Langkah Besar untuk Pekerja Migran Indonesia

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... 
Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; 
the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.  
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

The Electric Brain by Ahermin
ahermin.deviantart.com

Tidak pernah ada kata selesai bagi mereka yang memperjuangkan keadilan untuk sesama yang termarginalkan, sekalipun perjuangan itu membutuhkan pengorbanan dan mengalami penderitaan, sebagaimana yang diungkapkan oleh Martin Luther di atas.

Berdasarkan data dari Laporan Perdagangan Orang (2011), Departemen Dalam Negeri Amerika Serikat memperkirakan 69% dari 6,5—9 juta pekerja migran Indonesia (PMI) adalah perempuan dan hampir setengahnya (3—4,5 juta) diindikasi sebagai korban perdagangan orang dan mayoritas bekerja di sektor domestik (pekerja rumah tangga). Badan Nasional Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja di Indonesia (BNP2TKI) pada tahun 2013, melaporkan bahwa selama tahun 2012 terdapat 31.528 PMI yang bermasalah atau terjerat kasus hukum. Dari data itu dapat dikatakan bahwa permasalahan yang menimpa PMI sampai detik ini, tidak ada habisnya dan kebanyakan di antaranya tidak berujung pada penyelesaian berkeadilan bagi mereka.

Tentu sudah menjadi rahasia umum bahwa begitu banyak persoalan yang dihadapi PMI mulai dari pra-keberangkatan, keberangkatan, dan kepulangan. Oleh karena itu, sekarang ini, sebuah undang-undang sedang digodok oleh DPR RI (Komisi IX), yaitu Rancangan Undang-undang Penempatan Pekerja Indonesia di Luar Negeri (UU PPILN) sebagai pengganti UU. No. 39 tahun 2004 tentang Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia di Luar Negeri (UU PPTKILN).  Maka, dirumuskanlah pengaturan mengenai sistem pemberian bantuan hukum yang aksesibel dan berkualitas bagi para pekerja migran.

Dengan demikian, para pengacara publik, pendamping, masyarakat sipil di berbagai negara kawasan ASEAN, khususnya Indonesia dan Malaysia—mengingat banyak kasus perihal pekerja migran Indonesia di sana—perlu bersinergi dalam melengkapi dan membangun sistem pemenuhan hak atas bantuan hukum bagi para pekerja migran Indonesia.

Oleh karena itu, pada tanggal 22—23 Maret 2013,  Jaringan Advokasi Revisi Undang-Undang Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia di Luar Negeri (JARI PPTKILN), Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) Jakarta, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), yang didukung oleh TIFA Foundation, menyelenggarakan lokakarya bertema ”Early Access to Legal Aid for Indonesia Migrant Workers”. Sekitar 20 orang dari beberapa NGO yang fokus pada persoalan buruh migran dan tergabung dalam JARI ikut hadir dan menyumbangkan pikirannya terkait RUU PPILN tersebut.

Pada hari pertama (22 Maret 2013) peserta fokus membicarakan bantuan hukum untuk PMI di negara tujuan. Awalnya, peserta diajak untuk mengerucutkan segala permasalahan yang dialami oleh PMI. Kemudian sampai pada rekomendasi dan langkah konkret yang dapat dilakukan lembaga di kemudian hari untuk mengurangi penderitaan mereka. Ada enam solusi yang akhirnya dirumuskan oleh peserta, antara lain:

1. Pemberian informasi
1. Aturan/ketentuan hukum (misalnya terkait dengan PMI yang tidak memiliki dokumen lengkap, tidak melapor, sehingga kewarganegaraannya menjadi hilang)
2. SOP/aturan internal
3. Sumber daya tersedia
2. Substansi pembelaan
1. Terkait ketidakjelasan aturan/ketentuan pidana di luar negeri, sedangkan di Indonesia tidak (sehingga tidak dapat di-ekstradisi), inkonsisten ke bawah, diskriminatif
2. Proses klaim asuransi, larangan menikah
3. Kerangka hukum
1. Negara
2. ASEAN (Asean Committee for Migrant Workers)
3. Diplomasi
4. Bentuk bantuan hukum
1. Target kasus, pilihan BMI
2. Mediasi
3. Konsiliasi
4. Pendampingan
5. Tindakan hukum
1. Mengadu/melapor
2. Menggugat ganti kerugian
3. Menggugat restitusi
6. Merujuk kebutuhan lain
1. Medis
2. Konseling
3. Pemberdayaan

Hari berikutnya (23 Maret 2013), para peserta diajak untuk mengkaji RUU PPILN dan memberikan beberapa catatan terhadap isi undang-undang yang dianggap kurang tepat.  

