Batam leads antihuman-trafficking campaign
Batam leads antihuman-trafficking campaign
Fadli and
Ridwan Max Sijabat
Batam/Jakarta
The government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched
on Tuesday an all-out campaign to put an end to the widespread
commercial sexual exploitation of children and women on Batam
island.
The campaign was kicked off during the opening ceremony of a
national conference in Batam to identify commitments and ramp up
efforts by key government officials and activists to fight
against the problem both on the island and the rest of Indonesia.
The two-day conference was organized by the government with
the support of the International Organization of Migration (IOM)
as a follow up on the fight against transnational crimes, which
was recommended at the sixth East Asia and Pacific Ministerial
Meeting in Bali last May.
According to UNICEF, human trafficking is rampant in
Indonesia, largely due to the tens of millions of people mired in
poverty.
Batam borders Singapore and has become a destination for
tourists and gamblers from that country, as well as Malaysians
and Thais, who come for weekend trips. It has also become a major
transit point for women being smuggled to the neighboring
countries and the Middle East.
An official from the women's empowerment ministry, Karlini
Kasri, who opened the conference, expressed confidence that Batam
could be at the forefront of the nationwide campaign.
"I'm confident that Batam will take the lead and will make
significant progress to put a stop to the intolerable practice of
trafficking children for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation," she said.
Local NGOs concurred, saying that Batam was now a full-blown
destination/transit point that involved well-organized networks
who "trade" some 300 women and children every week, some
overseas, but many more within Batam itself. According to their
modus operandi, the victims, mostly from Sumatra, Java and West
Nusa Tenggara, were officially given titles such as masseuses and
servants in star-rated hotels, entertainment centers, nightclubs
and gambling centers on the island.
Many workers have stayed and worked permanently because they
have found it easier to earn money than in the rest of Indonesia,
but many others, with the help of international gangs, moved to
Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Middle East to earn higher salaries.
Maya Manurung, an activist in Medan, North Sumatra, said over
the weekend human trafficking had reached an alarming level since
an average of around 22,000 women and children were now being
trafficked annually for commercial sexual exploitation both at
home and overseas.
During the ceremony, Batam Mayor Nyat Kadir expected the local
police to check and recheck all people migrating to Batam and
those who were going overseas through the island, the Court to
give harsher punishment against human traffickers and NGOs to be
disseminate information on the crimes.
Nurlini said that after Batam, Bali would follow suit because
the trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual
exploitation to the island was no less serious than Batam.