Deeply stressed woman illustrates plight of migrant workers overseas

ID Nugroho, Surabaya

A young woman, Suprihatin, usually called Santi, walked into the
office of Dr Darmadji, vice director of the Menur Hospital for
mentally ill people, in Surabaya, East Java. "My name is Santi. I come
from Lampung and worked in Malaysia," she said with a blank
expression.

She was admitted to the hospital early in July by East Java manpower
officials, as she was reluctant to speak to anybody.

"She seems to be severely distressed -- as though she can't cope with
a very heavy burden," said Darmadji.

Her fate has brought to mind the pitiful news on Indonesian overseas
workers -- toned down somewhat by the focus on the general election --
particularly the shocking reports on a maid from East Nusa Tenggara
province, Nirmala Bonat, who was abused by her employer in Malaysia.

The difference was that the abuse Santi faced was not physical. Nor
was she abused by her Malaysian employer. It is still unclear what
brought her to this state.

Santi is a daughter of poor parents, Slamet Mulyadi and Maninah, from
Brajayekti, Lampung province. She left to work as a maid in Malaysia
two years ago. The decision marked the beginning of her ordeal.

She was never paid the 250 ringgit monthly salary promised to her,
even though she worked there for two years. "I don't know who took my
salary," she said.

Since then, it seems as though she kept the frustration to herself and
did not have the courage to fight back. She was later apprehended by
Malaysian authorities and deported to Indonesia via Pekanbaru, Riau.

East Java manpower office head Djaelani said officials in Riau were
not able to communicate with Santi because she maintained a total
silence, so they eventually sent her to East Java.

"We were also puzzled about where we should send her. We eventually
took her to Menur Hospital for treatment," he told The Jakarta Post.

Three days later, after some electroconvulsive therapy, Santi started
to talk. She stated where she came from and claimed that she was
married to a man named Supratman and had a three-year-old daughter
named Titik Margianti. "I miss my husband and daughter," she said,
hesitantly.

Santi's fate shows that the plight of Indonesian workers overseas has
not ended, including abuses such as strenuous conditions at work,
excessive workload, unreasonable punishment, sexual harassment, rape,
being locked up, low pay and death in excruciating circumstances,
despite the fact that they send home more than Rp 2.2 trillion (US$250
billion) annually.

Several other female migrant workers have suffered the same fate as
Santi, and are currently being treated at the Kramat Jati Police
Hospital, showing signs of mental illness.

Most are victims of physical and sexual abuse. Media reports say at
least 48 cases were reported to the Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration this year.

Female Solidarity (SP), a non-governmental organization handling
migrant worker problems, said it had investigated around 280 cases of
human rights violations against at least 142 Indonesian workers
overseas in 2002.

Some 85.21 percent were women. Around 9 percent were abused before
their departure overseas, 86 percent at their place of work and 5
percent during the journey to their country of origin.

The manpower ministry has recorded that 600,000 illegal Indonesian
migrant workers are employed overseas. From January to July this year,
7,000 were repatriated via East Java.

"Around 4,000 hail from East Java, while the rest come from eastern
Indonesia," said Djaelani.

The Malaysian government said recently it would deport all illegal
workers, most of whom had come from Indonesia.

Most migrant workers, who departed via Pangkal Pinang, Riau, for
several Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, as
well as several Middle Eastern states, used tourist passports.

"Using tourist passports to find work, is of course illegal because
they are only valid for a month at most. If they overstay, they will
be arrested by police there," Djaelani said.

Officials say the government has found it difficult to detect and
protect illegal migrant workers overseas because they are not
registered at the manpower ministry.

"Santi is one such example. Only after Santi and hundreds of others
have encountered problems, do we handle them," he explained.

Sri Wahyuningsih, director of the Dian Mutiara Women's Crisis Center,
which serves as a center for the development of law and gender at
Malang-based Brawijaya University, East Java, rejected the logic of
blaming illegal migrant workers for their own plight.

She said the government should be held responsible for all legal and
illegal workers overseas because they generated foreign exchange for
Indonesia.

Sri said the high incidence of people working illegally was due to the
red tape encountered when applying for the proper documentation in
Indonesia. "Applying is expensive and time-consuming. They are likely
to leave under their own initiative and use cheaper routes," she said.

Sri said that only Rp 100,000 to Rp 200,000 was needed to cross the
border into Malaysia from Entikong, West Kalimantan. "It costs
millions using official channels," she said.

The government should deal properly with the plight of migrant
workers, starting with their training and protection.

"Take the Philippines, for example. Its migrant workers are trained
before they work overseas. Besides that, they have a policy of
protecting their workforce; why are we not like them?" she asked.

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