Withdrawal of Indonesian Housemaids to Saudi in Stages

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The former general chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Hasyim Muzadi, has suggested that the government withdrew all female migrant workers working as housemaids in Saudi Arabia and stopped sending them to Saudi Arabia citing cultural differences. Hasyim said most Indonesian housemaids working in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern regions had problems due to cultural differences.

"The cultural differences include their different way of seeing housemaids. That is the first reason," he said.
   
The second reason is the Saudi government has so far been unable to conduct maximum monitoring of Indonesian housemaids in their employers’ homes.
   
"The situation is getting more complicated as Saudi police cannot easily enter into the maids’ employers’ houses so that they never know in case violences or others have occured there," he said.
   
Due to the weaknesses Hasyim said cases affecting Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia and other countries were not easily exposed.
   
"After a maid has died or ran away or exposed in the media only then would their problem was known," he said.
   
He said the withdrawal should indeed be done in stages and efforts were then made to direct them to work in countries protected by labor organizations under the coordination of the UN (ILO). Hasyim admitted that it was not a simple matter and therefore the President was expected to play a role in it.

"One that can do this is the head of state who could make high level diplomatic contacts with the heads of state of the countries concerned. Only after that would the ministers concerned implement the work on the ground," he said.
   
He said coordination among ministries concerned under the command of the President would be needed to overcome the Indonesian migrant workers’ problem to assure intergrated operations.
   
"Ministers still lack authority to handle it," Hasyim who is secretary general of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars said.