Letter: Stop human trafficking

Wed, 11/25/2009 2:13 PM  |  Reader's Forum

When I was visiting the Indonesian Immigration office in South Jakarta five years ago, I met with several girls along with their sponsor and had a brief conversation with them. They were on processing documents for Japan. I asked: "Where are you going to go?" One girl replied "We are going to go to Japan for work. My sponsor is providing us with job as singers at a Tokyo bar!"

Several days ago, West Java Empowerment and Protection of Women and Children house (RP3 A), led by Netty Heryawan, processed and took back 22 girls that had become victims of trafficking in syndicates. Four girls were sent back from Malaysia where three had become victims of trafficking.

Two were from Bogor regency, and one girl was from Serang regency. Meanwhile RP3 A also processed the returning of eight girls from Tarakan, East Kalimantan. The eight were from Garut regency. Later, RP3 A also processed 10 returnee girls from Sukabumi and Tasikmalaya regencies.

The above paragraphs reveal two different situations. The first appears as if a syndicate lured the victims using a legal methods. The second situation shows the girls were victims of syndicates that transferred them to the intended cities and exploited them as prostitutes against their will.

Data provided by the West Java Police said in 2008 there were 18 people-trafficking cases and eight cases were handled by the police in 2009. Is the figure of the problem the amount mentioned above? I agree with the iceberg theory. The number of cases is definitely more.

According to the Women Empowerment Ministry, West Java is the main source for people trafficking with target areas such as Indramayu, Karawang, Sukabumi, Cianjur and Subang regencies.

Some areas in West Java are subject to being trafficked because they live in poverty. They are also prone because norms, values and the morality of locals have changed. In some areas, the parents prefer to have daughters because girls are reportedly more likely to work for the sake and fortune of their parents .They don't care if their daughters work in prostitution, as long as they bring in money. This premise is debatable and can be argued because syndicates operate intensively in those areas.

I want to provide solutions to eradicate this phenomenon from going out of control. Impose the laws related to trafficking accordingly. Local authorities such as governors, regents and mayors can set up policies to prevent such crimes. The relevant officials must implement policies, in coordination with police officers, prosecutors and judges. There should be no negligence or ignorance from other provinces, as they too could become destinations for traffickers. Coordination of other executives and laws agencies and NGOs is also needed.

Eradicating poverty will also help prevent local people from being framed by syndicates. Improving people's education and skills will also help people know more about their rights and obligations. We have to stop human trafficking, seriously.

Sulistyo Pudjo
Bandung

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