RIYADH, 15 July 2005 — More than 500 Indonesian maids are currently stranded in Saudi Arabia awaiting repatriation. This includes about 300 housemaids, serving prison terms in jails across the Kingdom. Jakarta is currently studying measures aimed at protecting the interests of Indonesians working abroad.
“Some maids were arrested and sent to jail for serious offences like theft, forgery and murder, but a large number of them were booked for minor crimes,” said M. Sukiarto, labor attache at the Indonesian Embassy, yesterday. Sukiarto could not say when they will be released from the prison.
“There are over 200 maids stranded in safe houses alone in Riyadh and Jeddah awaiting deportation.” He said that the Indonesian diplomatic missions had set up two temporary boarding facilities called “safe houses” where runaway maids or female workers facing problems, are housed. The maids are repatriated back to Jakarta when their cases are settled with the sponsors and a formal clearance from Saudi government agencies is obtained.
In many cases in the past, Sukiarto said that the embassy sought the intervention of the Saudi officials to settle the problems or resolve legal complexities.
“A large number of our women workers, mainly those serving prison terms inside the jails and reformatory centers of the Kingdom, are granted royal clemency by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd every year, enabling them to reunite with their families back home,” said the embassy official.
He said that the Indonesian Embassy received between 10 to 15 complaints a day about mistreatment, non-payment of salaries and sexual harassment. More than 853 Indonesians complained of mistreatment by their employers in Saudi Arabia last year alone. Nearly a quarter said they had not been paid. Others complained of torture or maltreatment.
Unscrupulous private employers, recruitment agents and sponsors are often blamed for such labor exploitation. There are nearly 600,000 Indonesian women workers in Saudi Arabia.
The embassy together with a few private organizations, is also working to set up task force in nine Saudi cities to look after the female workers.
