We are workers! We are not slaves!
Expose and Oppose US Imperialism and the Puppet-Regime of SBY-Boediono!
Stop Violence Against Women and Women Migrant Workers!
“The wound of Sumiati is severe. Some scorches are found on her body. Both legs are merely crippled, all skin of her body and head peel, the middle finger is broken, the eyeshadow is damaged. Moreover worse, the upper lip is gone with seemingly scissors-left cut.”
Since 1970’s many Indonesian people have migrated. Their destination was Middle East which in the mean time experienced ‘oil boom’. The region needed many cheap labours. Indonesian men were targeted to be recrueted, without anytransparant working conditions. Meanwhile through 1980’s women, too, were then targeted to be migrated as domestic workers. Actually that was the time when placement regulation were made, but without any protection for those Indonesian migrant workers.
Currently, women become the icon of Indonesian migration, for almost 80% of the whole number of those who migrated are women. Why women? It is because Indonesia as a semi colonial and semi feodal patriachal country, women becomes the main source of cheap labour.
In receiving countries, they work mostly in the sector of Domestic Workers, and they work under bad conditions namely without any safety nor any rights; many of them confronted with violence, riskying receiving no payment. Otherwise they receive less salary for paying their placement-fee which are rocketing. While they are being trapped in a vicious debt-bondage, they are vulnerable for rape, verbal abuses, death penalty for being accused to kill their employer because of self defend from violation by their employer. Some of them are dead mysteriously.
November 25th marks an International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, as declared by UN in 1999, in order to end the gender-based violence.
In commemorating this very event, we should remember the violence experienced by our sisters whom are migrant workers and have experienced severe violence, i.a.: Nirmala Bonat, Sumiyati, Rumiyati (beheaded), tuti Tursilawati and other million women migrant workers riskying to be beheaded, otherwise traped in the vicious debt-bondage, intimidation, and verbal abuses. As noted there are at the moment ca. 300 migrant workers whom are threathened to be executed. In 2010 there were 69.004 kinds of case faced by Indonesian migrant workers. (source: Directorate Protection of Indonesian Citizens/Ministry of Foreign Affairs, RI).
Photo: Sumiyati, Indonesia Migrant Workers Violation by Google Collection
The high numbers of violence faced by women migrant workers takes place for the ignorance of the Indonesian government as regards such cases. Migration matters is then merely a matter for gaining advantage, namely a means aiming to collect as much devisa as possible, so that Indonesian migration should be considered significantly if the placement is increasing year by year. Though the Indonesian government issues frequently policies on ‘protection’ for migrant workers, they never touch genuine protection as needed by Indonesian workers working abroad. Moreover, such policies are used for extortion those Indonesian Migrant Workers
(Photo:Editing Insert is Ruyati (Beheaded)and Indonesian migrant workers under Khandara bridge in Saudi Arabia.by Google Image)
In 2006 a High Level Dialogue conference was held involving member states of UN, talking especially on Migration and Development or better known as the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). This forum is refering to the importance of migration as it is benefitted to the developing (sending) countries and to the developed (destined) countries as well, as far as the devisa through exporting human is concerned. This devisa can be located as financial sources for paying back the debt of the developing countries to the imperialist countries which are at the moment in deep crisis.
Then, still in the same year, the SBY-Boediono rezim administration released regulations adjusted to a more condusive climate for inviting investment, by changing the system of placement, which expected to path the way for increasing the number of exporting cheap labour.
In 2009 SBY-Boediono stated that there were 3 promising sectors to be activated in responding the crisis in Indonesia. These were Tourism, Hand craft products and Migrant workers. Now in 2011 they prioritise some agenda’s to improve the law with respect to Placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers No. 39 of 2004, which is now considered not effective for achieving the maximum annual target of 1 – 2 millions export.
Today worldly monopoly of capitalist system or imperialism under US leadership is in deeply and worsoning crisis after the Great Depression. Therefore many efforts are made by imperialism in order to put the crisis onto the burdon of colonial and semi-colonial countries such as Indonesia through increasing bilateral and multilateral cooperations. One of the scheme is working out the creation of global market absorbing over production brought about by imperialist, and human export or sending more migrant workers with the objective to cut their salaries through government policies.
