Govt must fight human trafficking

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta

Casingkem binti Aspin and Istiqomah binti Misnad are two of many Indonesian migrant workers who have been victims of human trafficking that involved corrupt government officials, local and international syndicates.

Apart from the political motives behind their recent abduction in Iraq, the main question is why and how they entered Iraq when the government has prohibited Indonesian workers from going to the war-ravaged country.

Upon their recent arrival home following their release by their captors, the two women admitted to using fake documents to leave for Amman, Jordan. They said they were not aware that they were to be sent to Iraq.

They said they were "sponsored" by a local syndicate which used the names and documents of two local labor recruitment companies to send them to its international counterpart in Amman.

Casingkem used a fake identity card from Sukabumi, West Java, to apply for a passport from the immigration office in South Jakarta, while Istiqomah used a passport issued under the name of Rosidah binti Amoh, a resident of Malang in East Java.

The two passports were not issued by the specially-authorized unit of the immigration office in Cipinang, East Jakarta that processes applications for workers hired by labor recruitment companies and the applications cited PT Sabrina and PT Akbar Insan Mandiri as their sponsors.

PT Sabrina, which the two workers said was based in Condet in East Jakarta, was not registered with the manpower and transmigration ministry. But PT Akbar strongly denied being the sponsor of the workers.

In a later development that clearly demonstrated the ministry's incompetence, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea carried out an investigation into the case by interrogating the owners of PT Sabrina Paramitha and of PT Akbar, immigration and labor officials in the presence of the two women workers.

To be fair and professional, the minister who had arbitrarily revoked the two companies' licenses, should entrust the case to the police to carry out a thorough investigation and to reveal the syndicate behind the smuggling of the two women overseas.

Besides, the government also seemed quite slow in responding to the increasing incidents of human trafficking which the minister said were very difficult to detect.

Labor activists and exporters have estimated that of the two million Indonesians working overseas, 50 percent, or one million, are illegal. They said that 90 percent of Indonesians working illegally overseas faced violence and sexually harassment.

According to data of the manpower ministry and the observation of local non-governmental organizations, most Indonesian migrant workers overseas who were treated inhumanely were illegal.

In fact, many Indonesian women and girls have been trafficked to Malaysia and the Middle East to be employed as sex workers.

So far, the government has yet to show political will to prevent workers from working illegally overseas as well as to crack down on syndicates smuggling the illegal workers. This was evidenced by the recent summoning of relevant government officers in line with the two women's illegal departure to Jordan and Iraq.

Many workers prefer to travel overseas illegally because of the complicated procedures and the expense of meeting all formal requirements. They choose to depart using fake documents to avoid the excessive costs and arduous procedures, without realizing that being illegal migrant workers makes them highly vulnerable to blackmail and other forms of exploitation by their employers or others.

It is no wonder, the number of Indonesians working illegally in Malaysia has reached an estimated 700,000. They are paid way below the standard rate for migrant laborers, forced to work around 10 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of their wages are withheld by their employers.

The illegal departure of Indonesian workers overseas could be halted, or at least minimized, only if the government declares war against human trafficking and takes strict actions against corrupt labor and immigration officials.

First of all, the government should deal firmly with corrupt officials at the directorate general for immigration and manpower ministry who allow workers to seek job overseas without necessary documents.

The government should also intensify cooperation with the immigration officials of countries that receive Indonesian workers, especially those at the main ports of entry, to detect Indonesian workers using fake documents and their sponsors.

The government should immediately enforce the newly endorsed law on migrant worker protection to help minimize the trafficking of women and children.

The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post. He can be reached at ridwan@thejakartapost.com