Pada akhirnya, semoga dengan adanya pembahasan mendalam tersebut, maka nantinya kebijakan yang ada, terutama melalui UU PPILN dapat membangun sebuah sistem serta mekanisme bantuan hukum yang aksesibel dan berkualitas bagi PMI. Tentunya peran aktif dari berbagai pihak, khususnya dari Pemerintah sangat diperlukan.

Semoga jalan ini dapat mewujudkan keadilan untuk PMI yang merupakan sebuah langkah besar yang membawa titik terang pada mendungnya cakrawala kehidupan mereka.

Mendampingi Kelahiran Bayi Orang Terbuang

Hari Sabtu 23 Maret 2013, Sahabat Insan kembali menyambut kelahiran seorang makhluk mungil di RS Sint Carolus, Jakarta Pusat.

Sang Ibu, seorang buruh migran asal Qatar yang sudah beberapa bulan ini tinggal di Rumah Singgah Sahabat Insan (sebut saja namanya Wasti), mulai merasakan gejala akan melahirkan sejak hari Jumat siang pukul 11.00 WIB. Oleh penjaga rumah singgah (Iis) dan seorang relawan (Ika), ia pun diantar ke RS Carolus. Di sana ia langsung dimasukkan ke Ruang Bersalin Immanuel untuk dipantau keadaannya. Karena sampai pukul 18.00 tidak ada perkembangan, akhirnya dokter kandungan memutuskan untuk melakukan induksi untuk memperlancar proses persalinannya.

Sementara itu, pada pukul 18.00 juga, salah satu staf Sahabat Insan tiba di RS Carolus dan memberikan kesempatan kepada Iis dan Ika yang telah menjaga Wasti sejak pukul 11.00 siang untuk pulang ke rumah mereka sejenak untuk beristirahat. Dalam perjalanan pulang, mereka berdua menyempatkan diri untuk membeli barang-barang yang diperlukan Wasti untuk bersalin, antara lain kain panjang, sarung, pembalut, dan baju hamil. Sementara perlengkapan untuk bayi (baju, selimut, topi, handuk kecil dan kaos kaki)  telah disumbang oleh salah satu penderma Sahabat Insan yang tinggal di Bali.

Pada pukul 22.30,  Iis dan Ika sampai kembali di Carolus dalam kondisi yang lebih segar dan siap untuk menjaga Wasti. Karena mereka telah datang, staf Sahabat Insan pun kemudian pulang ke rumah pada pukul 23.30.

Sementara itu, kondisi Wasti sendiri setelah dilakukan induksi langsung mengalami perkembangan yang cukup berarti. Semakin lama kontraksi yang dirasakannya semakin kuat dan akhirnya, pada Sabtu dini hari pukul 01.10 WIB, ia pun melahirkan seorang bayi laki-laki secara normal, dengan berat 2.796 kg dan panjang 47 cm.

  

Salah seorang relawan Sahabat Insan Bpk A. Bambang W dibantu oleh istrinya beberapa minggu sebelumnya telah berkoordinasi dengan teman-temannya untuk membantu Wasti dengan mengumpulkan perlengkapan bersalin, antara lain: gurita, daster, pakaian dalam, kain panjang dan sarung. Bantuan tersebut diserahkan kepada Sahabat Insan pada hari Sabtu siang 23 Maret 2013 dan pada hari itu juga langsung diserahkan kepada Wasti yang masih berada di RS Carolus. Terima kasih kepada para penderma yang telah rela memberikan perhatiannya untuk saudari kita yang sedang membutuhkan.

Karena kondisi Ibu dan anak pasca persalinan cukup bagus, Wasti dan juga bayinya diperbolehkan pulang pada hari itu juga oleh dokter yang merawatnya. Mereka pun meninggalkan RS Carolus pada pukul 15.00 WIB. Semoga sang ibu segera pulih dan semoga bayinya kelak menjadi manusia yang peduli terhadap sesamanya.

The World I Choose That Chooses In Return

Steal Your Pain Away by wentzizzlesizzle
http://wentzizzlesizzle.deviantart.com/art/Steal-Your-Pain-Away-169468261

During the day's visits to the shelter and the hospital, I felt a sense of Christmas again. Not the usual Christmas symbols of presents and warm family gatherings, but that of the difficulties Mary faced as a woman. As a single woman in a patriachal land, Mary was already with child before marriage. The father of the child was later introduced to her. Then there was a need to travel during her pregnancy, culminating with her giving birth in a lowly place, not usually fit for human habitation. And later on, she would have to face separation and experiences of this child of hers that is unlike any other child.

