Nest of extortionists
Nest of extortionists
From Media Indonesia
The government's efforts to give the best services to Indonesian workers returning home from jobs overseas have not yielded results as yet. This is mainly caused by the absence of any measures taken against frauds and extortionists. Moreover, there is an apparent lack of control.
The gathering of the workers at Terminal III makes it easier for the extortionists, cheaters and hoaxers to act.
1. Friends or relatives are not allowed to see the workers at Terminal III before the workers call them. The workers themselves have no idea whether their friends and relatives are there already. There is no communication between the two sides.
2. Cheating and exercising force can be done freely because there is no control of these practices. At Terminal II there is less freedom to cheat because many people would see the frauds. The rooms at Terminal III are closed so friends or relatives of the workers do not know what is going on inside. If a worker reports to an official about a fraud, the latter just responds lightly, "It is your own fault, why did you want to be cheated, you should be careful!"
3. Indonesian workers coming home from abroad are compelled to use the services of an airport-based travel agency with an exorbitant tariff, although friends or relatives are at the airport to pick them up. If they do not want to use the travel agency's services, they are forced to pay "compensation money".
4. The guards at the gate are extremely nasty when the workers have not met their friends or relatives. As soon as the relatives or friends have arrived, the guards change their tactics. They become soft-spoken and ask for money.
5. The workers are transported by bus from Terminal II to Terminal III. They are forced to pay "gasoline money". Officially there is no cost for the trip.
I am sure there are many more examples of atrocious treatment of workers and their relatives or friends.
It is therefore important to review the existence of Terminal III. Is it necessary to keep it, but with stricter control, or had it better be dissolved for the common good?
JAWAWI YAHDI
Cirebon, West Java