Dozens of woman trafficking victims returned home

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 06/07/2006 2:34 PM

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

The Indonesian Consulate in Malaysia's Johor Bahru has sent home through Batam, Riau Islands, up to 30 female trafficking victims and other Indonesian nationals who suffered violence at the hands of their employers, an official said Tuesday.

Of the returned people, 17 were victims of the illegal sex trade, including four underage children, while the other 13 were treated violently by their employers and in most cases were not paid their salaries, head of the crime unit of the Balerang police Comr. Putut Wicaksono said.

""The police have already questioned the female trafficking victims. We have already got information on three of the labor export companies that cheated them. We will hunt them down,"" he said.

The victims were sent home through Batam's ferry port and were accompanied by one of the consulate staff. They were then handed over to the Batam office of social services, where they are staying before being returned to their homes, most of which are in West Java.

""They were forced to become commercial sex workers. Fortunately they managed to run away to the consulate, and they could be saved. But based on their information, there are still many others suffering the same fate. They are being held by some kind of syndicate.""

Putut said the 17 were lured to Malaysia with offers of working there as housemaids.

Yana, 20, one of the victims, said at the Balerang police headquarters she was thankful she had managed to escape the job. The work was contradictory to her conscience, she said, because she was forced to work as a prostitute.

""I feel guilty as many other friends from Indonesia have experienced the same fate, but they are unable to flee,"" Yana said.

Meanwhile, head of the Batam office of social services Anwar Ujang said he would send the victims to their respective home towns as soon as was possible.

""They are now being temporarily accommodated at our office before being sent home,"" Anwar said.

In a related development, Lampung province is no longer just a transit point for human trafficking, but has become a supplier of women for the sex trade in Batam, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, said a women's rights group recently.

The Women's Advocacy Commission said the province's high unemployment rate and a lack of awareness of the problem had caused the province to become one of the main suppliers of sex workers in the region, after North Sumatra.

And the number of women being trafficked is likely to increase this year. In 2005, there were 13 known human trafficking victims from Lampung, while 20 victims were found just between January and May this year. And these are just those who have been rescued. The number of cases that have gone unnoticed could number in the hundreds.

Traffickers use a number of different methods to lure victims. One of the most common methods is for traffickers to pose as employment agents recruiting women to work overseas.

The victims are sent overseas to Malaysia, Singapore or Hong Kong, while many others are trafficked to Batam in the Riau Islands, via Jambi and Bengkulu provinces.

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