Warni's tragic story

Warni's tragic story

The tragic death of Warni in Saudi Arabia could happen to any
of the hundreds of thousands of Indonesians working there or in
other foreign countries. The 27 year old from Malang, East Java,
was executed three weeks ago for murdering her Arab employer in
1998.

It is not so much the execution that is so disturbing about
her story as the fact that she had lingered in jail for about two
years -- first awaiting her trial, and later her execution --
without anyone in this country, not even the government whose job
it is to protect its citizens anywhere in the world, knowing
anything about her fate. Her story surfaced this month only after
Saudi newspapers reported her execution.

What was the Indonesian Embassy or consulate in Saudi Arabia
doing all this time? How many other Indonesians are now waiting
in Saudi death rows as we speak? Warni's death has exposed the
gross inefficiency of many Indonesian missions abroad when it
comes to protecting their own people.

There is no denying that any person must respect the law of
the country where he or she resides. If Warni had broken Saudi
law -- and murder is a serious crime -- she had to be punished in
accordance with the law of the land. As much as we deplore
capital punishment -- she was reportedly beheaded -- there is
little that outsiders can do about it. We too expect foreigners
living or working here to respect our laws, for they too are
subject to the law of this country.

Warni's story, however, is typical of the ineptness of our
government in protecting its citizens abroad. Warni was tried and
convicted by a Saudi court without the benefit of assistance from
the Indonesian Embassy.

Working as a domestic helper, she was too lowly educated to
perhaps know her legal rights. Language could also have been a
major problem for her as is typical for the hundreds of thousands
of Indonesians working in the Middle East. One could only surmise
that she did not have the benefit of full legal defense during
her trial. We are not even sure whether due process of law,
including her right to appeal, had been observed in full before
she was finally executed. The only thing we do know is that we
were not there when she needed our help the most.

Warni's story contrasts with that of Kartini, a 35-year-old
woman from Karawang, West Java, who was saved from execution in
United Arab Emirates in March following an eleventh hour
diplomacy by our government. Kartini had been convicted of
adultery, again after a court trial where she did not have the
benefit of assistance from the local Indonesian Embassy. The
difference with Warni is that her story surfaced before she was
due to be stoned to death.

After an intensive diplomatic campaign, Kartini was given a
new trial, this time with the benefit of translators and legal
counsel provided by the government. That's when the court heard
her story that she was raped by an Indian cook, who was at large.
Unlike the mission in Saudi Arabia, the Indonesian Embassy in the
United Arab Emirates was able to rectify its earlier mistake.

With the government still promoting the sending of workers
abroad, more and more Indonesians are likely to find themselves
in the same circumstances that Warni and Kartini were in. It is
clear that the benefit of sending workers abroad -- especially in
terms of their repatriated earnings and reducing pressure on the
domestic job market -- outweigh the costs and risks that come
from such a policy. Given this, it is the duty of Indonesian
missions abroad to monitor the presence of Indonesian workers in
their respective areas, and to come to their rescue whenever they
land themselves in trouble with the local authorities.

There is nothing we can do about Warni's death. But let that
be a valuable lesson for all of us, and most particularly for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about our duty to protect our own
people, wherever they choose to live as long as they remain
Indonesian citizens.