2 Oct 2009

INDONESIA / MIGRANTS HUMAN RIGHTS

Thousands of young Indonesian women seek work abroad as domestic help. Some use work agencies to facilitate their training, travel and placement, but many end up being abused by their employers. UNDP

Posted at: October 2, 2009 4:06 pm

Duration: 03:30

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: INDONESIA / MIGRANTS HUMAN RIGHTS
TRT: 3.30
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / BAHASA INDONESIA / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT, JAKARTA, INDONESIA / NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

RECENT, JAKARTA, INDONESIA

1. Various shots, Jakarta slum and dirty river
2. Various shots, train and tracks 
3. Various shots, residents
4. Various shots, maids at training center learning to clean and do other house work 
5. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Fadlun Umar, Director of PT Amri (Migrant Worker Supplier):
"In this training center, we teach them how to cook basic food eaten by Saudis, how to make beds, how to clean bathrooms, how to iron their clothes.  We have models of Arabian houses, from the very modest house to the very rich."
6. Various shots, maids in training
7. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Fadlun Umar, Director of PT Amri (Migrant Worker Supplier):
"Why do they want to go abroad?  It's the salary.  Here they make up to 500,000 rupiah a month ($50), but in Arabia they can make up to two million ($200)."
8. Various shots, maids in class
9. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Keni Binti Carda, Migrant worker:
"How could I start ironing at 8am and be finished by 9am?  I couldn't do the ironing well.  I had less than five minutes for the dishes.  Then they would iron me."
10. Various shots, burns on the body of Keni Binti Carda
11. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Keni Binti Carda, Migrant Worker:
"I was washing dishes, and they lost patience, and used sheers to pull out my teeth."
12. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Jamaluddin, Coordinator of Indonesian Migrant Workers' Union:
"It happens often, why?  Because there's no monitoring system from the company that sent the migrants."
13. Woman standing by windowsill 
RECENT, NEW YORK CITY 
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeni Klugman, Director of the Human Development Report Office, UNDP:
"The abuses against migrants arise around the world, from London and Washington through to the Arab – through to the Gulf states, through to poorer countries as well.  And these arise in a large part because of the vulnerabilities and the exclusion of migrants.  It's very important here, that the governments in those countries take responsibility for protection of people who are there."

RECENT, JAKARTA, INDONESIA

15. Various shots, Indonesian woman

STORYLINE:
 
Migration can raise a person's income, health and education prospects, according to the 2009 Human Development Report to be launched on Monday (5 October). But migrants also face the risk of exploitation and abuse, especially the most vulnerable such as low-skilled women.

Women account for almost half of all migrants. Low-skilled women migrants often end up in paid domestic work and in the informal sector, including these women. They are receiving hands-on training to prepare them for work in Saudi Arabia as domestic workers.

SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Fadlun Umar, Director of PT Amri (Migrant Worker Supplier):
"In this training center, we teach them how to cook basic food eaten by Saudis, how to make beds, how to clean bathrooms, how to iron their clothes.  We have models of Arabian houses, from the very modest house to the very rich."

Umar explains that for these women, the financial incentives make the trip more than worthwhile.

SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Fadlun Umar, Director of PT Amri (Migrant Worker Supplier):
"Why do they want to go abroad?  It's the salary.  Here they make up to 500,000 rupiah a month ($50), but in Arabia they can make up to two million ($200)."

But these women migrants will not necessarily enjoy the rights and protection promised to them by international law. Sometimes employers in host countries confiscate workers' passports, or deny them access to medical care.

Sometimes they face even worse treatment, for example when an employer gets mad because a maid doesn't understand the language.

Keni Binti Carda is a domestic worker who was severely beaten and burned by her employer in Saudi Arabia.

SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Keni Binti Carda, Migrant worker:
"How could I start ironing at 8am and be finished by 9am?  I couldn't do the ironing well.  I had less than five minutes for the dishes.  Then they would iron me."

SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Keni Binti Carda, Migrant Worker:
"I was washing dishes, and they lost patience, and used sheers to pull out my teeth."

Jamaluddin coordinates the Indonesian Migrant Workers' Union. He says the middle-man agents who organize the women workers should take responsibility for their treatment.

SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Jamaluddin, Coordinator of Indonesian Migrant Workers' Union:
"It happens often, why?  Because there's no monitoring system from the company that sent the migrants."

Jeni Klugman, the author of the 2009 Human Development Report, says that such abuse of migrants knows no borders.

SOUNDBITE (English) Jeni Klugman, Director of the Human Development Report Office, UNDP:
"The abuses against migrants arise around the world, from London and Washington through to the Arab – through to the Gulf states, through to poorer countries as well.  And these arise in a large part because of the vulnerabilities and the exclusion of migrants.  It's very important here, that the governments in those countries take responsibility for protection of people who are there."

Indonesian workers who emigrate and their host countries have much to gain from migration. But it is crucial that governments ensure that migrants, especially the most vulnerable, have access to the rights and protection granted any worker.

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