Female worker Soleha not a murderer: Father

Female worker Soleha not a murderer: Father

By Ainur R. Sophiaan

MALANG, East Java (JP): Kadiran, a 70-year-old tenant farmer
in Donomulyo village, said he felt a strong foreboding when one
day, not too long ago, he saw the village chief approach his
house with four other men.

His hunch proved to be founded. Among the men accompanying the
village chief was Djamal Aziz, an executive of the Surabaya-based
PT Andromeda Graha, a labor export company that recruited
Kadiran's daughter Soleha to work as a servant in Saudi Arabia.

"I was told Soleha had been executed by injection by the Saudi
Arabian government because she was found guilty of murdering her
employer," said Kadiran.

The news broke the old man's heart, including that of his wife
Zahra and his other children. The news spread fast and neighbors
started to flock to his humble home in the Donomulyo district,
Malang regency, about 70 kilometers south of Malang.

Born on July 16, 1969, Soleha was known as a shy girl who
never bothered anybody, according to Kadiran.

"She liked to help people, which was why she started working
only after finishing elementary school," Kadiran said, holding
back his tears.

Soleha had been working as a domestic helper in several cities
including Jakarta, Surabaya and Malang, to help her poor family
in the mountainous village of Donomulyo.

Kadiran said that over the past year he had been wondering
about the fate of his daughter. In July 1996, Soleha wrote that
she had been imprisoned for the murder of her employer, but said
she did not do it.

"She wrote how she was suffering in prison and asked us to
help," Kadiran.

Previous reports said that Soleha entered Saudi Arabia legally
in 1993 as a worker recruited by PT Andromeda Graha. In 1994, a
Mecca court found her guilty of murdering her employer with an ax
and she was sentenced to death. She was beheaded in Mecca last
month.

News of her plight and her execution on Sept. 30 only became
available here after AFP carried a report of her death from Saudi
Arabia's interior ministry.

The Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia first responded by
saying that Soleha was not a legal worker because it had no data
about her.

Money

Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdullah Alim recently asserted that
Soleha's trial had been conducted "fairly". He said Soleha had
not been discriminated against for being a foreigner and she had
been given a chance to defend herself.

According to Kadiran, Soleha wrote that the whole incident
started when one of her employer's children was found to have
stolen some money. Soleha reported this to another, older child
of the employer.

Rather than thanking her, the elder brother swore at her and
attacked her with a piece of wood. The female employer became
involved in the brawl and was accidentally hit by the wood. The
blow killed her.

Kadiran said that in her letter, Soleha said she was afraid of
being sentenced to death.

"But my daughter was so sure that she did not kill her
employer. The employer's own child did it," Kadiran said.

"Soleha said she felt so helpless and confused and did not
know what to do to save herself," Kadiran said. "She was really
confused and no one came to help her."

Upon receiving the letter, Kadiran said he sought the help of
the labor supply company, but to no avail. The company told
Kadiran that Soleha had already been executed.

"An employee at the company told me that (Soleha) was no
longer their responsibility," Kadiran said.

Zahra, however, was not convinced that her daughter was
already dead. She said she "knew" Soleha was still alive, until
Thursday Oct. 2, when Djamal Aziz came to their house and told
them she had been executed.

Injection

Kadiran said he was not sure how Soleha had died, by beheading
or injection. "There were varying reports. I was told she died by
injection," he said.

"As a religious man, I believe everything is in the hands of
God. But as a human being, I am also sorry because there was no
help for Soleha," he said.

"I am a small person, I am nothing," said Kadiran who was
unaware that members of a non-governmental organization had been
protesting Soleha's execution.

Zubaedah, a close childhood friend, immediately took leave
from her employment as a servant in Surabaya and returned home
when she heard the news. "I just can't believe it. It's
impossible that she killed someone," said Zubaedah.

Kadiran's family has been holding a series of tahlilan
gatherings to pray for Soleha's soul. "But I keep on seeing her,"
Kadiran said.

"I just wish someone would help to bring her body home so she
can be buried here. But again, only a miracle from Allah can help
us," Kadiran said.