Govt must fight human trafficking

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