Nine women fall victim to human trafficking in West Kalimantan

Nurni Sulaiman, THE JAKARTA POST, BALIKPAPAN | Sat, 02/21/2009 3:41 PM  

At least nine women from West Java have fallen victim to a human trafficking network in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. 

The case was uncovered after one of them, identified as Siti Rahmah Binti Rahman, 32, managed to flee from their temporary shelter in downtown Pontianak. 

The seven women from Bandung were held for 11 days and were reportedly meant to be sold to an illegal migrant worker company in Malaysia. They would allegedly be employed as sex workers in the neighboring country. 

Rahmah's husband, Yusuf Supriatna, was allegedly a member of the trafficking gang. 

To the police Rahmah explained she actually had no intention of being a migrant worker in Malaysia, but her husband had forced her. Yusuf even threatened to divorce her if she refused to go along. 

"My husband threatened to divorce me if I refused his request for me to become a migrant worker in Malaysia," she said. 

Rahmah added she and her friends were not allowed out of the temporary shelter because they did not have passports yet. She was also not informed that eight others like her had allegedly been sold in Malaysia. 

She said she panicked upon finding that their friends had disappeared one morning. She added she became even more afraid after hearing Yusuf's explanation that the eight were arrested by the police at 5 a.m. 

"That's why I escaped from the house, through the window," she said. 

On Thursday, Rahmah was found at Batu Layang Bus Terminal in Pontianak by Devi Tiomana, a member of the Nanda Dian Nusantara Foundation. 

"She was confused and didn't know where to go," Devi said, adding she was certain the other eight women had been sent to Malaysia. 

West Kalimantan Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Suhadi S.W. admitted that Pontianak was one of the areas most prone to human trafficking. 

"There are at least 54 shortcuts that can be used by illegal migrant workers. The distance from Pontianak to Malaysia is only 400 kilometers, which is accessible by road. That's why there are many trafficking cases here," he said. 

The problem of social disparity along the border area means a shortage of jobs in Indonesia has forced people to seek their fortune in Malaysia. 

"We need to cooperate with all related parties to handle the trafficking cases in West Kalimantan," Suhadi said. 

Rahmah will be sent home to Bandung by the Nanda Dian Nusantara Foundation or the social services office, he added.