The above-mentioned scheme shall of course be supported by the puppet regime in the country, created by the US imperialism, so that the imperialism can easily intensify the exploitation and repression on people all over the world. This is also the case referring the puppet regime SBY-Boediono by creating a variety of policies or regulations which can weaken the people’s movement, included resistent movement of migrant workers in Indonesia by way of union busting such as UU PPTKILN 39 of 2004. These do not give protection as needed by migrant workers and their families, and there is no freedom for association. The existing new act on Intelligence with severe intimidation measurements, repression and forced dissapearance towards any people resistent movement, seen as ‘terrorism’. This becomes the shape of generating policies as a task by imperialism to semi colonial and their colonial, in fighting against anti- imperialist movement to the attack on any people’s movement by exploiting people movement, by decreasing the subject “WAR & TERROR”. This is indeed the fascist character of the present imperialist puppet regime.
The SBY-Boediono can be known not only through its fascist character, but also because of the corruption while cutting people’s money which is proven by their very trusted man and ministers such as those involved in the series of scandals surrounding BLBI, Bank Century, Nazarudin (the treasury of the Democrat party in power) and the new one is the corruption taken place in the Ministry of Labour Force and Transmigration and involving the minister himself, Muhaimin Iskandar, as far as the fund for accelerating the construction of infrastructure in transmigration area, is concerned.
And up to now, corruption-case as done by the inner circle and ministers have never been finalised. These indicate the character of the SBY-Boediono regime for being fascist anti-people and corrupt. A puppet and selfish regime instead of people-oriented one.
This happens because of the existing system which Indonesia faces, namely the semi colonial and semi feudal. The semi colonial facet implies that imperialism under US leadership colonises and intervenes Indonesia through the puppet regime of SBY-Boediono. Policies they produce seem to get the legitimation of the people. And this is valided by the semi feudal system, which implies the agrarian character of the country. Major economic activities as reflected in the mode of production is based on the land, such as paddy-field, plantation etc which should be in the hand of all people. In fact this very means of production, refering to vast areas of land, are monopolised and occupied by the landlord (semi feudal): those individual landlords, the state and even the imperialists themselves. These landlords cooperate with the Burreaucrat of capitalism for making the way smoothly while grabbing the land, mainly in the country sides.
Indeed the family background of those Indonesian migrant workers are majority peasant, whose works are merely depended on land, but they themselves have no land; whom also face many hindrances in tilling the land, so that they go to cities as an option for survive. They realise in the end that there are merely jobs there. Otherwise they should be satisfied with the payment under the minimum wage and surely not suited to the minimum proper living. The only other option is then being migrant workers, eventhough working abroad without guarantee for protection from the government.
Such a condition shows the real problem faced by Migrant Workers: no jobs in the country as work, wage, and land grabbing taken away by the imperialism with the help of the existing puppet regime SBY-Boediono. There is no other way for the people especially those migrant workers except to resist and fight together with the oppressed people by getting organised. This is the way how they struggle for their rights which are taken away. Otherwise they cannot get rid of the exploitation constituted by the greedy power of the monopoly capitalist (imperialist) and the puppet regime in the country as the leaky of imperialism. Here, the only line of struggle characterises national democracy, so that the existing semi colonial and semi feudal in Indonesia can be destryoid.
So long this country adopts the semi colonial and semi feudal system, and under the fascist and corrupt regime, the problem of violence and plundering faced by migrant workers and their families would of course never over come. And all efforts to shut and crack down people movement would of course increase.
Based on the objective situation as described above, the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers Force states that the Indonesian government under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono, is responsible for all violence and plundering faced by Indonesian migrant workers in general sense, and by Indonesian women migrant workers in particulary
Demands:
1. The puppet regime under SBY-Boediono must take responsibility for all cases of violence faced by women, especially those Indonesian migrant workers.
2. SBY-Boediono must immediately ratify UN Convention 1990 concerning the Protection Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families.
3. SBY-Boediono must immediately revoce Law Placement and Protection Indonesian Migrant Workers Abroad no. 39 of 2004, and should soonly design the national law for the genuine protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers and their Families.
4. SBY-Boediono must immediately stop the excessive placement fee which is fammiliar as ‘Overcharging’.
5. SBY-Boediono must also immediately put an end to the plundering Special Terminal for Indonesian Migrant Workers at the Soekarno-Hatta airport and similar Terminal at other airports throughout the country.
Long Live Indonesian Migrant Workers!
Long Live Indonesian Women!
Long Live International Solidarity!