Waiting for The Elder Son to Come Home

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

Indonesian crew on board a Chinese-flagged ship, Lu Huang Yuan Yu 118, when docked at the Batam Navy Base, Riau Islands, Wednesday (8/7/2020).

Initially, they hoped their relatives would return home safely and with full accomplishment after sailing abroad. Now, they have to slowly bury that hope.

In April 2020, Tri Widyawati, 27, received the latest news from her husband, Abdul Wahid, 40. Through a friend who worked on an oil boat, Abdul, an Indonesian migrant worker who was employed on a foreign flagged fishing boat, sent a letter to Tri. Abdul asked Tri to be patient because he would return home in July 2020. A month after the letter was received, it was not Abdul who returned home. Tri even received news that Abdul had died from a work accident.

Also read: Protect Migrant Workers

Tri did not want to accept the news and asked for evidence that her husband had died. Until now, the evidence has never been provided, neither by Abdul\'s deployment agent nor from the fishing company where Abdul worked. The news about the death at the same time ended Abdul\'s bitter adventure at sea.

In 2014, he worked a year without pay on a Taiwanese ship. The agent only gave Abdul a blank check after the contract was over. As a result, he had to become a manual laborer for almost two years to collect the cost of returning from Taiwan to Brebes, Central Java. After nearly two years in the village, he received a job offer on a Chinese fishing boat operating in Fiji waters. He departed again in 2018. “In the first year of work, everything was still clear. Salaries were sent on time and communication with family was still smooth,” said Tri.

Also read: Migrant Workers Follow Health Protocol

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

Jumaini Suryawati (42) and her husband Iran Fajri (42), residents of Bayu Village, Darul Imarah District, Aceh Besar District, Aceh Province, sit behind a photo of their child Khairol Aman (20) who is a migrant worker on a Chinese fishing boat, Wednesday (16 / 9/2020)

Entering 2019, Abdul began to be difficult to contact. The time for the ship to dock changed from the usual three months to more than six months without berthing. Later, Abdul reported that he was sick and often beaten by the captain of the ship. Later, the family received news that Abdul had died.

Vulnerable

Based on data of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI), in the 2018-2020 period, there were 578 reports of cases of oppression of Indonesian crew members on foreign ships. Most of these were related to inappropriate and inhumane treatment, such as physical violence, exploitation, wages that are not paid according to contracts, and provision of food and beverages that are not suitable for consumption. There are complicated problems in the governance of the placement and protection of migrant workers in the fisheries sector.

Also read: Protecting Indonesian Citizens Abroad

Not only on the illegal path, in the legal way there is also vulnerability. This was experienced by Jumaini Suryawati, 42, and her husband, Iran Fajri, 42. It has been almost two years that they have been waiting for news from their son, Khairol Aman, 20. Khairol became a migrant worker on a Chinese-flagged fishing boat. However, until now it is not clear where he is. "Several times I dreamed that Abang (elder son -- Khairol) would return home," said the resident of Bayu village, Darul Imarah district, Aceh Besar regency.

Khairol Aman became a ship crew member on the Luan Yuan Yu 088 fishing boat, in early October 2018. At that time, Khairol was 18 years old and had just graduated from Ladong High School of Fisheries Business, Aceh Besar. He was recruited after graduating from school with a promise of a salary of Rp 4.9 million per month. The recruitment of migrant workers was carried out by companies domiciled in Jakarta.

DOK JUMAINI

Khairol Aman (20), a crew member from Aceh Besar who works on a Chinese fishing boat, was reported by his family to have lost contact for two years.

I want my son to come home, there is no need for money,

Khairol once contacted his mother when the ship where he worked passed near Sabang on its way to Peru. "That was my last communication with Abang. Until now, in October it would be two years old, we have lost track of him,” said Jumaini.

A year without news, Jumaini and Iran are getting increasingly anxious. She is looking for information about the company that employs her child. It turned out that the company was in trouble, wages of many of the crew members on foreign ships were not paid. The company director who was once present at his son\'s graduation ceremony has been named as a fugitive by the police.

Now, the Banda Aceh Technical Service Unit of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI) continues to trace Khairol\'s whereabouts. The latest information, according to the head of Banda Aceh Technical Service Unit of BP2MI, Jaka Prasetiyono, Luan Yuan Yu 088 is now in China. However, there is no information about Khairol.

"I want my son to come home, there is no need for money," said Jumaini crying. (AGE/RAZ)