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'Don't scapegoat migrant workers for COVID-19 surge': Activists
Rights activists have strongly cautioned the government against adding to the prevailing stigmatization against migrant workers, after a senior minister blamed the vulnerable community for a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Riau and the Riau Islands.
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Health workers scan the temperature of a migrant worker on April 15, 2020 in Batam, Riau Islands. The man was one of 47 migrant workers who were detained by the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) for illegally entering Indonesia by sea from Malaysia via Nongsa district, Batam. (Courtesy of Bakamla/via kompas.com)
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ights activists have warned against stigmatizing migrant workers who are returning to Indonesia ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday, with the government appearing to be putting the blame on them for the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in certain regions.
Doing so would only add to the alienation most domestic workers already feel both at home and abroad.
Earlier this week, national COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo said that President Joko Widodo had instructed the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to assist the nearly 50,000 migrant workers who were expected to arrive in the country by the end of this month.
Most of the repatriating workers had expired contracts or stay permits, so had no other option but to return home.
At a press conference on May 3, Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that that a recent influx of returning migrant workers was behind the recent surge in infections in the provinces of Riau and Riau Islands, reported CNN Indonesia.
Official figures show that Riau has more than 5,100 active cases with 925 cases requiring hospital care, which have contributed to bed occupancy rates of 58 percent overall and 59 percent for beds in intensive care units (ICUs). Meanwhile, the Riau Islands has more than 1,700 active cases.
Read also: Indonesia braces for another COVID-19 surge as Ramadan bustle returns
