“As the number of COVID-19 cases increases, it is vital that both corporate and state entities prioritize the health and safety of workers, to prevent further outbreaks as happened at the Brandix factory,” 55 Sri Lankan academics around the world have said today.

We publish below the statement in full:

We the undersigned academics who work on Sri Lanka are disturbed by the lack of transparency and accountability by Brandix and SriLankan Airlines in the context of the threat posed to the country by COVID-19. These corporations have not shared with relevant state bodies information essential for managing COVID-19, including the original flight rosters about workers flown into Sri Lanka. As a result, a number of workers have been blamed and maligned as super-spreaders, with questionable treatment around their confinement. Treatment of workers in this way negates these companies’ duty to be transparent and claim to be responsible toward workers.

We are also concerned about reports that workers are being treated inhumanely by the authorities responsible for quarantining suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19. We stand in solidarity with workers and their advocates in calling for a more humane treatment in public health responses. While acknowledging the exemplary efforts of the front-line medical teams attending to CoVID-19, we urge the state and the media to adopt a compassionate – rather than punitive – approach towards people that have been tested positively. These patients need the best possible physical and mental care and not the counter-productive stigma attached to the infection.

Citizens of Sri Lanka, including workers, require these corporations and country-level COVID-19 response teams to be held accountable in order to ensure that they, as the public, are absolved from the on-going shifting of blame onto workers. As importantly – during the time of a global pandemic – the information withheld by Brandix and Sri Lankan Airlines is critical for the Public Health authorities to discharge their duties with integrity and professionalism. As the number of COVID-19 cases increases, it is vital that both corporate and state entities prioritize the health and safety of workers, to prevent further outbreaks as happened at the Brandix factory.

Kanishka Goonewardena, University of Toronto,Canada
Arjun Guneratne, Macalester College, USA
E Valentine Daniel, Columbia University, USA
Nimanthi Perera-Rajasingham, Colgate University, USA
Samanthi Gunewardena, Monash University, Australia
Vidyamali Samarasinghe, American University, USA
Nalika Gajaweera, University of Southern California, USA
Qadri Ismail, University of Minnesota, USA
Kanchana N Ruwanpura, Universityof Gothenburg, Sweden
Tariq Jazeel, University College London, UK
Geethika Dharmasinghe, Cornell University, USA
Mythri Jegathesan, Santa Clara University, USA
Maryse Jayasuriya, University of Texas, El Paso, USA
Jayanthi Lingham, Warwick University, UK
Narayani Sritharan, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA
Ananda Abeysekara, Virginia Polytechnic University, USA
Vivian Choi, St Olaf College, USA
V.V. Ganeshananthan, University of Minnesota, USA
Sandya Hewamanne, University of Essex, UK
Sharika Thiranagama, Stanford University, USA
Vasuki Nesiah, New York University, USA
Pradeep Sangapala, University of Alberta, Canada
Ashwini Vasanthakumar, Queen’s University, Canada
Yalini Dream, University of San Francisco, USA
Shobana Xavier, Queen’s University, Ca
Thanuja Thurairajah, University of Zurich, Switzerland
A.R.M. Imtiyaz, Temple University, USA
Geeta H Patel, University of Virginia
Pradeep Sangapala, University of Alberta, CA
H.L Seneviratne, University of Virginia, USA
Neena Mahadev, Yale-NUS College, Singapore
Mahendran Thiravarangan, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Amarnath Amarasingam, Queen’s University, Canada
Asha Abeysekera, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Farah Mihlar, University of Exeter, UK
Thaksila Tissera, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA
Jeanne Marecek, Swarthmore College, USA
Neil de Votta, Wake Forest University, USA
Nari Senanayake, University of Kentucky, USA
Kasun Gajasinghe, Michigan State University, USA
Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi, Barnard College, USA
Themal Ellawala, University of Illinois – Chicago, USA
Kiran Grewal, Goldsmiths College, U.K.
R Cheran, University of Windsor, Canada
Devaka Gunawardena, University of California-LA, USA
Oliver Walton, University of Bath, UK
Vindya Buthupitiya, University College – London, UK
Eva Ambose, University of Tubingen, GERMANY
Rachel Seoghie, University of Kent, UK
Thiruni Kelegama, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Joeri Scholtens, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Thiyagarah Waradas, University of Bath, UK
Nilanjana Premaratne, University of Umea, Sweden
Sonali Perera, CUNY, US