Indonesian Embassy Seeks to Repatriate Exploited Migrant Worker in Turkey

TheIndonesia.id - The Indonesian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, had been working to evacuate an Indonesian migrant worker who was exploited at work, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed.

The Ministry said a letter from I Gusti Ayu Vira Wijayantari from Bali revealed that she had been exploited and had fallen sick, and an attempt to evacuate has been made to ensure the Indonesian citizen is protected.

“The case has been handled by the Indonesia Embassy in Ankara, and the Embassy is working to take Vira to a shelter,” director of citizen protection at the Ministry Judha Nugraha said on Tuesday, August 16, as reported by Antara.

The Ministry also communicate with Bali manpower office to investigate the recruitment agency and whether or not a violation had been committed.

Wijayantari from Bangli, Bali province, who worked as a spa therapist in Turkey, wrote an open letter for President Joko Widodo and Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi.

In the letter dated on August 14, she asked the state leader to repatriate her as she detailed how she ended up working in Turkey and how she was exploited in different workplaces.

In Lonicera Hotel, for example, she said she worked for more than eight hours a day and was paid different amount from what was stated on work contract. She also found it difficult to get days off.

Her recruitment agent Anak Agung Raka Murtini reportedly asked her to continue working despite the poor condition.

Wijayantari also revealed that she ran away from her first job in the hope to get a better one and that she had worked in four different places.

However, she was harassed in her third workplace, and the company didn’t respond her complaint.

And in her last job, Wijayantari said she was more appropriately treated, but her health deteriorated in the past month.

“On July 18, I vomited blood, and I kept vomiting for two weeks. I then wasn’t able to walk due to stomach and lung issues. And in August 13, I wasn’t able to return to work as I was supposed to,” the letter read.

Wijayantari asked President Widodo to repatriate her to her home in Bangli.

Bali manpower office continues to coordinate with the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Board (BP2MI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Indonesian representatives in Turkey to arrange repatriation process.