Sri Lankans in Lebanon

Sri Lankans in Lebanon
Total population
	80,000 - 90,000
Languages
	Sri Lankan English, Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamil, Lebanese Arabic, Lebanese French
Religion
	Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
	Sri Lankan people, Sri Lankan diaspora

Sri Lankans in Lebanon refer to people from Sri Lanka living in Lebanon. There are approximately 80,000 to 90,000 of them. ^[1] ^[2] ^[3] Sri Lankans generally go to the Middle East to find work, with a large domestic labour population in Lebanon.

History

A large influx of Sri Lankan women into Lebanon had begun in the early 1990s, serving primarily as domestic labour in private households. Like other countries the Sri Lankan government has actively encouraged the 'export' of domestic labour as it has become the largest single source of foreign revenue for the country. However recently most Sri Lankan domestic workers have fallen under the category of 'contract slavery', given the legal and employment conditions they face. ^[4]

References

^ "80,000 Sri Lankans Stranded in Lebanon". Or does it explode?. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
^ Dissanayake, Samanthi (2006-07-21). "Sri Lankan maids stranded by war". BBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
^ Peiris, Vilani. "Sri Lankan government leaves migrant workers stranded in Lebanon". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
^ Jureidini, Ray; Moukarbel, Nayla (2004). "Female Sri Lankan domestic workers in Lebanon: a case of 'contract slavery'?". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 30 (4): 581–607. doi:10.1080/13691830410001699478. S2CID 144353485.