A number of women agreed to marry Chinese and Taiwanese citizens because they wanted to improve the financial condition of their families. However, the marriages only made them miserable. They learned that they were victims of human trafficking conducted through a marriage scheme, either a regular marriage or contract marriage, after experiencing physical, psychological and sexual violence while in Taiwan and China.
F,31, a resident of Singkawang city, West Kalimantan, is one of the victims. She, the daughter of a farmer, was the victim of a marriage scheme with a Taiwanese man in 2005. She accepted the offer from a matchmaker to get married to a Taiwanese man to improve her family\'s financial situation.
Her parents were vegetable and fruit farmers on rented land. Their income was not much. Therefore, when there was a promise she would receive a lot of money from a Taiwanese man, she agreed to leave for an arranged marriage. Before leaving, F received a dowry of Rp 3 million and was engaged.
Three months later, she left for Taiwan. F only realized that he had been deceived by the matchmaker, when she arrived in Taiwan. In fact, her husband was unemployed who got drunk every day.
The man had borrowed a lot of money to be able to go to Singkawang. Therefore, F should work at a restaurant to finance daily needs, including paying her husband\'s debts. "I can\'t stand it, every day the debt collector came to our home," F said on Sunday.
Because she was no longer able to stand her suffering, in 2018, she returned to Singkawang in a state of depression, even living around due to mental disorders. She underwent intensive treatment and is currently in recovery. Now she lives with her parents in a rented home. He parents work as vegetable farmers.
There are other victims who are now being treated in mental hospitals due to depression after returning from Taiwan, as experienced by PSF, 34, from Singkawang.
To China
A similar fate was experienced by several other victims who were married to Chinese men through an arrangement. As experienced by S (23), a resident of Mempawah, West Kalimantan, who agreed to marry a Chinese man in 2017 because the man promised he would help her parents who were experiencing economic difficulties.
The third of eight children received an offer because her mother and father were ill. "Mama got sick and was treated at home, daddy was a fisherman, but then got a stroke. Whereas, my two brothers worked, but did not earn enough to support the family. Five younger siblings are still small, "said S, who suffered torture from her husband in China.
Even though many women became victims, the practice of the human trafficking with a marriage scheme continues to occur in West Kalimantan. For the past three years, dozens of women from West Kalimantan have been victims of human trafficking using a marriage scheme.
The motive is financial condition. At the end of June 2019, two women – Y ,22, residents of Sambas, and D ,25, of Pontianak - escorted by a man, Mo ,20, allegedly part of the human trafficking network, were detained by police when they arrived in Jakarta to arrange a visa to China.
"My parents\' business was the verge of bankruptcy. We have a shop, but my mother is in debt at the bank, every month I have to pay around Rp 5 million (US$350). “I was willing to accept the offer because I wanted to help my parents," Y said. She agreed to go to China because she was promised a better life, especially economically. "Later, after the marriage and living in China, I hope I can send money to parents. My would-be husband was said to be a textile entrepreneur. He had his own home and a car," Y said.
These sweet promises made Y and D agree to marry Chinese men. Before leaving for China, they received "dowry money" and met their would-be husbands, who latter arranged an engagement party at a restaurant, or had them take pre-wedding photos. They also received a dowry of Rp 5 million to Rp 25 million.
From a number of victims, several were repatriated to Indonesia after they asked for help from the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) or the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing. "Some victims were repatriated to Indonesia with the money from SBMI," said Mahadir, the chairman of the local office of SBMI in Mempawah.
When the victims arrived home, according to Mahadir, SBMI took them to the local Integrated Service Center for Women and Children Empowerment to undergo psychological recovery therapy from various traumas.
"But, the therapy was not carried out. We asked about it a few times, and they said they did not have the funds," he said. Although they did not have a team of psychiatrists who could help victims recover, according to Mahadir, SBMI provided assistance to the victims through counseling.