Welcome home, now how about giving us your cash?<\/p>\n
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang<\/p>\n
A new terminal was opened in September 1999 at Soekarno-Hatta
\nInternational Airport to provide greater ease and comfort for
\nhomecoming migrant workers. But, the exact opposite has happened.
\nThe extortion of migrant workers has become more
\nprevalent as the practice is now beyond public watch.<\/p>\n
High-ranking officials such as the Minister of Manpower and
\nTransmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea have repeatedly pledged to fight
\nextortion at Terminal III, the special terminal for migrant
\nworkers. Things, however, remain the same.<\/p>\n
Komala, 20, arrived at the terminal last week from Kuala
\nLumpur, Malaysia, where she had worked for three years.<\/p>\n
She said she had to pay a certain sum of money at different
\nunits at the airport.<\/p>\n
\"When we collected our baggage, we had to pay illegal fees of
\nRp 15,000,\" the woman, who was from Purwakarta, West Java told
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
She said another officer asked for Rp 20,000 for data
\nregistration.<\/p>\n
Before leaving the airport, all workers had to pass two
\nchecking points where uniformed officers boldly asked them for
\nmoney, according to Komala.<\/p>\n
The terminal is also in poor condition. It looks like a
\nwarehouse and there are no facilities such as a comfortable
\nwaiting room. People who come to pick up their relatives or
\nfamily members returning from overseas have to wait at the
\nparking lot or in a nearby field. Those who know about the
\ncondition of the terminal often take a mat so that they are able
\nto lie on the floor while waiting for the homecoming workers.<\/p>\n
But many migrant workers have to travel home by themselves,
\nwhich should not have been a problem as there are 11 companies
\nentrusted by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration to take
\nthem home.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the drivers and their assistants often cheat
\npassengers. They collect the passports of workers and extort
\nthem. They also make them exchange their foreign bank notes for
\nrupiah at a much lower exchange rate.<\/p>\n
Last month, police arrested several people for allegedly
\nextorting money and holding passports belonging to migrant
\nworkers, whom they transported to Central and East Java.<\/p>\n
One of the suspects claimed they had to ask for additional
\nmoney from the workers as their companies did not pay them
\nproperly. \"We're given a trip allowance of only Rp 250,000
\n(US$29.40) to transport the workers to areas in West Java, Rp
\n350,000 to Central Java and Rp 450,000 to East Java,\" said Yayat,
\n29, who worked for PT Koperjati.<\/p>\n
Airport police chief Insp. Sri Suari Wahyudi said Sinah, a
\nworker, said her passport had been held by the drivers because
\nshe objected to handing over her cheque book and exchanging her
\ndollars at much lower than the market rate. Sinah also refused to
\ngive additional money to the drivers as each worker had paid Rp
\n250,000 for their ticket home.<\/p>\n
The police then arrested four suspects. \"But we have no strong
\nlegal grounds to arrest the transportation operators for alleged
\nextortion and forced foreign currency exchange,\" Sri told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
M. Zaini, operations director of a transportation company
\noperating at the airport, admitted the drivers were paid by means
\nof the commission they earn on every trip they make to transport
\nthe workers.<\/p>\n
He did not say what percentage the commission was, but he said
\nthe trip allowances were between Rp 900,000 and Rp 1,100,000 for
\ndestinations in East Java, between Rp 700,000 and Rp 800,000 for
\ndestinations in Central Java and between Rp 300,000 and Rp
\n500,000 for destinations in West Java.<\/p>",
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