Abstract:
Sri Lanka, along with the Philippines and Indonesia, is a major source of migrant domestic
workers. There has been little investigation into the impacts of the absence of women on their
families and communities left behind. Contact migrant labour in Asia usually means leaving the
family behind for two years or even longer. This paper firstly demonstrates how Sri Lankan
women are increasingly becoming part of a global care chain. It draws on a survey and
qualitative work among families and communities left behind by these migrant workers to
explore the impacts on families and children. It examines the ways in which mothers seek to
overcome the consequences of their absence on their families and children. A number of children
policy recommendations are made to ameliorate the negative impacts of the absence of Sri
Lankan migrant domestic workers.
