Jakarta Globe | November 04, 2011
The presence of Indonesian domestic workers in the Middle East negatively impacts on the country’s image, a group of Indonesian ambassadors allege.
The statement has drawn immediate condemnation from a nongovernmental organization championing the rights of workers, which blasted the ambassadors as “feudal, lazy and irresponsible.”
Mahfudz Siddik, chairman of House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I for Foreign Affairs, said on Friday that he had received a report from a commission delegation currently in Rabat, Morrocco.
Speaking during a commission meeting, Mahfudz said the report that a number of Indonesian ambassadors in the Middle East believed that Indonesian workers, known as TKI, affected the nation’s “diplomatic position.”
“This is the crystallized view of a number of ambassadors in the countries with a lot of Indonesian domestic workers,” Mahfudz said at the meeting. “They complained that not only are they preoccupied with having to solve problems but the condition also compromises their diplomatic positions and roles.”
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator singled out the ambassadors of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as claiming the presence of domestic workers had damaged the credibility of Indonesian citizens and embassy staff in the eyes of locals.
“The Indonesian ambassadors for Jordan and United Arab Emirate told us of the unpleasant experiences of their wives and female staff of the Indonesian Embassies there — that they were not well treated by locals,” he said.
Lita Anggraeni, from the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT), said it was clear the ambassadors discriminated against migrant workers.
“Can they [the Indonesian ambassadors] work without housemaids? Including the president, the ministers and the lawmakers, can they work without housemaids?” Lita said.
She demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono take action against ambassadors who lacked a basic understanding of their functions and roles.
“It is those discriminative, feudal, lazy and irresponsible ambassadors who caused our migrant workers to be unprotected and became victims of violence,” Lita said.
( Perhaps those ambassadors should stick their heads together and come up with a scheme so that these people don't have to go overseas to earn a meager wage, while they live of the fat of the land. siK.)
vr 4 nov 2011 - 16:50