Ministry speeds up Syrian evacuation

JAKARTA: The government is speeding up its efforts to evacuate Indonesian workers from Syria, and plans to prioritize efforts aimed at helping those working in conflict areas.

“In this emergency situation, we need to apply special measures during the evacuation. We will try our best to bring the workers home safely,” Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar told a press briefing at his office in Jakarta on Friday.

As of June 10, as many as 202 workers had been brought home from Syria.

For the time being, the government is focusing on five areas in Syria where the civil conflict is escalating, namely Homs (405 workers), Hama (86), Idleb (17), Dar’a (11) and Rif Dimasq (426).

The ministry will also monitor workers in other areas such as Damascus, Aleppo, Lattakia, Tartus, Raqqah, Deir Ez Zour, Sweida, Al Hasakah and Quneitra.

Muhaimin said his office would coordinate with the Foreign Ministry, including the Indonesian Embassy in Damascus, to monitor the latest developments in Syria, communicate with Indonesian workers and their employers and to bring the workers home.

“We will gradually bring the Indonesian workers home,” Muhaimin said as quoted by Antara news agency.