JAKARTA (UCAN) -- The Church in Indonesia is deeply concerned about the massive deportation of illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia and has taken measures to cope with the problem, says a bishops' conference official.
"The deportation of workers in large numbers suddenly increases the rate of unemployment, which has already been high," Sister Monica Lily Indriawati, secretary of the Indonesian bishops' National Commission of Pastoral Service for Migrant and Itinerant People, told UCA News Aug. 7.
The issue of illegal workers came to a head after Malaysia introduced a new Immigration Act that calls for caning, fines and jail terms of up to five years for foreigners working illegally in the country.
Previously, the penalty was more lenient, just a fine and at most three months in jail before deportation.
According to the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, some 320,000 illegal workers were deported to Indonesia, while another 160,000 workers returned via the Indonesian border town of Nunukan in East Kalimantan province.
Dozens of Indonesians have already been caned, fined or imprisoned since the law took effect Aug. 1. They will be deported when released from jail.
Unemployment in Indonesia reached 36 million or 17.6 percent of the total population, according to the government's Central Bureau of Statistics.
Sister Indriawati admitted that the return of workers has caused panic. "We could not do much because their return was unexpected and in large numbers."
"We are trying our best to work with local Churches and NGOs in border towns," she said, stressing that the Church is deeply concerned about the suffering of illegal workers.
Her commission has targeted Nunukan town of Tanjung Selor diocese in East Kalimantan and Batam town of Pangkal-Pinang diocese in Riau province.
Sister Indriawati said temporary shelters in transit cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya in East Java and Makassar in South Sulawesi have been set up to aid deported workers.
"We are also cooperating with the Indonesian Catholic Medical Service Association and the Indonesian Catholic Women Association," the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul nun said.
There are many Catholics among the returned workers, mostly from North Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi provinces as well as Java, "but in our service we help all, not only Catholics," the nun said.
Jakarta archdiocese gave 25 million rupiah (US$2,780) in aid and sent medical workers to help the deported workers, she added.
For the long-term, Sister Indriawati said her commission will cooperate with dioceses as well as Catholic organizations and institutions in arranging vocational skills training for the workers.
She said this will increase their employability and enable them to return to Malaysia as legal workers or else find new jobs in Indonesia.
The nun said her commission met July 1-7 to discuss the impact of Malaysia's new regulation on illegal workers. Holy Family Bishop Franciscus Xaverius Prajasuta of Banjarmasin chaired the meeting.
"We were preparing to deal with the impact of the regulation but were surprised when the illegal workers returned," she said. "So far, we have been providing them with humanitarian assistance, spiritual help, skills training and legal assistance in facing violence and injustice."
The workers opted for illegal jobs to avoid paying large, unauthorized fees to Indonesian officials for legal jobs, Sister Indriawati said.
END
