In the midst of Sri Lanka’s economic downturn the country’s 20,000 employees are scheduled to leave for Israel for work in agriculture and construction, despite the ongoing war with Hamas. Laknath Dias, who is a supermarket manager, is among the workers looking for better wages in Israel in hopes of earning almost ten times the amount of the amount he earns currently. Israel is traditionally dependent upon Thai as well as Palestinian labour for its agriculture has been facing shortages because numerous Thai employees fled after the Hamas attack, and Palestinians are largely excluded from working.

Sri Lanka’s foreign and labor employment minister announced that more than 10,000 applications were received for jobs as farmers in Israel The plans are in place to invite another 10,000 construction workers to work on construction. In the present, 9000 Sri Lankans reside located in Israel and engaged in agriculture as well as senior health care. The downturn in the economy of Sri Lanka has led to an increase in the number of people moving to Israel which is estimated at 312,000 moving out in 2022, and another 268,000 by 2023. They are looking for opportunities across various nations.

Source: reuters.com