Woman seeks justice from PT Jamsostek<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A female migrant worker is demanding that state-
\nowned workers insurance firm PT Jamsostek pay her Rp 25 million
\n(US$3,333) for the blindness allegedly caused by an abusive Saudi
\nemployer four years ago.<\/p>\n
Iis Sukarni, 42, made the demand at the Jakarta Legal Aid
\nInstitute on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Institute lawyer Surya Tjandra said the resident of
\nPemagarsari village in Parung district, Bogor, was entitled to
\nthe insurance payment for the disability she suffered.<\/p>\n
Through tears, Iis explained that she arrived in Jeddah, Saudi
\nArabia, on Oct. 15, 1993.<\/p>\n
The widow said she was picked up by her employer, identified
\nonly as Abdul Aziz, who took her to a vacant house.<\/p>\n
\"I was kept at the empty house for almost three months. I was
\nfrequently raped and also tortured if I refused him. Since he was
\na big man, I couldn't fight him,\" Iis, accompanied by her son Ade
\nBangun and her father Yahya Sobary, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
One day in January 1994, she resisted when he tried to rape
\nher again.<\/p>\n
An irate Abdul slammed her head against a wall and beat her
\nwith a bottle until she became unconscious.<\/p>\n
\"I regained consciousness at the Tarhel quarantine facility
\nfor deportation. My eyes started to blur at that time.\"<\/p>\n
She said she was deported in April 1994 after an Indonesian
\nEmbassy official gave her a travel document bearing the new name
\nof Aisyah Muhamad.<\/p>\n
\"I tried to refuse the new document but the official forced me
\nto accept it. My passport was held by my employer.\"<\/p>\n
Iis said she was sent to Saudi Arabia by private manpower
\nsupplier firm PT Fahad Fajar Mustika, but the new document stated
\nit was state-owned manpower supplier PT Binawan.<\/p>\n
She recounted she was transported by ambulance upon arrival in
\nJakarta to the office of PT Binawan, which would not assist her
\nbecause she was not one of its workers.<\/p>\n
The ambulance driver drove her to her home in Parung because
\nhe felt sorry for her, she said.<\/p>\n
She said she frequently contacted Fahad and Jamsostek
\nregarding her grievance, and representatives of the two firms
\npromised to process her report.<\/p>\n
From a low-income family, Iis said she had asked the Bogor's
\nsocial services office to cover medical treatment for her eyes.<\/p>\n
\"But I was rejected. A document stating I am poor was even
\ntorn up by the office's security guard.\"<\/p>\n
She has given up on seeking government assistance.<\/p>\n
\"I have been completely blind since 1996.\"<\/p>\n
The advent of the reform era raised her hopes of settlement.
\nShe brought her complaint before the National Commission on Human
\nRights in October.<\/p>\n
The commission sent letters to related parties, including
\nFahad.<\/p>\n
The firm countered that Iis' complaint could not be processed
\nbecause four years had passed since the incident.<\/p>\n
Fahad's president Makmun Hamid said on Wednesday the company
\nhad no record of Iis and she had left it too long to air her
\ngrievance.<\/p>\n
\"She said the incident happened four years ago. So the
\ninsurance claim cannot be paid,\" Makmun told the Post. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/woman-seeks-justice-from-pt-jamsostek-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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