2000 and she had to walk more than a mile, alone, to collect water for cooking, washing or bathing.
It is a difficult choice because young children can get abused when they venture far away outside the house. This was a serious problem for us and we longed to have water at home. A tube well costs over Sri Lankan Rs 100,000 (us $1,000) but where would we find that kind of money?
It was then that I decided to go abroad to work.
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| Pillars had pinioned my arms and both were broken. It was only when I woke up in hospital that I recounted--with the help of others - what had happened to me |
Was it difficult to leave your family and how was life in Lebanon?
Of course, it was difficult leaving the family behind. But did I have any choice? I went to Beirut, Lebanon, in July 2005 and was working for a family of four -- a couple and two children. Life was tough.
I had to sleep out on a balcony, in the cold. The leftovers were my meals and those consisted of pieces of roti (bread) and some vegetables, mainly, fried brinjal. I longed for rice and even one curry.
What was your wage like?
The agreed amount was Rs 10,000. I requested the employer to keep it away safely and give me the full amount at the end of the two-year contract period. A year passed and in July I caught the first real glimpses of the dreadful war, whenever I passed the room where 'madam' (the housewife) watched television.
What happened when the war started?
I used to hear the sound of bombs in the distance, like faint rumbles of thunder. Then one day 'madam' packed her bags, locked me up and left with the family. I had finished the morning tasks and was cleaning the balcony, when I saw planes flying low overhead.
Suddenly the building shook and I heard a powerful sound from a building nearby and watched horror-stricken as that building collapsed. I heard people screaming, 'Allah, Allah'.
Were you injured?
I have a vague idea of what had happened to me, when our building collapsed. Searing pain shot through both my arms and I have dim recollections of falling.
As the balcony on which I was standing crumbled, I fell, and was trapped beneath a lot of rubble. Pillars had pinioned my arms and both were broken. It was only when I woke up in hospital that I recounted -- with the help of others -- what had really happened to me.
What happened in hospital?
My employer's sister came to see me. When I asked for my year's wages she said that that wouldn't be enough to cover hospital expenses, which she said would amount to about us $4,000. Four urgent operations were needed for each hand and that cost me all my wages of a little over us $1,000 along with some insurance cover of another us $2,000.
I was still short of us $1,000 to pay the hospital. Some Sri Lankans passed the hat around chipping in with a $5 here and a $10 there, to make up the balance.
How did you return to Sri Lanka?
The Sri Lankan embassy in Beirut had arranged transport for those who were stranded.
So you didn't realise your dream of earning the Rs 100,000 to pay for a tubewell?
It's upsetting to think of it, but no I didn't. Roughing it out in Lebanon was futile. Collecting water still remains a struggle. I came back to Sri Lanka without a cent. Today I am hoping for money from an insurance claim (from a government scheme).
I might get that money in a year's time. But I really don't know how much that will amount to.
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