Returning migrant worker dies in police hospital
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A female migrant worker who had just returned from Saudi Arabia, died on Sunday at the Sukanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, two days after she was first admitted.
The death of Wiwin Marka, 28, continues to raise questions about the treatment of many Indonesians by their overseas employers, particularly those from the Middle East and Singapore. At least 38 have had to be treated for serious injuries at the hospital in the last two months.
The hospital's management is expected to hold a press conference on Monday.
Wiwin, who is survived by a husband and two children, spent 17 days in a hospital in Saudi Arabia before her employer sent her home.
An activist with the Consortium for Migrant Workers Protection (Kopbumi), Nurmawati, said Wiwin was skin and bones when she was admitted to the hospital.
"Contrast that to her condition before she left the country. She complained of burning lungs. She constantly asked for ice to cool off the pain. She could not eat or drink because she would throw up afterwards."
Nurmawati said Wiwin never spoke of mistreatment from her former employer in Saudi Arabia.
"She only said that her employer's family had often complained about her slow pace of work. However, she said that they never abused her."
A source at the hospital said that three other returning workers from Saudi Arabia, who arrived at the hospital with Wiwin, were being treated for severe burns and digestive problems.
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Minister of Finance Boediono and Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil al-Munawar will sign a decree on Monday on the establishment of an advocacy agency to provide legal assistance for migrant workers.
The first offices of the agency will be in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Three more offices will follow suit, all in Middle Eastern countries.