Indonesian engineers in Germany living it up

Indonesian engineers in Germany living it up

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany (JP): Indonesian engineers living in
Germany receive good income which allows them to enjoy a decent
lifestyle.

Priyatna Surawijaya, a post-doctorate student who works in a
research institute and teaches at a university, earns around DM
3,500 a month. "It's more than enough," he said. This is
reasonable as he lives by himself and as a student, he gets a
variety of discounts beginning from transportation to movie
tickets. In Germany one goes to school without paying any fees.
The total expenses for a student dormitory plus meals is only DM
1,000.

Priyatna, who has lived in Germany for more than 12 years, has
sufficient income. Not because he worked harder, but because his
wife and four children were here.

Wages and payments in Germany are given in accordance with the
employee's marital status. If one is married, he gets what is
called spouse allowance. This allowance is increased if he has a
child, and he will get more if he has additional children. On the
question of children, it turns out that they are paid not only by
the company he works for, but also by the government. Child
welfare allowance of DM 250 is received every year until the
children are 18 years old. This wage and payment system is valid
for everyone, including foreigners.

Priyatna's monthly income was DM 6.500 when his wife and four
children still lived there. This allowed him to send money to his
mother, who was a retired school teacher, and he could also
afford to buy himself a car and a plot of land in Depok. He could
also afford to invite on occasion his parents and parents in law
to Germany.

Sunarkito is one of five Indonesian experts from Indonesian
Aerospace (which used to be called IPTN) working at Dornier
airplane manufacturer.

"My expertise as a senior engineer is highly appreciated," he
said without revealing his income.

According to a source, an engineer in that position would at
least earn between DM 6,000 to DM 8,000.

"Given time I don't think it is difficult for anyone to adapt
to a new lifestyle and it is not that important to master the
local language," said Sunarkito, who claimed unable to speak
German.

In fact, the standard of living of the Indonesian engineers
who work abroad in professional jobs is quite high. Yes, they are
prosperous. Like what Sunarkito's colleague, Vembra Trigerya
Vidjaja alias Gerry, said: "I am grateful because our living is
much better than that when we worked in Indonesia."

Living abroad, though, has its ups and downs. Expressing one's
opinion, for instance, can be a serious matter. Indonesians are
known to be passive. They are reluctant to speak in public.
Perhaps its because they have been "muted" for 32 years under
Soeharto's regime.

Priyatna also felt that there is a degree of discrimination
against foreign students, although it is not that strong. For
example, supposedly he wrote a paper for the international
journal, his supervisor would check it more carefully than if it
was written by a German student. "So, as a foreigner, I had to
work extra accurately, which psychologically is tiring, too."

Relationships in the office are limited to business only.
Nothing more. So do not expect to know your colleagues' families
the way many of us do when in Indonesia. The gap between
supervisors and subordinates is so wide that Priyatna's advisor
was once very suspicious when Priyatna gave him a present after
he passed the degree examination. In actual fact the present was
a token of his gratitude for helping him to achieve the title of
Dipl-Ing (Engineer). "Just for your information, the prize was
only a glass," said Priyatna laughingly.

There has been an increasing demand for technical engineers in
Germany over the past few years. The President of the Federal
Labor Office, Bernhard Jagoda, said that Germany requires as
many as 1.5 million skilled workers.

Germany, which has so far firmly proclaimed itself as "not an
immigrant country", is seemingly unable to support this claim.
Chancellor Gerard Schroeder was the first to launch the concept
in the "Cebit 2000" computer exhibition held in Hannover last
February. As German has an ambition to be a pioneer in high-tech
modernization in Europe, it should strengthen its human
resources. If there are not enough experts available in Germany,
then why not open an opportunity for foreign experts, Schroeder
suggested. The response was as expected. Industrialists urged the
government to implement this statement and make good their
promises.

As a result, this year Germany put a Green Card employment
system into effect. As of today Germany has provided 20,000 Green
Cards for qualified workers to enter the workforce.

Going home

One question is, do those Indonesian intellectuals still
intend to go home after years of enjoying the comfort of living
overseas?

"Of course," Priyatna said. As soon as he has achieved his
Doctor of Philosophy degree, which is about three more years, he
will return to Indonesia. His plan when he returns to Indonesia
is to set up a kind of technical consulting bureau. "I wish to
make use of Indonesia-Germany ties," he said.

That is his plan. Priyatna is not sure whether IPTN will
approve the plan as all scholarship receivers must sign a
contract to work with the government.

Haider, for instance, has a contract of 13 years, while Gerry
12 years. Gerry said that if he wants to terminate his employment
with IPTN, he must pay compensation amounting to DM 50,000.

Gerry remains optimistic that Indonesia will come out of its
long economic demise. Therefore, he said, there is no problem if
IPTN request him to return to Indonesia, although he would only
receive a small salary.

"I will have to be patient. But being too patient will make me
annoyed, too," said he laughingly. Yet, he is sure he would be
able to contribute more to IPTN because of his experience in
Germany.

However, Gerry and the other Indonesian expats share the same
idea: they would not return home if Indonesia has not recovered
from its economic and political turmoil.

Everyone must be entitled to plan their own future. If at the
moment Indonesia cannot guarantee a safe and comfortable life for
its people, why do they not try to do so in another place?

Head of the information section of the Indonesian Embassy in
Berlin, Herawati Nuwargamiharja, commented: "we must be
objective, because, if the question is the other way round, will
the state be able to offer them appropriate jobs? Clearly, it
will be impossible."

There are at present 5,000 Indonesian families living in
Germany, and more than 70 percents of them are university
graduates. So, while the opportunity continues, keep studying
abroad and take advantage of what is available there. It is an
investment in your future. (Sri Pudyastuti Baumeister)