The story of a student who was lucky and lost because of a "Ferienjob" in Germany

A number of students participating in the "ferienjob" program in Germany are trapped in millions of rupiah in debt. The campus was asked to find a solution.

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Illustration. Students distribute brochures to visitors at the Indonesia International Education and Training Expo (IIETE) 2024 at the Jakarta Convention Center, Saturday (24/2/2024).

ferienjob program in Germany attended by students from a number of universities in Indonesia there are still problems. A number of students admitted that they received bad treatment while in Germany and were trapped in debt of tens of millions of rupiah. However, there are also students who feel happy and lucky to be able to take part in the program.

Previously reported, a number of Indonesian students were allegedly victimized by human trafficking in Germany. Initially, they were promised to work with an internship system, but in the end, they were trapped into debt and exploited.

Bareskrim Polri has named five suspects in the alleged human trafficking case. One of the suspects is SS who is a professor at Jambi University.

This case was revealed after four students reported to the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Germany. Upon further investigation, it turns out that the program is being run by 33 universities in Indonesia with a total of 1,407 students being sent.

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Illustration. Students stormed various booths from companies/industries that provide internship and certified independent study (MSIB) programs at the Merdeka Campus X Vocationfest in Jakarta on 11-12 December 2023.

IS (21), a student at the University of Jambi (Unja), who took part in the ferienjob program, said that up to now he still has a debt of around IDR 24 million after taking part in the program. "Some of the money I borrowed from my family before leaving for Germany and bailout funds from the agency," he said when contacted by telephone, Wednesday (27/3/2024) evening.

IS admitted that he was interested in joining the ferienjob program in Germany because it was promoted directly by the campus. In fact, a number of lecturers also disseminated this information to students.

Also read: Used as a construction worker and abandoned, the story of an Indonesian student joining a ferry job in Germany

The program is promised to provide many benefits for students, for example getting a salary of Rp. 20 million–Rp. 30 million per month, gaining experience working abroad, and being part of the Freedom to Learn Campus Merdeka program (MBKM). Due to various reasons, IS then registered and was declared to have passed the selection.

In order to participate in the program, IS borrowed money from his family for travel expenses. He also received financial support from the agency for the cost of purchasing tickets and other accommodations.

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Students from 300 public and private universities across the archipelago attended the launch of the strengthened Certified Student Internship Program (PMMB) by state-owned enterprises in Jakarta on Wednesday (12/2/2020).

However, the dream of an internship abroad turned out to not be as beautiful as imagined. During departure, the agency was late in flying IS to Germany. IS was supposed to arrive in Germany on October 4th, 2023, but was only bought a ticket to Germany on October 16th, 2023.

Also read: Campuses Begin to Be Open about "Ferienjob" Cases and Prepare Legal Steps

According to IS, the employment contract given to him was not a contract with the company, but rather a contract with the agency. His salary was directly deducted by the agency. "I received a salary of around IDR 3 million after working for two weeks in October 2023," he said.

Despite facing various problems, IS chose to stay in Germany. He felt that he had spent enough money and wanted to be able to pay off the debt he had used for the cost of his trip to Germany. Unfortunately, he was unilaterally cut off by the agency and was sent back to Indonesia in mid-December 2023.

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Regarding the ferienjob program, IS asked several of his acquaintances in Germany. He received information that the program was legal. This program is usually attended by students who want to fill their free time by working part time.

In January 2024, IS admitted to attending a meeting held by the university. At that time, IS shared the issues he faced while in Germany. However, he felt that he did not receive a response.

The dream of interning abroad turned out to be not as beautiful as imagined.

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In contrast to IS, another student, RA (23), admitted that he was happy and lucky to be able to take part in the ferienjob program in Germany. The Unja animal husbandry study program student admitted that he did not experience any significant problems during his three-month internship in Germany.

In Germany, RA works at Amazon Logistics Schkeuditz and is responsible for handling packages. The employment agency that handles IS during his stay in Germany is Runtime. He works for 8 hours a day with a pay of 13-14 euros per hour.

"There were no issues from the departure until returning back to Indonesia. The agency also provided good service, from providing accommodation to accommodating during the stay in Germany," said RA.

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Visitors approached the exhibition table of higher education in Hungary at the "Hungary Welcomes the World: Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship and Career Expo" event on Saturday (14/10/2023) at Martha Christina Tiahahu Literacy Park in Jakarta.

According to RA, several of his lecturers also quite often ask for news via the Whatsappapplication. "For me, this is an extraordinary experience because I can work and live abroad for several months," he said.

RA admitted to receiving news about several Indonesian students experiencing mistreatment during their internship in Germany. However, work obligations prevented the student from following the progress of this case.

"I just found out that there are friends who received inappropriate treatment to the point where their contracts were terminated unilaterally," he said.

Also read: Joining "Ferienjob", FA Actually Gets Tens of Millions in Debt

Spokesperson for the Unja Student Alliance, Armando, said that his party was helping to assist students who were victims of the ferienjob program. The alliance also urged Unja management to immediately resolve this problem.

Previously, a number of students who are part of the Jambi University Student Alliance held a demonstration on Tuesday (26/3/2024) on campus as a form of solidarity for the victims.

Several demands were made, including requesting that the university provide assistance, recovery, and protection for the victims from intimidation. The university is also requested to help eliminate debt and provide compensation to the victims.

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Visitors, the majority of whom are students, were in front of the former Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen watchtower in Oranienburg, Germany on Wednesday (10/6/2021).

Currently, there are still several students who are burdened with debt ranging from various amounts, from Rp 5 million to Rp 24 million. "We are asking for the campus to help solve this problem," said Armando.

Armando assessed that the campus was negligent so that dozens of Unja students took part in the Ferienjob program in Germany which was indicated to have violated procedures. Because of this, Unja was also asked to stop internship programs that were detrimental to students. Apart from that, the campus must also apologize to the victims because they were deemed to have been negligent.

Armando stated that currently there are around eight victims accompanied by the Unja Student Alliance. He believes that there are still other students who are also victims, but they remain silent out of fear of intimidation.

Also read: Jambi University Opens Voice on Case ”Ferienjob” in Germany

Coordinator of the Unja Public Relations and Promotion Center, Mochammad Farisi, said that a total of 87 Unja students took part in the ferienjob program in Germany. Of that number, the majority of students said they were happy and did not experience any problems while participating in the program.

However, Farisi does not deny that there are some Unja students who have experienced mistreatment to the point of being burdened with debt. The Unja management is committed to providing assistance and guidance to students who become victims.

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Farisi stated that Unja will immediately form a team to conduct further investigation. The team will also help to resolve student problems, including issues related to debt.

"We are still considering all options because it is a personal matter. With the presence of a team, we can be more focused in completing it," he said.

Unja also respects the ongoing legal process. According to Farisi, SS who became a suspect in this case is Sihol Situngkir. As stated in the employee information system, he states that Sihol's status is a professor at UNJA.

However, according to Farisi, Sihol has not been active in teaching or doing research at Unja for the last four years. Recently, Sihol has been more active in Jakarta.

In the ferienjob activity to Germany, said Farisi, Sihol did not act as a representative of Unja, but as a representative of PT Sinar Harapan Baru (SHB). PT SHB is a company that offers a ferienjob program to Unja. Currently, the memorandum of understanding between the campus and the company has also been terminated.

However, apart from terminating the cooperation, a solution from the campus for students who experience problems while taking part in the Ferienjob is also awaited.