Warni's tragic story<\/p>\n
The tragic death of Warni in Saudi Arabia could happen to any
\nof the hundreds of thousands of Indonesians working there or in
\nother foreign countries. The 27 year old from Malang, East Java,
\nwas executed three weeks ago for murdering her Arab employer in
\n1998.<\/p>\n
It is not so much the execution that is so disturbing about
\nher story as the fact that she had lingered in jail for about two
\nyears -- first awaiting her trial, and later her execution --
\nwithout anyone in this country, not even the government whose job
\nit is to protect its citizens anywhere in the world, knowing
\nanything about her fate. Her story surfaced this month only after
\nSaudi newspapers reported her execution.<\/p>\n
What was the Indonesian Embassy or consulate in Saudi Arabia
\ndoing all this time? How many other Indonesians are now waiting
\nin Saudi death rows as we speak? Warni's death has exposed the
\ngross inefficiency of many Indonesian missions abroad when it
\ncomes to protecting their own people.<\/p>\n
There is no denying that any person must respect the law of
\nthe country where he or she resides. If Warni had broken Saudi
\nlaw -- and murder is a serious crime -- she had to be punished in
\naccordance with the law of the land. As much as we deplore
\ncapital punishment -- she was reportedly beheaded -- there is
\nlittle that outsiders can do about it. We too expect foreigners
\nliving or working here to respect our laws, for they too are
\nsubject to the law of this country.<\/p>\n
Warni's story, however, is typical of the ineptness of our
\ngovernment in protecting its citizens abroad. Warni was tried and
\nconvicted by a Saudi court without the benefit of assistance from
\nthe Indonesian Embassy.<\/p>\n
Working as a domestic helper, she was too lowly educated to
\nperhaps know her legal rights. Language could also have been a
\nmajor problem for her as is typical for the hundreds of thousands
\nof Indonesians working in the Middle East. One could only surmise
\nthat she did not have the benefit of full legal defense during
\nher trial. We are not even sure whether due process of law,
\nincluding her right to appeal, had been observed in full before
\nshe was finally executed. The only thing we do know is that we
\nwere not there when she needed our help the most.<\/p>\n
Warni's story contrasts with that of Kartini, a 35-year-old
\nwoman from Karawang, West Java, who was saved from execution in
\nUnited Arab Emirates in March following an eleventh hour
\ndiplomacy by our government. Kartini had been convicted of
\nadultery, again after a court trial where she did not have the
\nbenefit of assistance from the local Indonesian Embassy. The
\ndifference with Warni is that her story surfaced before she was
\ndue to be stoned to death.<\/p>\n
After an intensive diplomatic campaign, Kartini was given a
\nnew trial, this time with the benefit of translators and legal
\ncounsel provided by the government. That's when the court heard
\nher story that she was raped by an Indian cook, who was at large.
\nUnlike the mission in Saudi Arabia, the Indonesian Embassy in the
\nUnited Arab Emirates was able to rectify its earlier mistake.<\/p>\n
With the government still promoting the sending of workers
\nabroad, more and more Indonesians are likely to find themselves
\nin the same circumstances that Warni and Kartini were in. It is
\nclear that the benefit of sending workers abroad -- especially in
\nterms of their repatriated earnings and reducing pressure on the
\ndomestic job market -- outweigh the costs and risks that come
\nfrom such a policy. Given this, it is the duty of Indonesian
\nmissions abroad to monitor the presence of Indonesian workers in
\ntheir respective areas, and to come to their rescue whenever they
\nland themselves in trouble with the local authorities.<\/p>\n
There is nothing we can do about Warni's death. But let that
\nbe a valuable lesson for all of us, and most particularly for the
\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs, about our duty to protect our own
\npeople, wherever they choose to live as long as they remain
\nIndonesian citizens.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/warnis-tragic-story-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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