Unsung heroes

Unsung heroes

Now that Istiqomah binti Misnad and Casingkem binti Kaspin have come home and have been reunited with their families, the dramatic saga of their hostage-taking in Iraq is over and closed.

The two women -- Indonesian migrant workers who, like hundreds of thousands of others like them -- who tried their luck abroad in their quest for a better life for themselves and their families, arrived back in Jakarta on Thursday, safe and well.

It must have been some compensation for the troubles they experienced that the president received the two village women at the State Palace upon their return.

Appreciation must also go to the president for the role she played in securing the release of the two migrant workers. As news reports tell it, President Megawati's appeal, which was broadcast by Al-Jazeera television in Qatar, was a decisive factor in convincing the women's captors that they should be released. It certainly speaks for her leadership that -- although the timing was politically belated -- she demonstrated a deep concern for the fate of her fellow countrywomen for all to see.

However, in regards the present -- and the future -- all this is of little importance. Of much greater significance are the tough questions that the Istiqomah-Casingkem drama has inevitably left in its wake. The hostage-taking of the nationals of any country, after all, is serious business and involves not only the victims and their families, but also the governments and various labor export organizations of the concerned countries.

The happy ending to this Indonesian hostage/migrant worker drama has not eased any of the questions it has raised; on the contrary, it has focused public attention on the irregularities that are apparently taking place -- and have been taking place for a long time -- in our labor export organizations and associated government offices.

The most glaring question concerns the utter confusion that arose at the outset of this case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for looking after the well-being of Indonesians abroad, found it difficult not only to establish the identities of the two hostages, but to track down their places of origin and families.

Al-Jazeera had identified the two as Rosidah binti Anom and Rafikan binti Aming, but in reaching their families here, it was found that neither of these women had gone missing. In fact, one of them had already returned from the Middle East.

An investigation eventually established that the two victims had been living and working abroad under false identities and had relocated without alerting the proper Indonesian missions. The labor placement agency that recruited them, it seemed, had for some unexplained reason retained Istiqomah's and Casingkem's passports and substituted them with unused passports bearing the identities of Rosidah and Rafikan.

The question is why, and to what end? Why, indeed, since both Istiqomah and Casingkem possessed valid passports and were in direct contact with the agency? One can only suspect foul play.

Within the scope of their line of work, labor placement agencies should be fully aware that falsifying identities and travel documents are a serious offense, and can lead to long prison terms in most countries.

Overseas migrant workers are a great asset to the country in the booming labor export sector, and it is well known that they not only ease the unemployment burden at home, but are also an important source of foreign exchange earnings for Indonesia. This year alone, the Indonesian migrant workforce -- from the Asia- Pacific to the Middle East and Europe -- has contributed more than US$425 million so far in foreign exchange to state coffers.

Unfortunately, they are no less valuable a source of easy income for unscrupulous and corrupt individuals, both inside and outside the government, who often treat them as commodities.

Meanwhile, the recruitment policies and the protection they are provided, either by the government or by third-party agencies and organizations, are substandard to say the least, falling far short of international labor protection and human rights laws -- whether by design or through negligence.

With a new government slated to be sworn in later this month, hope is rekindling that it will take up the reins to review, amend and enforce recruitment policies and protection under a new labor export legislation.

It is high time the government recognizes all those unsung heroes working so far from home and hearth as the valuable assets -- and ultimately, human beings -- they are by providing them with universal protection and enforcing sanctions on all third parties that commit abuses against them.