TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mutmainah, a TKI (migrant worker), was happy when she was given a leave of absence by her employer in Taiwan. It had been three years since she came home. She wished to visit her stepmother at Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. It was August 2012 when she came home with her savings garnered from working in Taiwan.
Her happiness disappeared when she arrived at Terminal 4 of Soekarno-Hatta airport. She was surprised for having been unallowed to return to Pasar Minggu since the address written in her identity card was in Tegal. The airport officers immediately directed her to take a public transport to Tegal. "You have to go according to the address. If you want to go to a different place, you must fill in some documents," said one of the officers.
Since she really missed her stepmother, she agreed to apply for a document and pay for it. In total, she had to pay Rp750,000 just for her journey to Pasar Minggu. Her misfortune continued as the officers forced her to exchange her foreign money, which was fortunately had been transferred [to her relatives].
Other than the police, she saw officers from the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI). Instead of stopping the extortion, they were seen directing TKIs.
Mutmainah was extorted once again in the following year. She came home after working in Kuala Lumpur. The experience of being extorted twice has made her traumatic.
TIKA PRIMANDARI