These challenges, and other more challenging circumstances, have to be faced by an ordinary single mother - let's call her Alina. She's poor, afraid, ashamed, and feeling very broken over the fate life dealt her. This was unplanned. Alina had hoped to work to make a living, and instead, she has been attacked, molested, and now, pregnant with a child that she can't explain for. She has not added anything to her name except being a mother to a child which she does not want to care for. Alina has not added any fortune for her own gain, except a loss of face, and a heavy burden of shame and misplaced guilt.

A few weeks back, I was invited to attend a talk by an NGO on how to address the troubles relating to persons like Alina. While I was not able to attend, I managed to get my hands on one of the hand-outs. Sadly, the issues addressed by the NGO were mostly about the symptoms. In my limited experience, I felt that there was a core issue which seemed to be above everyone's grasp, which was how to pre-empt the drive that persons like Alina face, which lead to their taking risks in foreign lands in uncertain or outright illegal situations. Quite simply, rather than working out detailed technical solutions, I would like to point to the quality of the attempts taken so far. Quite simply, I would say the core problem is about taking responsibility in one, big, way.

Alina took the decision to be an illegal migrant worker mainly to improve her standard of living. She is not living on Java Island, which already puts her at a disadvantage. To improve the economic conditions of a geographical location away from Jakarta, needs a form of responsibility taking which is very risky, I would say. It's about improving one hundred and one things simultaneously, and ensuring that those improvements really do stick in order to let their positive effects trickle down to the people.

The problem is that these one hundred and one things are probably not easily identifiable, and are probably already supposedly handled by a clutch, if not as many departments, committees, grassroots leaders, as there are problems and solutions. And at the end of the day, in giving out such responsibility in piecemeal fashion, eventually no one takes charge of the problem, the overall negative effect that is supposed to be eliminated. It's as if everyone knows that there is an elephant which they want to get rid off from the room they are in, but with so many other people in the room assigned to different parts of the elephant, everybody ends up assuming that someone else holds the key to finally getting rid of the elephant. What is really needed is someone to take charge and organize everybody (as well as facing the consequences of telling people what they can or cannot do) so that the one objective is finally achieved.

Simply said, without sweating the details, I would say that there is a lack of effective direction, and control, that focuses on the person in need. Everyone can name the problem in general. But no one wants to be responsible, in this one, big, way - no one wants to sacrifice their time and efforts for returns and recognition which might not come their way. No one wants to make sacrifices in such difficult times, as the media tells us daily. No one wants to be the one to take on this responsibility which carries no fame, no gain, not even a guarantee that one can walk away from it peacefully.

But are those really all the choices and scenarios we have at hand, in such a situation?

Sometimes, our horizons are very much narrower than they could have been, had we been looking for solutions which involved other people. Very often, we tend to try to solve problems on our own. It's a hassle working with others, and not everyone is strong enough to let others know that they are weak because they had to call for help. We often don't want to admit that we want to have someone on our side, to share in our problems. But that is what makes a difference. And having one more person accompanying us during our troubles does make a difference. Horizons open up a little larger, the troubles seem lighter, and the possibility of success seems to grow larger.

While such ideas are seemingly lofty and romantic, the stuff of movies and dramas, nevertheless we do encounter them in our lifetimes. It's just that we can never trust that it would happen again, because essentially, we had to trust another person with our deepest fears, our most vulnerable parts. But you never know until you've tried - and it's always different every time. If today I accompanied a person in need with tenderness and compassion, I am quite sure that my own life too will be changed. I've gotten to know someone, and I'm helping that someone to be better.

And there lies a reflection of the difficulties of helping someone else - there is a gnawing feeling that we should not ourselves be shortchanged, be taken advantage of, be a fall guy to an elaborate emotional scam. All I can say is, so what if that happens? Does my world come crashing around my ears? Am I scarred for the rest of my life? Or is there instead a growing awareness of the depths of brokenness out there in the world - and that makes me more grateful for all the little miracles of my life? You might wonder, but I think I will give it a try. I choose, not because I see something I want, but because I see something someone needs. I choose life, and life, in a way, chooses me in return – for all I am, warts and all, hero and villain, strong and weak. It’s about the choice made – it’s never about the profit or loss.