SUMMARY
Gayani is a Sri Lankan nurse whose family succumbed to the promises of a migration lawyer to get them work visas in the U.K., via Dubai. After mortgaging their house to pay the $24,000 USD (80 Lakh) fee to him and setting up temporary residence in Dubai, they realized they’d been tricked when ties were cut off by the lawyer. Though broke, they were able to get Gayani’s husband and son back to Sri Lanka through the help of supporters, but Gayani has stayed in Dubai to pay for her son’s education and the family’s living expenses. Though currently unable to work due to exhaustion and poor health, her work has required long hours for little pay at a medical facility that exploits their staff. She wants to return to Sri Lanka to be with her family and re-establish their broken lives.
FULL DETAILS
Thanuja Gayani Mirissa Lankage (Gayani) is a nurse from Sri Lanka. In 2019, Gayani and her husband, Nalin, made plans to emigrate to the U.K. with the help of a lawyer recommended by friends. They paid the lawyer 80 lakh ($24 000 USD) over 3 years by mortgaging their house and taking out a loan against Gayani’s government pension.
The lawyer promised to rent a house in Dubai for them while he arranged their U.K. visas, but it soon became apparent that the lawyer was a crook who had cheated many other Sri Lankan families in Dubai. He didn't follow through with promises, only making contact to blackmail them into sending more money. Eventually, he cut off all contact and canceled their visas, without their knowledge.
The family moved into a one-bedroom apartment paid for by what was left of their savings. Gayani took the first job she could get, at very low pay. Her contract required 8-hour shifts, but she was made to work 24-hour shifts of back-breaking labor, causing chronic pain. Stranded in Dubai with little money, unable to afford to send Tirel to school and barely enough to feed themselves, the family grew desperate.
In late 2022, with the help of a supporter, Nalin and Tirel flew back to Sri Lanka so Tirel could go to school. The plan was for Gayani to continue working in Dubai to pay for the mortgage and the family’s expenses. She moved into a single-room flat with four others, bereft over the separation from her family. On her low pay, she lives primarily on rice and has sold a prize family heirloom to get by.
When the company went under new management Gayani’s patient load increased and she was assigned more difficult cases. She continued to work 24-hour shifts with no breaks. After less than a week under the new regime, Gayani was vomiting from exhaustion.
The company sent her home, withholding weeks of pay. Gayani was penniless and worn thin – and then she succumbed to Covid. Her recovery has been long and, with little strength, she worried how long she can keep going, forced to work many days without sleep.
She is currently unable to work due to her health crisis and, with no money, is stranded in a foreign country far from her home and family. It’s clear there is no future for Gayani in Dubai and she must do what she can to return to her home in Sri Lanka.
Our GoFundMe campaign hopes to raise enough money to get Gayani back to Sri Lanka and provide enough financial support for the family while they re-establish their broken lives. Funds raised will cover the return flight, visa costs, and helping to get the family back on track.