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Alleged trafficking targeting students raises alarm
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Illustration of university classes. (Unsplash/Nathan Dumlao)
A
n alleged human-trafficking scheme targeting Indonesian university students seeking internships in Germany has sparked concerns about the government’s oversight of students’ overseas internship programs, including the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry’s Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM).
More than 1,000 students reportedly fell victim to a human-trafficking scheme after they signed on for ferienjob, or part-time work, for two companies in Germany. The companies claimed they were part of the MBKM internship program, according to the National Police last week.
The MBKM program is a learning pathway that the education ministry set up in 2020, which allows students to gain academic credits beyond the classroom, such as through internships, and helps them familiarize themselves with the employment market.
Believing their internships would pay well and convert into academic credits, the students reportedly embarked for Germany in October last year only to find manual-labor jobs and wages below what were agreed in their contracts.
“Their monthly wage was not enough to pay for their accommodation, which was not covered [by the company],” Zubaidah, director of Beranda Perempuan, a women’s organization in Jambi, said regarding the plight of one of the students on Sunday, tempo.co reported.
The student in question, identified only by their initials RM, worked long hours as a construction worker and for a package-delivery service, Zubaidah said.
Police were informed after four of the students reported the situation to the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin. All students finished their internships in December and have now returned home.
