Labor crisis 'a national disaster'

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Medan

The pitiful condition of Indonesian illegal migrant workers stranded in the East Kalimantan town of Nunukan following their enforced exodus from Malaysia should prompt the government to declare a national disaster, an activist said on Saturday.

Najib Abu Yasser, a senior executive of the Humanitarian Volunteers organization in Nunukan, which borders Malaysia, said declaring the expulsion of the workers a national disaster would require the government to speed up delivery of humanitarian assistance.

He said the current difficult conditions had resulted in 75 percent of the 25,000 illegal workers stranded in Nunukan developing various health problems. His organization had already recorded the deaths of 64 people, some of them children, among the returnees.

"The treatment being meted out to the illegal workers in Nunukan is disgraceful. They lack shelter, food, medicine and sea transportation for the trip home.

"If the central government does not immediately take action, I'm afraid more and more people will die," he told The Jakarta Post.

The Humanitarian Volunteers organization is an umbrella group for the Indonesian Migrant Workers' Rights Advocacy Consortium (Kopbumi) and the Voice of Concerned Mothers group (Suara Ibu Peduli), as well as a number of other NGOs.

Many other illegal workers who have left Malaysia are still stranded in Medan, North Sumatra. The exodus has followed the introduction of a new Immigration Act that took effect on Aug. 1, but which was delayed for one month at the request of the Indonesian government.

The act threatens illegal immigrants with caning, fine, and jail terms.

The final deadline falls on Sunday, the same day as President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her 102-strong entourage depart for a 15-day trip overseas.

The government has established a team to help the illegal workers return home and provided billions of rupiah in state funds, food and free sea transportation for the returning workers.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, who heads the team, said on Thursday that 60,000 of the workers had gone back to Malaysia, many of them without proper documents.

Activists have criticized the way the government has handled the plight of the workers, who have contributed billions of dollars to the country.

Najib said the team was ineffective and had left various problems occurring in border areas unresolved.

"Many workers stranded in Nunukan are vulnerable to disease as they are sheltering in markets, warehouses and tents," he said.

The workers eat only a small amount of rice with tiny bits of fish and vegetables twice a day, without any clean water, according to Najib.

"If they do not want to drink foul water, they have to buy a plastic glass of mineral water for Rp 2,000 or buy clean water from locals for Rp 1,000 a liter," he said. A plastic glass of mineral water normally costs Rp 500.

Besides, medical personnel, ambulances and medicine stocks are limited at the community health centers, Najib said.

There are only 10 service posts available to help the illegal workers.

Najib also urged the political parties to take part in the humanitarian mission.

In Medan, some 20 illegal workers who were making a stopover in the North Sumatra capital en route to East Java were abducted and blackmailed by three persons who masqueraded as immigration officials.

One of the workers, Rakimin, told the Post he was kidnapped and forced to surrender Rp 1 million to the unidentified persons.

Fortunately, he managed to escape from them and reported the matter to the police, who later arrested the three suspects.

Meanwhile, immigration officials said some 25,000 illegal workers had reached Tanjung Balai and Belawan ports on their way to their hometowns.

Separately, head of the Association of Indonesian Labor Export Companies in North Sumatra, Vita Lestari, said 2,288 workers had been sent to Malaysia as of Saturday. Others were to follow in the next few days.