Over 250 illegal workers arrive from Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The first batch of returning Indonesian workers
\nbeing evacuated in a major airlift operation arrived here
\nyesterday with 258 aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight.<\/p>\n
Upon their arrival at Soekarno-Hatta Airport they were greeted
\nby Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief who draped flowers around
\nthe necks of three returning workers.<\/p>\n
"Welcome home," said a smiling Latief as they disembarked the
\nBoeing 707 plane.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces spokesman A. Wahab Mokodongan said this was the
\nfirst large batch arriving home. Others have already returned but
\nonly in very small numbers.<\/p>\n
The government has committed itself to returning 10,000
\n"problematic" workers in Saudi Arabia. Most of their work permits
\nhave either expired or they have been working in the oil-rich
\nKingdom illegally.<\/p>\n
In July, the Saudi government launched a campaign to flush out
\nforeigners working illegally. They threatened to jail illegal
\nworkers for six-months and fine them US$26,000 if they failed to
\nget a permit or leave the country by Oct. 16.<\/p>\n
Thousands of illegal Asian and African workers rushed to leave
\nSaudi Arabia but many remained stuck in deportation centers.<\/p>\n
There are at least 10,000 Indonesians waiting to leave Saudi
\nArabia -- 7,000 are sheltering at the Indonesian Consulate
\nGeneral in Jeddah, 2,900 at the Haj Center in Jeddah and at least
\n100 in Riyadh.<\/p>\n
The government has promised to bring them home at the
\ngovernment's expense.<\/p>\n
But Latief yesterday revealed that the immediate funds for the
\nmass repatriation would be taken from PT Jamsostek.<\/p>\n
The state-owned company collects funds from workers' salaries
\nto manage a social security program in the fields of savings,
\noccupational health, health care and pension funds.<\/p>\n
"That was an order from the President," he said adding that PT
\nJamsostek has made huge profits and its funds were the most
\nreadily available.<\/p>\n
Latief would not say how much the repatriation would cost but
\nit is estimated to be about $300 for each person.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces also sent the first of six Armed Forces'
\naircraft yesterday to help the repatriation.<\/p>\n
The Boeing 707 flew out of Halim Perdanakusuma military air
\nbase for Jeddah where it will pick up 165 workers. It is due to
\nreturn tomorrow.<\/p>\n
The other five military aircraft, all Hercules C-130s, are due
\nto leave in the next few days.<\/p>\n
Garuda has added six extra flights to its usual schedule of
\nthree flights per week to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
"I expect at least 700 to 1,000 workers can be flown back to
\nIndonesia per day," Latief said.<\/p>\n
The government plans to complete the repatriation mission by
\nNov. 8.<\/p>\n
The airlift operation comes amid public concern of Indonesian
\nworkers in Saudi Arabia following the execution of maid Soleha
\nAnam Kadiran last month after she was convicted of murder.<\/p>\n
Another maid, Nasiroh Karmudin, is awaiting the verdict of a
\nmurder charge and could face the same fate.<\/p>\n
The government has been criticized for its slow reaction in
\ncoming to the aid of both workers.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Alatas, said
\nyesterday that the government was often not promptly informed
\nabout such issues.<\/p>\n
"This is a problem we sometimes face, not only in Saudi Arabia
\nbut also in other countries, that the news comes too late," he
\ntold reporters yesterday.<\/p>\n
Separately, the women's rights group Solidaritas Perempuan
\n(Women's Solidarity), held a demonstration outside the Saudi
\nArabian Embassy here to express their concern over the impending
\nfate of 24-year-old Nasiroh.<\/p>\n
Tati Krisnawaty, who led some 20 activists, urged the
\ngovernment to seek all possible avenues for her release.<\/p>\n
Nasiroh is currently in jail in Gassim, Saudi Arabia. She
\nallegedly shot her employer after claiming she had been sexually
\nassaulted.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators presented an open letter to Saudi Arabia's
\nKing Fahd, urging him to "help find a fair resolution for
\nNasiroh".<\/p>\n
Minister Latief earlier yesterday denied reports in Pos Kota
\ndaily that Nasiroh will be executed today after Friday prayers in
\nGassim. "That was a mere rumor, we have not been informed," he
\nsaid. (10\/prb\/amd\/aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/over-250-illegal-workers-arrive-from-saudi-arabia-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}