TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Protection Agency (BP2MI) has extended a welcome to Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) returning home to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in the country.

"This return wave is a common thing that has become BP2MI's annual job to prepare everything in welcoming and providing protection for migrant workers," BP2MI head Benny Rhamdani said at a press conference on Monday.

Migrant workers may find it easier to return to Indonesia this year as the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have been relaxed, he added.

BP2MI's commitment to welcoming migrant workers homecoming is based on the agency head's Instruction No. 2/2023 concerning the handling of PMI's homecoming flow pre- and post-Eid al-Fitr.

Rhamdani said that BP2MI has been monitoring the movement of Indonesian migrant workers from overseas to home, and their number is expected to increase ahead of the day of Eid.

"There are 8,311 migrant workers who are estimated to return to Indonesia because their work contracts will end in April 2023," he informed.

Hong Kong is the host destination with the most migrant workers that will complete their work contract by April, with the number of such workers surpassing 5 thousand.

Meanwhile, East Java is the province that will welcome the highest number of PMIs returning to Indonesia at 3,049.

Hence, BP2MI has alerted and added more officers at 23 PMI Protection Service Centers (BP3MI), which will remain open 24 hours a day.

"The officers will be concentrated at the entrances of PMIs, such as airports, seaports, and state border posts across Indonesia," he said.

BP2MI has provided shelters, helpdesks, and lounges at some airports as transit places for the migrant workers traveling to their hometowns, he added.

PMI lounges have been made available at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Kualanamu Airport, Juanda Airport, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Zainuddin Abdul Madjid Airport, Ahmad Yani Airport, Husein Sastranagara Airport, and Raden Inten Airport.

According to Rhamdani, migrant workers are heroes for their families and for the country's foreign exchange income.

ANTARA

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