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Shocked at maid abuse case, RI demands S. Arabia enforce law
The Indonesian government is dispatching a special mission to Saudi Arabia to ensure that a severely abused maid, Sumiati, receives the best treatment and that the law is enforced for her torturers
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he Indonesian government is dispatching a special mission to Saudi Arabia to ensure that a severely abused maid, Sumiati, receives the best treatment and that the law is enforced for her torturers.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said a team of representatives from the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the Health Ministry would go to Saudi Arabia.
“The team, which will be led by Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari, is scheduled to leave on Thursday night or Friday,” Michael told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
The Saudi Gazette daily reported on Monday that Sumiati had been abused by her employer’s wife.
She suffered wounds to her lips, forehead, nose, cheeks and chin. Photos on the Internet showed Sumiati with a cut lip and shaved head.
The 23-year-old domestic helper, who did not speak English or Arabic, arrived in Medina on July 18 this year from Dompu in West Nusa Tenggara and was promised a monthly salary of 800 Saudi riyals (US$213).
Sumiati is currently being treated at King Fahd Hospital in Medina in the company of relatives and
an Indonesian doctor until the team arrives.
“The Indonesian embassy has also prepared local lawyers to accompany her during the legal process. We summoned the Saudi Arabia ambassador to Indonesia to demand his country’s commitment [to the legal process],” Michael said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono earlier demanded serious actions to settle the case.
“This is an extraordinary [case of] torture that they inflicted on Sumiati. I want the law to be enforced. I want all-out diplomacy,” Yudhoyono said as he opened a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
He also instructed related ministries to take immediate measures not only regarding Sumiati, but also other Indonesian migrant workers heading to Saudi Arabia.
The widespread legal and illegal flow of Indonesian workers to other countries and the continued lack of protection from the Indonesian government means abuse of these workers remain commonplace.
Another two female migrant workers are currently being treated in their hometowns in West Nusa Tenggara with the help of an NGO returning from Saudi Arabia.
Both suffered permanent injuries and have not received proper treatment.
“They need help and support from the government,” said Endang Susilowati, the coordinator of Perkumpulan Panca Karsa, an NGO that claims it was helping the two.
The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry says there were 2.67 million Indonesians working abroad as of February this year, sending home $6.6 billion last year.
Last year, the number of migrant workers who reported that they were abused rose from 3,470 in 2008 to 4,882. (rch)
