Migrant Care Urges Govt to Revoke Moratorium on Migrant Workers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Migrant Care, a migrant workers' advocacy group, appealed to the government to lift the ban on sending migrant workers to the Middle East since it has fuelled widespread illegal entry of workers into the region.

"A better option will be to re-allow migrant workers to be sent to the Middle East, though after we ready a better instrument for ensuring their protection," Anis Hidayah, head of Migrant Care's center of study for workers migration, remarked here on Wednesday.

Hidayah suggested that the government should conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the moratorium to ban the sending of new domestic workers to the Middle East prior to revoking the ban, particularly in connection with the protection of workers.

"Migrant Care observed that human trafficking to the Middle East had spiraled out of control following the imposition of the moratorium," she pointed out.

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Hidayah remarked that in spite of a moratorium being imposed, Indonesian workers continued to enter the Middle East, albeit illegally.

"Since the illegal entry of these workers into the Middle East is unmonitored, they are prone to facing problems in destination countries," she cautioned.

The Indonesian Police had lately exposed a human trafficking syndicate to the Middle East, including to conflict-stricken nations.

"Migrant Care had handled some victims of human trafficking cases," Hidayah noted.

The government had declared a moratorium on women heading to the Middle East for working as domestic helpers during the 2010-2013 period following incidents of abuse and torture coming to light.

What ensued was a complete ban for 21 nations in February 2015 following the Saudi government's sentencing of two female Indonesian workers to death.

ANTARA