When workers have to use black magic to protect their livelihoods

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta

In Hong Kong, Anna Kurnia, an Indonesian maid, lost her job after her employer found she planned to use black magic in a desperate attempt to stop the family from sacking her. The employers opened a small package sent by Anna's husband from Indonesia, containing dried flowers and a note explaining how a simple spell would ensure the family would not dismiss her.

The Agence Presse-France quoted Anna's husband saying in his letter that putting the flowers in the family's drinks and chanting a spell would make her employers become gentle and submissive. After violating Anna's privacy and now in fear of their wellbeing, the family sent her back to Indonesia.

Anna panicked after she found out her employers were not satisfied with her services. She had gone to Hong Kong to find work and income to feed her hungry family; she had nowhere to go to ask for protection in Hong Kong and knew it was useless to expect the Indonesian or Hong Kong governments' help. Black magic seemed the only way to ensure she would still receive a few hundred dollars for her hard work.

Meanwhile, a Human Rights Watch report states that thousands of Indonesian maids in Malaysia have become victims of physical and mental abuse, where they are forced to work 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Commenting on this, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said,"The majority of (abuse) cases found in Kuala Lumpur involve illegal workers and people who do not have skills." What else can our workers can expect from such a minister?

Whatever her real motive, the Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has set a great example for how a head of state should act to protect her citizens. She is risking her close alliance with U.S. President George W. Bush by withdrawing the country's troops in Iraq in order to save the life of a single Filipino truck driver.

While governments are obliged to protect their citizens, for the meantime we cannot hope for that much protection from our government. Not only does the government fail to defend the people here, it even indulges in violence against them -- what is known as state terrorism. Former dictator president Soeharto could easily counter arguments that require him to take all the blame for acts of state terror.

"Don't you think my successors have also obediently followed my lead," he might say.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday boasted to the country's top prosecutors that her government's achievements in protecting the nation from terrorists deserved to be listed in the Guiness Book of World Records.

It is true she deserves praise for her determination to bring the country's terrorists to justice. She encouraged police and prosecutors to try and jail the terrorists who killed hundreds of innocent people in Bali in 2001 and who were responsible for the attack on the JW Marriot Hotel a year later.

But why did she not also ask why Attorney General M.A. Rachman was so incompetent in bringing to court those who had stolen from the state coffers? It is encouraging to see the progress the police have achieved after their separation from the military. But it is also important for Megawati to ask the police why many people still complain about police-run extortion rackets and other forms of widespread police corruption.

However, it is not impossible her rival in the Sept. 20 presidential runoff, Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will claim he has the right to a share of the praise because of his work as the chief security minister until March this year.

While it is important to condemn acts of terrorism and remove the sources of the threat, the next question, however, is how to eradicate the roots of terrorism, including poverty and injustice?

With the eighth anniversary of the July 27 tragedy only few days ahead, it is perhaps appropriate to ask a question: "What has Megawati done to bring to justice the perpetrators responsible for the death and misery of her supporters, who were tortured to death simply because they defended their leader, Megawati?"

Perhaps Megawati will continue to ignore the deaths of her supporters in 1996. It seems a change in her attitude will only come if her advisors are able to persuade her a sudden display of sympathy to the victims would help her to win more votes in the Sept. 20 runoff.

A priest was shot to death in Poso on Sunday, while she was preaching during a Sunday church service. While the Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, the state fails to protect people from practicing their beliefs. Hundreds of churches have been burned down in the past few years and more Christians and other minority groups feel terrorized merely because of the values they embrace.

Many Muslims, however, also feel they are only a majority in this country in terms of quantity, and not quality. In the economy, for instance, Muslims feel they are in the minority. What has the state done to reduce the big discrepancy between the rich (many often perceived as non-Muslims) and the poor?

Many Muslims also feel humiliated about the continuous reports and allegations that most major terrorist acts are conducted by Muslim criminals. Western countries slapped travel warnings on Indonesia because of the terrorist attacks here.

The April 5 legislative election and the July 5 presidential elections, however, prove that Indonesia is as civilized and mature as industrialized countries in terms of its maturity in democracy.

It is the people, not the government, who through participating in peaceful and democratic elections, have proved wrong the claim Indonesia is a breeding ground for terrorists.

Perhaps it is ridiculous to expect so much from the government. Can Megawati protect the people when she is still not sure whether she can protect her presidential seat?

While it may not be much of a protector, at least the government has shown it is less willing to terrorize its own people.

Kornelius Purba (purba@thejakartapost) is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.