Trouble at Cengkareng airport

Trouble at Cengkareng airport

From Pikiran Rakyat

On March 6, 1995 my daughter arrived at Soekarno-Hatta airport
from the USA. As soon as she left the plane, her passport was
examined and she was taken to the immigration office. The
immigration official blamed her because her passport did not bear
the stamp of the U.S. immigration. My daughter explained that she
had gone to the U.S. immigration and was told that no stamp was
needed because her passport is valid until August 1996.

Then the immigration official asked for US$ 100.00 from my
daughter. My daughter gave the official $ 50.00 and Rp 20,000.
The official was angry at this and asked her, "How long have you
stayed in the U.S.?" My daughter replied, "Five years,
approximately." The official asked again, "Can't you earn enough
money, and why do you give me less than the amount I asked for?"
My daughter said, "I have earned the money for my family, not for
you."

At that moment my daughter asked that she be allowed to meet
me as I was ready to fetch her. She was allowed to come and meet
me but her hand bag had to be left with the official. After a
short while she returned to the immigration office and remained
there for about one hour. Finally she was allowed to leave. At
home she was surprised to find that her $ 100.00 and some
souvenirs were stolen.

On March 26, 1995 my daughter, who is married to an American,
went to Soekarno-Hatta airport again, to return to America. For
the second time she encountered trouble. The immigration official
asked for money. She said she had only $ 85.00 with her and Rp
250,000 for the fiscal tax. The official did not believe her and
started searching her bag and took the all the money, leaving
only $ 1.00.

As she could not find me she started crying. But God is
merciful and gave justice to her. An unidentified elderly man
helped her to pay the fiscal tax so she could go to the U.S. to
join her husband and their three beloved children.

I deplore the incident my daughter had to face at Cengkareng
airport. And I would like to thank the man who helped my daughter
in such a difficult situation.

MRS. SRI SUMARTINI

Bandung, West Java