News that six Sri Lankans who have been living in Montserrat under threat of deportation since they arrived here by boat which they said was headed to another Caribbean territory, have been reported missing since last weekend, July 3. They were part of a group of 47 persons who were apparently dropped off in Montserrat because of difficulty they experienced with their transport, in December 2007.
Rams Emdee Supermarket owner Manu Chandiramani in Salem, told The Montserrat Reporter (TMR) that he employed three of the Sri Lankans. He said that they worked up to the weekend, but they did not show up at work on Monday. The other three missing, one is known to have worked at Deepak’s supermarket on Davy Hill Road.
The 47 persons who were detained and held at Pasture Piece in Geralds had included 13 male and one female Sri Lankans. All 14 had refused to leave the island while they claimed refugee status, being Tamils fleeing for fear of persecution in their homeland.
The other persons were Hatians and during 2008, 29 of them departed voluntarily according to officials. During months of hearings, there were pleas to the private sector to offer gainful employment to these persons. It was later reported that all of the Sri Lankans had found employment mostly in the four Indian owned supermarkets.
The news of the six who is said to have just ‘vanished’ come as a surprise to many. Meanwhile it has been reported to TMR that they departed the island by boat during the time the police were occupied carrying out the raid at Carrs Bay.
Information about the Sri Lankan’s disappearances are still sketchy and unconfirmed. Exactly when they were last seen and by whom seems to a large extent, as the Royal Montserrat Police Force struggles to flesh out exactly what may have happened. This adds to their cases bringing into sharp focus the inadequacy of Montserrat’s coastal surveillance capability.
