T

he story of Haryatin, a resident of Blitar, East Java, began in December 2006.

The 32-year-old woman decided to return to Saudi Arabia, the Middle Eastern country known as the birthplace of her religious faith– and as a land of milk and honey that promised her high pay and a better life through work as a maid.

It was the third time she went to work in the country. Haryatin worked in Riyadh from 1998-2000 and Al-Jubail from 2000-2003.

She was confident that a fortune awaited her: not only was she considered as a skilled worker, she also spoke fluent Arabic.

Haryatin was offered a monthly salary of 600 Saudi riyals (US$160), much more than she could earn in Jakarta.

She arrived to work in a home in Wadi ad-Dawasir city only to be abused by her employer and paid less than what she had been promised.

In August, Haryatin returned with 23,500 riyals after working for 43 months, which worked out to 546.51 riyals a month.

She also returned home blind.

“I was harshly beaten by my employer for no reason. She slapped my face and lashed me with a water hose, a wooden stick or anything that she could find to beat me with,” Haryatin told The Jakarta Post.

The torture was incessant. She lost her eyesight when her employer slammed her head repeatedly against the wall.

Haryatin’s husband, Syamsul Huda, telephoned her several times, but she never told him about the abuse.

“I was afraid to run away or ask for help from the police. My employer threatened me and said if I was determined to call the police, she would file a police report saying that I had stolen her jewelry,” she said.

Syamsul said he wanted justice for his wife, who was currently barely able to care for herself, let alone look for a job. “The physical abuse has ruined my wife’s life.”

Haryatin, accompanied by activists from the NGO Migrant Care, recently reported her case to Indonesian officials at the Foreign Ministry and the House of Representatives’ Commission IX overseeing labor affairs.

Nur Harsono of Migrant Care said that the recent allegations of the abuse of several Indonesian migrant workers had shown the country’s inability to protect its citizens.

“I think these cases have proven the weakness of Indonesia’s diplomacy,” he said.

Adequate skills and training were not enough to protect workers from abusive employers, he said.

Haryatin was proof that even a skilled worker who could speak Arabic fluently could fall victim to abuse, he said.

“We will still have workers mistreated as long as we don’t have a legal protection scheme that is agreed to bilaterally with receiving countries, including Saudi Arabia.”

Migrant Care said it has recorded 5,563 cases of alleged abuse of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia this year to date, including 1,090 allegations of physical abuse, 3,568 complaints of poor working conditions and 898 allegations of sexual abuse or unpaid salaries.

Harsono said many Indonesian workers were victims of labor companies that recruited workers through practices that resembled human trafficking.

“They offer money up front to ensure commitment. If worker refuses employment, the money must be returned to the Saudi agencies who paid the Indonesian recruiters finder’s funds,” Harsono said.

According to Migrant Care, 43 percent of Indonesian migrant workers — about 3 million people — were victims of trafficking conditions.

Haryatin’s case is the latest chapter in the long history abuse of Indonesian migrant workers at the hands of their employers in the Middle East.

Another woman domestic worker, Nining Hayati binti Abdul Kholid, suffered serious injuries after falling seven stories from her employer’s residence in Amman, Jordan. The 25-year-old domestic helper slipped and lost her balance when trying to escape from her employer.

“He was trying to sexually abuse me,” Nining said, who said she was promised work in a hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and a monthly salary of Rp 3.5 million ($389)

She broke her back in the fall, shattering her right leg and left ankle. She cannot walk and is barely able to sit.

Harsono said the Indonesian government should evaluate its overall policies and mechanisms on migrant workers, starting from recruitment through their deployment.

In the absence of a bilateral agreement, Indonesia should carry out a moratorium in sending workers to the country. (ebf)