The Nunukan tragedy<\/p>\n
It seems that the old and dated adage of \"no news is good
\nnews\" still has some considerable life in it. This is certainly
\ntrue for what is currently happening at Nunukan, some 1,700
\nkilometers northeast of Jakarta, in East Kalimantan, off Tawau.
\nThat tiny island -- a mere dot on the map -- has been in the news
\nquite a bit lately since the arrival there of some 22,000 illegal
\nIndonesian workers expelled from Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Even under \"normal\" circumstances, the island's only health
\ncenter with its staff of 10 -- only three of whom are on full-
\ntime duty while the rest are involved in other duties -- is
\nbarely equipped to meet the needs of Nunukan's 40,000
\ninhabitants, let alone those of an additional 22,000 deported
\nmigrant workers from East Malaysia who are stranded there at
\npresent.<\/p>\n
To further strain the island's public facilities, hundreds of
\nhopeful workers continue to arrive at Nunukan each day, either
\nfrom Surabaya in East Java or from Makassar in South Sulawesi, on
\ntheir way to East Malaysia looking for jobs, with or without the
\nproper documents. Hundreds of others arrive from Malaysia on
\ntheir way back to their home villages in Java or the eastern
\nIndonesian islands.<\/p>\n
Little wonder food and water shortages and lack of medicine
\nare the order of the day and diseases are rampant. Like so many
\nother remote places in Indonesia, Nunukan appears to have
\nreceived scant attention from the authorities, both in Jakarta
\nand in East Kalimantan, even in the best of times.<\/p>\n
Mow, however, with at least 64 workers and their children
\nreported to have died on the island in the past few days of
\nhunger and disease, it is more than a little disheartening to see
\nthat the authorities, especially in Jakarta, appear to be still
\nunable to garner the attention and the empathy needed to properly
\naddress the plight of the hundreds of thousands of Indonesian
\nworkers deported from Malaysia, not to mention the local
\npopulation whose life is also under strain because of the arrival
\nof tens of thousands of newcomers.<\/p>\n
True, in the past several weeks since the exodus of illegal
\nIndonesian workers from Malaysia began, a number of measures have
\nbeen taken to make their plight generally a little easier to
\nbear. Naval ships have been dispatched to Malaysian ports of
\ndeparture to help with the repatriation. Camps, meant to serve as
\ntransit points, have been set up and assistance in the form of
\nmedical supplies and other necessities have been provided in as
\nfar as they can be made available under current crisis
\ncircumstances.<\/p>\n
Most of these measures, however, have been of benefit to those
\ndeported workers disembarking at points along the eastern coast
\nof Sumatra. But if an illustration is to be drawn of the
\nsuffering which the expulsion of Indonesian workers from Malaysia
\nhas brought to a section of the Indonesian population, it is
\nprobably here in Nunukan that the most vivid manifestation can be
\nfound.<\/p>\n
Nunukan has long been the base from which Indonesian workers
\nfound their way into East Malaysia, where most of them were
\nemployed on the agricultural estates that are the foundation of
\nthe region's economy. Most of these workers lack the modern
\nskills and education that are required for employment in the
\nconstruction or service sectors. Nevertheless, these workers were
\nimportant foreign exchange earners for the eastern parts of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Given the human tragedy that is currently taking place at
\nNunukan, the government is well advised to make every effort to
\nlighten -- and to be seen to lighten -- the suffering of the
\nworkers stranded at Nunukan. Already, President Megawati's
\npresent foreign tour is seen by many as being insensitive to the
\nplight of these workers. Vice President Hamzah Haz has promised
\nto visit Nunukan, but only after having heard the report of the
\ngovernment team that is currently taking stock of the situation
\non the island. Neither is Minister of Manpower Jacob Nuwa Wea
\nbeing seen as doing much to alleviate the situation.<\/p>\n
At this point in the drama, we can only suggest that, with
\nPresident Megawati being abroad, Vice President Hamzah Haz waste
\nno time going to Nunukan to send to the people the clear signal
\nthat the government cares.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-nunukan-tragedy-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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