Letter: Our TKI need support

Indonesian Migrant Workers’ (TKI) earnings are relatively so overwhelming that any shortcomings they experience abroad can easily be put aside in favor of the comparatively high salaries.

The amount of money that they can send home makes them eager to keep their foreign jobs — at almost all costs!

If only they could develop their skills, they would undoubtedly be more useful to their employers who would in turn be eager to retain their services; and most probably with increased salaries.

How can we help them? Since most of them are illiterate (which is our stark negligence, let us admit it!) and, therefore, not easily able to obtain information about the required skills, it is necessary for us to improve our educational system in places where most of the TKI come from, which is most of the villages throughout the archipelago.

Let us spend more money on education but please, let us not be corrupt with the funds! We really owe them that much ... and probably more. By constantly monitoring their reported shortcomings abroad, we will be able to intensify the needed training.

Since we have not been able to help them in a tangible way, I personally request the “authority” to help them in any way I possibly can. And please do not take advantage of their being uneducated by extorting illegal/unnecessary fees in their honest effort to earn more money abroad.

Let us respect them like any other citizen by not segregating them at departure/arrival terminals in our airports, for any reason. Pancasila-wise, they all deserve respect, as we all do.

With proper education, our TKI will suffer less and may even be happier abroad.
Moeljono Adikoesoemo
Jakarta