Arrest in Latest Case of Migrant Abuse in Arabia Ismira Lutfia | January 31, 2011
One of the Saudi Arabian employers of the latest Indonesian migrant worker to suffer abuse there, has been arrested, an Indonesian official said on Monday. "We have been informed that the wife of Armayeh's employer has been arrested," Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said on Monday. He was referring to Armayeh Binti Sanuri, a migrant worker from Pontianak, West Kalimantan, who had managed to flee the home of her employers. The 30-year-old maid said she had been abused and mistreated, but had managed to escape when her employers left without locking the door. Michael said Armayeh would receive proper treatment at a hospital and that legal action would be taken. "Those are the priorities set by our consulate general in Jeddah for this case," he said. He added that Armayeh had been taken to King Fahd Hospital in Medina by locals on Wednesday. The medical staff immediately called the Indonesian Consulate General, which has agreements with some Saudi hospitals to notify the embassy or consulate should an Indonesian national be admitted. "So the system is working the consulate general received the notification immediately and the next day staff members were already at the hospital to visit Armayeh," he said, adding that female employees of the consulate were taking turns keeping her company in her room. Michel said the ministry has been in touch with Armayeh's family in Pontianak. Armayeh's case was the latest in a long list of Indonesian migrant workers abused abroad. Migrant worker rights advocate Anis Hidayah on Sunday urged the government to handle the case seriously by sending a team that would be able to push for severe punishment for the allegedly abusive employers. "This happens because there is no system in place in Saudi Arabia or Indonesia to protect migrant workers," she said. "They have to learn from the case of Sumiati, in which her former employer was only sentenced to three years in prison," she said. Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa suffered severe injuries at the hands of her employer. ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
