Domestics helpers face danger at home and abroad

Domestics helpers face danger at home and abroad

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of women leave the country everyday to
try their luck abroad as domestic helpers. The difficulties in
finding jobs here and the large salaries offered by employment
agencies has motivated them to travel as far as Singapore, Hong
Kong, Taiwan and Middle Eastern countries.

In Indonesia, a domestic helper earns between Rp 50,000
(US$6.25) and Rp 200,000 per month, depending on their experience
and the mercy of their employers. But if they work abroad, they
can make about Rp 3 million per month, which is more than some
young professional's salaries here.

Data from the Ministry of Manpower shows that last year more
than 380,000 Indonesians left the country to work overseas,
earning some $1.25 billion. About 60 percent of them became
domestic workers.

As they generate quite a lot of money, the government has
given them the title "heroes of foreign exchange". To show its
appreciation, the government provided them with Terminal Three at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. This special terminal,
inaugurated by President B.J. Habibie on Aug. 31, is operated to
protect returning workers from extortion and swindling at the
airport, which has been happening for years.

It was at this terminal where Romlah, 30, arrived last month.
She brought with her some jewelry and Rp 10 million in cash,
which she earned during her three years in Saudi Arabia. Being
cautious, she kept the cash in her underwear.

However, "at the airport, several men in brown uniforms herded
me in a room and confiscated all my documents," she said. Worse,
she, along with some other workers, were told to get into a
Kijang van. After about an hours drive, the vehicle stopped and
the women were taken into a house, where Romlah saw between 15
and 20 other women. They were all stripped off and were forced to
hand over their money and jewelry. Romlah was finally taken to
the town of Karawang, West Java, from where she later went home
to her village by a motorbike taxi.

Her tragic story was told by Salma Safitri, an activist at the
Division of Migrant Workers' Advocation at the Women's Solidarity
for Human Rights.

"We can't follow up the matter legally because we have no
evidence. We could do so if we could find the other 15 or 20
women who went through the same experience, but how can we locate
them?" Safitri said.

She also complained about the authorities which blame each
other and refuse to be responsible in the matter.

Spokesman for the Directorate General of Immigration
Mursanuddin A. Ghani denied any involvement of immigration
officials in the abuse of migrant workers. "I've never heard such
reports," he said.

Minister of Manpower Fahmi Idris is aware of the continuing
exploitation of the returning migrant workers at the airport. He
said last month that the ministry was trying to seek a solution
to the problems in cooperation with the police and other
government institutions.

"But of course we can't solve the problems quickly, we need
time," he said. He also alleged that some employees of the
airport authority might be involved in the offenses.

In an effort to improve conditions for migrant workers,
earlier this month Director General of Labor Placement Din
Syamsuddin issued a letter to the Association of Labor Placement
Agencies, reminding them that they should not confiscate the
workers' passports.

The manpower ministry estimated that about 10 percent of the
migrant workers were unfortunate.

Hair-raising stories about the abuse of house maids, ranging
from unpaid salaries and long working hours to beatings, rapes
and suicides, do not deter the women.

In the Sixth Five-Year Development Program, from April 1, 1994
to March 31, 1999, the number of migrant workers was 1.46 million
with earnings of $4.18 billion, which means that each fiscal year
saw an average of less than 300,000 overseas workers.

From the period of April 1 to July 31 this year, the number of
migrant workers was at 207,079 with generated foreign exchange
revenues of $395.9 million.

At present an average of 1,600 workers leave the country every
day from 15 embarkation terminals. Most of them leave from
Jakarta.

But there is also an increase in the cases of abuse, which can
sometimes end in the worker's death. This year, about 70 workers
died in Saudi Arabia.

The abuse of migrant workers is an old story. It has been
happening since the labor export program started in 1983, not
only in the Middle East, but also in other places. Last month two
Indonesian maids in Singapore fell to their deaths from highrise
buildings while cleaning apartment windows.

The government has repeatedly voiced its concern over the fate
of Indonesian migrant workers, who are mostly poorly educated.
The manpower ministry, for example, has been calling on labor
placement agencies to do their job well and to take
administrative sanctions against some delinquent agencies. But
things do not seem to be improving.

On the assault by employers, Din Syamsuddin once said that it
could happen because the workers are not capable of doing their
jobs. Employers could become disappointed and upset, which could
lead to violence against the workers.

Returning migrant workers are often extorted from and cheated
by people who offer services to take them home. Why would they
accept such offers? They know they should never trust strangers.

A domestic helper told Minister Fahmi, in a dialog with
migrant workers recently, that a police officer at the Semarang
airport took her check of Rp 45 million, which she earned after
working for seven years in Riyadh.

The minister, urging the audience to learn from her
experience, told them to use banking services. He pledged to
provide better legal protection for the workers. He has kept his
promise with the opening of the new terminal. However, it has not
been operating as expected.

"In fact, there are more opportunities to abuse the workers in
the new terminal, which is exclusively designed for migrant
workers, because there is no control from the public," Safitri
said.

Instead of receiving better treatment at the new terminal, the
workers, suffer more because the terminal is far from
comfortable. It lacks facilities such as an information center, a
proper waiting room, an adequate number of toilets and a
reasonable amount of public phones.

"If the government is serious, then there are two things to
do: empower the workers and take strict action against the
abusers.

"Otherwise, the exploitation will continue," said Safitri.
(sim)