Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers: Conditions of Indonesian migrant workers in the Middle East remain safe
Everything is still under control
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI) Mukhtarudin said that the condition of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in the Middle East region remains safe and under control, following the escalation of the conflict arising from the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran.
“Everything is still under control,” Mukhtarudin said after a signing ceremony for a cooperation document with work partners at the Ministry of P2MI, Jakarta, on Thursday.
Regarding the condition of PMI in the region, Mukhtarudin stated that to date there has been no call from governments in Middle Eastern countries or from the Indonesian embassies (KBRI) in those countries to evacuate.
Mukhtarudin added that there have been no reports of potentially significant impacts on workers due to the tensions in the region.
“There is also no report from our migrant workers who might be affected and possibly need to be evacuated and so on. There are several migrant workers in Kuwait; it is not physical impact but psychological due to trauma,” he said.
Furthermore, Mukhtarudin explained that currently KP2MI has established a crisis centre and set up a hotline for migrant workers to report.
“If there is anything, we will report it to us immediately,” he added.
KBRI is also proactively disseminating information, both across all media channels and other information sources, relating to developments in the Middle East.
“In principle, the state, us, the government, together with our representatives, KBRI and KJRI, will all out monitor and follow day-to-day, second-by-second escalations of the conflict that is happening in the Middle East,” Mukhtarudin said.
With placement companies, the Ministry of P2MI also encourages cooperation to monitor workers placed in formal sectors.
Regarding the number of PMI, especially in Iran, Mukhtarudin said the number is not large, around 100 people, and they mostly work as domestic workers with placements conducted independently.
“That is not our placement. It is independent placement because Iran is not one of the destination countries for placement,” he said.
On Saturday (28/2), the United States (US) and Israel launched a series of attacks against several targets in Iran, including Tehran, with reports of damage and civilian casualties. Iran’s state television confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei died in the attack.
Iran then launched retaliatory missile strikes at Israel and several US military facilities in the Middle East, including in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.