Nunukan remains 'humanitarian emergency'

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In contrast to the ebbing media reports and the government claims of an improving situation of workers camped in Nunukan island, East Kalimantan, a group of non-governmental organizations revealed on Tuesday that the situation remained poor.

The Network of Volunteers for Humanity (JRUK), which has provided humanitarian aid and medical services for the migrant workers since July, said that the recent condition in Nunukan was still categorized as "a state of humanitarian emergency".

They even planned to sue the government for its neglect of the workers' condition.

In a media conference, volunteer Sri Palupi said the belated aid was still inadequate, and to make matters worse, it was unevenly distributed to the thousands of refugees.

"The shelters and the facilities for the migrant workers are inadequate, while the medical service is far below the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO) and cannot cover those who are sheltered in remote areas," she said.

The number of undocumented migrant workers in Nunukan reached its peak in early August, when Malaysia imposed its tough immigration law. During that time, around 22,000 people were squeezed onto the small island which was already packed with 38,000 residents.

Many of those workers and their families, shipped from the Malaysian state of Sabah, are suffering from respiratory problems and diarrhea. Many others are suffering from malaria, typhoid fever and stress, which in several cases caused temporary paralysis.

These ailments, coupled with the slow handling by the government, have caused the death of 72 people since May.

Wahyu Susilo from the Consortium for the Defense of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Kopbumi) added that the Network would send on Thursday two ambulances and medicine to serve as mobile health posts to supplement the work of the only health center there.

"The mobile health posts are what the migrant workers need the most because many of them are not aware that they can get free health treatment. Even if they are, they have to pay for the transportation to get to the health centers.

"And we will stay in Nunukan until we see improvement in the handling of the migrant workers," he said.

The Network comprises 14 non-governmental organizations, including Kopbumi, Women's Solidarity, Suara Ibu Peduli (The Voice of Concerned Mothers), the Jakarta Social Institute (ISJ) and the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI).

The Network was also preparing a citizen's lawsuit against President Megawati Soekarnoputri for the government's seeming indifference to the migrant workers' plight.

The case will be presented by six lawyers, including one of the country's best, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana.

Choirul Anam of YLBHI invited every citizen to join the move to ensure a thorough monitoring into the legal process.

The Network also suggested the government protect the migrant workers' rights, both at home and abroad.

Also on Tuesday, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) criticized the government's lack of coordination in dealing with the workers.

"The government should improve the coordination among officials. We should have been able to anticipate the problems because the Malaysian government had informed us (of the new law) at least four months in advance," PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary general Pramono Anung said after the party's weekly meeting.

He further said that the party would consider some sort of political pressure on the government to insure that more attention was given to the problems.

PDI Perjuangan's criticism is more like a form of self criticism because the President and Minister of Manpower Jacob Nuwa Wea are both party leaders.

During her overseas trip last week, Megawati blasted the domestic press for its coverage of the workers in Nunukan, saying that journalists had blown the situation out of proportion.

The party's deputy chairman Roy B.B. Janis said that a lack of coordination was seen in the distribution of aid and in the procedures for the workers to obtain proper documents.

He added that there were too many ministers trying to deal with the issue in different ways, which only made things worse.