A Story of Those Who Resist Defeat
Members of Indonesian migrant workers’ association Pertakina from Blitar regency, East Java, gather at an exhibition of their products. Pertakina is a community that provides assistance for Indonesian migrant workers, as well as former migrant workers and their families.
Arum Sholikah, 37, a resident of Garum subdistrict, Blitar, East Java, flashed a wide smile. Amid her activities producing mushroom chicken nuggets at her house, she could see her two children playing.
The elder child, Galvinesa, 11, is a fifth grader and the younger Haidar, 4.5, is in kindergarten.
“Working at home like this may not earn me much money, but it is more comfortable. I can witness my children grow. That is more valuable than working overseas and missing the chance to see the children grow,” Arum said on Monday (7/8).
Arum worked in Taiwan in 2007-2010. During that period, Arum took care of several children at a shelter. While she was taking care of others’ children, she had to leave Galvinesa, who was 2 years old at that time.
When she had collected enough money to start a business at home in Blitar, in 2010 Arum returned home.
“Now, I have my own business. Previously, I was too afraid to start a business. I got introduced to a community of ex-Indonesian migrant workers [Pertakina] and was invited to attend training,” Arum said.
Reni Mulia Sari, 30, a former migrant worker in Hong Kong from Sutojayan subdistrict, Blitar, recalled a similar story.
She had worked in Hong Kong since 2006 and almost returned in 2016. She had applied for visa and was awaiting departure to Hong Kong. She had to work overseas again because she had run out of money and did not know what to do.
In January 2017, when she was waiting for her visa, Reni met Sucipto and Sulistianingsih, the couple who founded Pertakina. Reni was asked to attend a training session for former migrant workers and their family.
“I trained to make cassava chips, cakes and to apply for a permit to produce snacks. The permit was finally issued. Eventually, I decided to cancel my departure to Hong Kong,” she said.
In Blitar, Reni sells nuggets and snacks. She also runs catfish farm with her family.
Former migrant workers
The story of two former migrant workers is an inseparable part of Pertakina in Blitar, which was founded in 2007. Yet, the community and the family only received a ministerial decree for its inauguration on March 16, 2016.
Pertakina was founded out of concerns of Sucipto, 52, a former worker at a Singaporean expedition vessel. In 2006, Sucipto went home to Blitar. He started to witness problems related to migrant workers, such as migrant workers who went home with no payments, migrant workers who came home dead or insane and migrant workers who were missing for several years. Sucipto learned those problems while at his hometown, Termas hamlet, Kedunduren village, Ponggok subdistrict. In that village, 80 percent of 120 families were migrant workers.
Another problem was the high cases of divorce in the family of migrant workers. The children of migrant workers were also involved in crimes.
Sucipto, whose family broke up after he worked overseas for 14 years, finally asked some neighbors to coach migrant workers. At that time, in 2007, the group was named Srikandi.
Initially, Srikandi consisted of former migrant workers and their families in Kedunduren. The purpose was to coach ex-migrant workers and their families who needed help dealing, for example, with the death of their loved one overseas. Srikandi also helped these families with insurance claims.
In several countries, migrant workers receive life insurance so that his or her family would receive compensation if the worker got into an accident or died.
To process an insurance claim is not an easy task. Sucipto once risked his own life when the owner of a migrant worker recruitment agency pointed a gun to his head. Everything ended well after discussions. Srikandi offered the coach the agency’s recruiters free of charge.
The group also encouraged migrant workers who have come home not to return overseas. Once the migrant workers come home, they generally rely on savings from their overseas employment. They are unable to start a business or to work at different sector. Ultimately, when their savings run out, they go overseas again and sell their property.
“The ex-migrant workers only need friends at hard times. When they are down, they need friends to listen and to give advice. The group plays this role and offers training,” said Sulistianingsih, Sucipto’s wife.
Sulistianingsih worked as a migrant worker in Hong Kong for five years.
Initially covering one village, Srikandi continued to expand and now covers each subdistrict in Blitar. In 2016, the group name was changed from Srikandi to Pertakina after its coverage expanded to Tulungagung, Kediri, Madiun and Ponorogo. Now, several areas like Malang, Banyuwangi, Probolinggo and Lumajang also plan to set up a Pertakina branch.
Pertakina now has around 200 members. Generally, they are people who felt “lost” in their own country and chose to find luck overseas. At home, many of them witnessed failures, such as broken families as the result of divorce, lack of money or children turning to crime.
Interestingly, the “defeated people” work to improve Pertakina. If there is a coaching clinic out of town, they collect money to finance the activity. They receive no government assistance. Pertakina only invites government officials to share information about migrant workers. On Feb. 2-17, Pertakina established cooperatives to market the products of its members. From such an activity, Pertakina earned money and its members gained confidence.
