Suffering Abroad, Feeling Sorrow at Home

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

The chairman of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) Indramayu Juwarih (center) visited the Indramayu Resort Police, West Java, Thursday (28/10/2021). Juwarih reported the case of Indonesian migrant worker, Rokaya, who was suspected of being the victim of a criminal act of trafficking in persons.

With the lure of a big salary, in addition to the debt burden of her family, Rokaya (40) has decided to work abroad as a domestic worker. However, instead of being prosperous, the mother of two children is miserable.

There was heavy rain on Thursday (28/10/2021) afternoon, like the gloomy life of Agni Ramadhan (23). Riding a motorbike as far as 36 kilometers, the young woman along with her aunt, Desty Puspa Mentari (29), and chairman of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union in Indramayu, Juwarih, visited the Indramayu Precinct Police Office, West Java. She reported to the police that her mother, Rokaya, was suspected of being a victim of a human trafficking. “My mother is sick in Iraq. She often feels dizzy. Her eyes hurt too. She works from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Agni.

Rokaya's video in which she complained to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo went viral on social media last September. While crying, Rokaya showed her neck. Her eyesight, she said, was also clouded with freckles. "Please, Pak President help me, take me home,” said the resident of Eretan village, Kandanghaur, Indramayu, West Java.

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Before going to Iraq in January 2021, Rokaya had worked in Malaysia for a year through a maid provider, who is also a neighbor. “She has a debt of Rp 2 million to the maid provider. She gave her passport as the guarantee of the debt. Because her passport is still valid, she was asked to work abroad again," said Desty.

Initially, the maid provider asked her to work in Singapore in October 2020. However, the neighboring country still closed the access to Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Rokaya went to Iraq instead. "She was called in the evening asking her to fly tomorrow," said Desty.

However, many things that were promised when she was asked to work in Iraq were untrue. Rokaya was initially asked to only take care of an elderly person in one house, but it turned out that she had to clean two three-story houses. She only received Rp 4 million a month, just half of the promised Rp 8 million. Juwarih said Rokaya was an example of how vulnerable domestic workers (PRT) were abroad. "As there is no law on the domestic workers in Indonesia, work contracts, such as domestic workers' working hours, are not taken into account," she said.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Thousands of prospective Indonesian migrant workers from various regions held an action at the Ministry of Manpower, Jakarta, Monday (18/10/2021). They demanded clarity on the status of placement as prospective Indonesian migrant workers (CPMI) in several countries.

In fact, Indonesian migrant workers (PMIs) are dominated by the informal sector, such as domestic workers. A total of 76,389 people (69 percent) of the 113,173 PMIs worked in the informal sector in 2020. At the same period, the remittances from the PMIs reached $7.1 billion.

The sad story was also experienced by domestic workers in the country. Sri Siti Marni (27) lived in misery for nine years in a luxury house in the Matraman area, East Jakarta. The woman from Leuwiliang, Bogor regency, West Java, was 11 years old when she arrived at the house of Musdalifah, a former dangdut singer popularly called Meta Hasan. For the first eight months, Ani was often asked to travel and she also could send Rp 500,000 per month to her parents. Later, she, along with three other girls of her age were forced to become domestic workers without clear working hours and were often abused too.

Ani was freed from suffering after successfully escaping in 2016 and reporting to the police. The police then arrested Musdalifah.

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The lack of protection for domestic workers has also caused Susmiharti (41), from Rembang, Central Java, to experience humiliation, sexual harassment from employers in Jakarta and a cut of her salary by the domestic workers supplying agent. When she worked for the first time in a family in South Jakarta area, she was often yelled at by her employer and not given food. “In the end, I was fired for unknown reasons. My salary was Rp 1.4 million per month but I only received Rp. 700,000,” she said.

Impact of the pandemic

Susmiharti, who has been a member of the Sapulidi Domestic Workers Union since 2014, said the suffering of domestic workers had increased since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Some domestic workers were fired and not paid. They were often accused of being carriers of the Covid-19 virus.

Employers forbid domestic workers from occasionally visiting their villages for fear of bringing back Covid-19 when they return. The workload of domestic workers also increased but they were not given additional wages. “Domestic workers, wherever they are, are always vulnerable. There are still many domestic workers who get salaries below the minimum wage and without social security, especially BPJS Health Insurance and BPJS Employment," he said.

The experiences of the domestic workers mentioned above were only a few of the many cases of violence against domestic workers. The government should provide adequate protection to Rokaya, Sri Siti Marni, Susmiharti and other domestic workers so that they can work properly and safely and comfortably.

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.