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Violence threatens NTB migrant workers in Saudi Arabia
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Stay productive -- Former female migrant workers produce hand-woven textile products in Besar district, Sumbawa regency, West Nusa Tenggara. (thejakartapost.com/Panca Nugraha)
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iolence continues to threaten female Indonesian migrant workers, including those from Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, despite ongoing efforts to improve their working conditions.
Muhammad Saleh, the coordinator of the NTB chapter of the Migrant Workers Legal Assistance Center (PPHBM) said repressive acts inflicted on the workers included physical violence, excessive working hours and unpaid salaries.
“In the last two months, we have handled 18 cases of violence affecting our female migrant workers in the Middle East. Most of them departed to work as migrant workers after 2012, or after the Indonesian government issued a moratorium on migrant workers to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East,” said Saleh on Friday.
Despite the moratorium, he said many women in NTB, especially those from Sumbawa Island, were still eager to work as migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
They are determined to work as domestic helpers in the Middle East, even illegally, because of the shortage of job opportunities in their hometowns and because of the larger salaries on offer in the Middle East.
“In most cases, they departed to Saudi Arabia on the pretense of going on umrah [the minor pilgrimage] while some others travelled via transit countries such as Malaysia and Singapore,” said Saleh.
“Many of them became victims of trafficking.”
Saleh said that although all female domestic helpers receiving PPHBM legal assistance had engaged in illegal activities, they were still Indonesian citizens and their rights deserved to be protected.
“We have handed over their reports to the Manpower Ministry and the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), with the hope that the central government will pay close attention to the problem,” he said.
At least 2,000 –3,000 Sumbawa residents currently work as female migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. (ebf)
