Former Migrant Worker Earns Doctorate
Nuryati Solapari is a portrait of the resilience of those who come from poor families and succeed in realizing their dreams.
Nuryati Solapari
Nuryati Solapari, 38, is a portrait of the resilience of those who come from poor families and succeed in realizing their dreams. Formerly a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, she earned a doctoral degree and worked in a variety of jobs. Nuryati also pays great attention to the fate of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI).
Nuryati just received a guest on Tuesday afternoon (9/1) in her office at the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) office in Serang, Banten. In the neat office, she carries out its activities as the divisional coordinator for Inter-Bawaslu Agency Prevention and Relationships in Banten. "I was named a member of the Banten Bawaslu in Jakarta in October 2017," she said.
Nuryati was selected from 85 candidates applying for membership with the Banten Bawaslu. As a member, she wants to expand her political horizons. In addition, she works in the field of education as a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untirta) in Serang.
Nuryati\'s days are busy, but she still finds the time to provide counseling to migrant workers. However, her counseling activity has decreased since she became a member of the Banten Bawaslu. "I used to be a TKW (female migrant worker). In fact, I also once worked at a fast-food restaurant," she said with a smile.
Nuryati Solapari
Long struggle
Nuryati, who was born to a poor family, attributes her success to the long journey of hard work that she tread. "Because of my family’s condition, I was determined to reach as high a dream as possible. At school, I always got good grades," she added.
Nuryati always ranked first at junior high school. Thanks to her achievements, Nuryati received a scholarship that could ease her parents’ financial burden, and was even named the best overall student at her high school graduation. She never received an allowance while she was a student.
Nuryati was filled with sadness after she graduated from high school, as her parents could not afford to pay for a university education. "When I received the award for best graduate and was asked, \'what college do you want to pursue your studies?\' I cried from sadness. I could not answer," she recalled.
With no other choice, Nuryati went looking for a job. She had never imagined that she would be a migrant worker in Tabouk, Saudi Arabia. Nuryati was looked down upon by others around her, but she did not care. "I was scorned. The best g high school raduate became a maid in Saudi Arabia," said Nuryati.
Nuryati still held onto her dream to go to university one day. She was determined to continue her education after she had returned from Saudi Arabia. Nuryati even took her high school textbooks to the dormitory for migrant workers before she was sent to Saudi Arabia.
"I was often on my own, reading a book," she said. Nuryati did not remember how many books she brought with her. "Maybe about five books, such as mathematics, Indonesian, and chemistry text books, which I put into a cardboard box," she added.
Nuryati continued to read the books until she was assigned to work for a doctor’s family. Again, she accepted the taunts. Her fellow migrant workers in the same batch to Saudi Arabia often ridiculed Nuryati. "I was accused of being arrogant and pretentious. But, I never let it hurt me. I just ignored it," she said.
The doctor who had hired Nuryati treated her very well. He was amazed to find out that Nuryati’s motive for working as a migrant maid was to save money for university. People typically became migrant workers to save money to buy rice fields, build houses, pay off debts or to send home to their families in their hometowns.
The doctor encouraged Nuryati’s dream to continue her studies, and supported her by scheduling a break from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Nuryati used the time to read a book.
Doctorate
Nuryati worked as a migrant worker for three years until 2001. After she felt she had saved enough money, she decided to return to Indonesia to embark upon her dream. Nuryati enrolled with the Faculty of Law at Untirta, a state university in Serang, Banten.
During her university studies, Nuryati also worked at a fast food restaurant in Cilegon, Banten. Every day, she traveled back and forth by bus from Untirta’s Serang campus to Cilegon. The distance between the two cities is about 25 kilometers.
“I studied from morning to afternoon, and worked from afternoon to the evening. When the restaurant closed at 10:00 p.m., I still had to sweep, mop and place the chairs on the table," she recalled. She often went to bed at 1:00 a.m. That is, if she had no homework. "If I had an assignment, I often went to bed at 3:00 a.m. At 5:00 a.m., I woke up to clean the house, go to market, and prepare breakfast," said Nuryati.
As the eldest child, she had to look after her six younger brothers. Nuryati worked hard to divide her time between studying and working. She often hid in a toilet cubicle so as not to be disturbed while reading a book. "I put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the toilet so I could hide," said Nuryati, laughing. In the midst of her busy life, she was able to obtain her bachelor’s degree in just three years. She then enrolled in a master’s program at the University of Jayabaya, Jakarta, and at the same time accepted an offer to be a lecturer at Untirta. Thanks to her good academic achievements, she was awarded a scholarship from Jayabay.
"I chose a law teachers to help my fellow migrant workers, while studying to become a lawyer or a notary," said Nuryati. After receiving her master’s degree, she pursued her PhD in the Law Faculty at Padjadjaran University, Bandung. Nuryati again received a scholarship.
She successfully earned her doctorate with a dissertation entitled Implementation of Social Justice Principles for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers in the Fulfillment of Rights According to the Indonesian Labor Law System. "I dedicated my paper to migrant workers," said Nuryati.
In 2008, she and her 25 colleagues established the Banten Association of Former Migrant Workers (Paguauban TKI Purna Banten) to support migrant workers. The association holds training workshops for migrant workers who have returned to Indonesia. They are empowered by being taught to cook food, including fried snacks, dried seaweed, meatballs and dodol sweets.
They also learned to make picture frames and batik. To date, the association has helped at least 2,000 migrant workers.
Nuryati also provided legal advocacy for migrant workers. She once handled the case of migrant workers from Indramayu district, West Java, who nearly became a victim of human trafficking about five years ago.
"She contacted me and told me about her problem. I then contacted the Foreign Ministry and she was released," said Nuryati. In addition, Nuryati routinely teaches prospective migrant workers about their new job and legal rights.
As the chairperson of the association, she explained the government’s policy and the dangers of human trafficking, drug smuggling and illegal workers. Since 2012, Nuryati has been one of the instructor of the formal migrant worker training program held by the National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Tangerang, Banten. The agency disseminates information on labor agreements, sexually transmitted diseases and customs laws. Nuryati is the only instructor who has ever been a migrant worker.
"I have not stopped dreaming. Once I have finished my term as a member of the Banten Bawaslu, I want to become a professor," Nuryati said.
Nuryati Solapari
Born: June 2, 1979, Serang regency, Banten
Children: 4
Education: Sukmajaya SDN 1 Elementary School, Cilegon, Banten (1986-1992); Tirtayasa SMPN 1 Junior High School, Serang, Banten (1992-1995); SMA Prisma Senior High School, Serang (1995-1998); Bachelor’s, Civil Engineering Faculty, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, (2001-2004); Master’s, Law Faculty, University of Jayabaya (2006-2008); Doctorate, Law Faculty, University of Padjadjaran (2011-2016)
Award: Migrant Worker Award, Manpower Ministry (2010)
