Thousands beg Australia not to deport autistic Filipino boy

Yahoo – AFP, 27 April 2015

A 10-year-old autistic Filipino boy makes an emotional plea for permission to stay

in Australia, as tens of thousands called for him not to be deported (AFP Photo/
Greg Wood)

A 10-year-old autistic Filipino boy made an emotional plea Monday for permission to stay in Australia, as tens of thousands called for him not to be deported despite the potential cost of his condition.

Tyrone Sevilla, who arrived in Australia from the Philippines legally as a two-year-old with his mother Maria Sevilla, has written to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton asking to stay.

The letter, which reads: "Dear Mr Dutton, can I stay in Australia please... Tyrone," was the first one her son had written and probably the most important he would ever write, Maria said.

Tyrone Sevilla holds a sign he wrote with a

 message for Australia's Immigration Minister

 Peter Dutton asking to stay in the country (AFP 

Photo/Maria Sevilla)

"With our help, he managed to sit down and write all those letters on the page. For him to sit down and do that, it's a different Tyrone," she told AFP.

Maria Sevilla said the letter showed her son, who does not normally communicate by speaking, understood the family's situation after they were denied visas due to the probable cost of providing for Tyrone's care.

"I think he knows what's going on," she said.

Maria, who has been in Australia since 2007 on a variety of visas, said she and her son had been denied permission to stay longer because they were labelled a "burden" to Australian taxpayers.

The Sevillas presented a petition, signed by more than 120,000 people, to Dutton's electoral office in Brisbane in the hope that the minister would give compassionate consideration to their cause.

"Today is make or break, whatever we do today will help with our case," Maria, a registered nurse who works in a Queensland hospital, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"Australia is our home. Because we have been here for nearly eight years and we've been assimilated in the community.

"Our immediate family are here, which is our support.... I have my work here and I can actually provide for Tyrone."

The family said Tyrone did not speak Filipino or have any close relatives remaining in the Philippines, with his grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt and cousins all living in the Australian city of Townsville.

Call for common sense

Dutton said the immigration department was preparing a report for him on the case, and in the meantime a bridging visa -- which typically covers a 28-day period -- would be issued for the mother and son.

"In this case we need to apply common sense," he told the ABC.

"We're a compassionate society and we want to help families in difficult situations."

"There's no fear that anybody is going to be deported, there will be a bridging visa which will be issued which is standard practice in these matters," he added.

Dutton stressed that such decisions were always hard and emotional, but the immigration department must consider the costs of conditions such as autism on the provision of services.

"It is a difficult area because we have thousands of applications... but we have to be sensible about the number to whom we should provide that support," he said.

Dutton said a decision would likely be made within weeks, and it would take into account the fact that Sevilla was employed and could look after her son.

Australia takes a hard line against asylum-seekers arriving by boat, refusing them resettlement in the country even if they are found to be refugees and sending them instead to Pacific states.

But Maria Sevilla, who said she pays tax and has private health insurance, said she was overwhelmed by the support she had received from the Australian community.

"I am hoping that he (the minister) will see that there are a lot of Australians that are really supporting us," she said.

"I am still hoping that we will have a positive outcome."

100m immigrants needed to save aging Chinese workforce

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-03-19

Migrant workers at a construction site in Beijing, Dec. 9, 2014. (Photo/CFP)

China must open its doors to up to 100 million young immigrants from Africa and Southeast Asia to address the country's aging workforce, according to a researcher with China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

China's rapidly aging population, a product of the country's one-child policy, has become one of the government's biggest headaches. While Beijing has eased the national birth control policy in recent years, economic constraints have so far prevented a new baby boom.

The Chinese tradition of preferring boys to girls has also led to a gross gender imbalance in the population, with estimates that 30 million Chinese men will not be able to find a female partner by 2020.

Based on the sixth National Population Census in 2010, only 16.6% of the country's population was aged 0-14, less than half of the statistic in 1982. Research by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences found that before 2020, China's working population will fall by 1.55 million people per year. From 2020 to 2030, the working population will drop by 7.9 million people a year, eventually leading to a total decrease of 250 million workers by 2050.

Luo Tianhao, a researcher for the SASAC's Business Technology Assessment Center, says China's over-60s will account for 30% of the entire population by 2050, resulting in a significant shrinkage of youth labor that will have a devastating impact on the economy.

Luo says he has also additional concerns that the actual size of China's workforce has already been overstated, having once read a report stating that there are at least several tens of millions of middle-aged people in China unwilling to work or find employment.

Accordingly, Luo says that over the next 20 years, the government must decisively promote having children and "tolerate" mass immigration of up to 100 million people from African and Southeast Asian countries. Beijing has no choice but to choose this path, Luo said, adding that this would make China the country with the second-most immigrants in the world behind the United States.

The purpose of such an approach is utilize the young resources of those countries to effectively feed China's seniors, Luo said, noting that he does not believe young Chinese people will be disadvantaged from the policy because of the country's high university enrollment rate.

Related Article:

China considering one-child policy changes: premier

Filipino worker in coma to be sent home with Taiwanese aid

Want China Times, CNA and Staff Reporter 2015-03-11

Reynaldo's mother receives the donation in Chiayi, March 10.
(Photo/Chiayi County Social Affairs Bureau)

Filipino worker Rosauro Jamee Reynaldo Lutaw who fell into a coma as a result of heart disease will be flown home March 15, thanks to donations from local Taiwanese people and the government.

Reynaldo, 25, had been working in a factory in Minhsiung in Chiayi county since his arrival in Taiwan in September 2012. He collapsed suddenly on Nov. 30, having shown no previous symptoms of illness.

A thorough examination found that he has congenital heart defects of which he himself was unaware. Although doctors managed to save his life with emergency surgery, Reynaldo fell into a deep coma and was transferred to a nursing home for medical care after 25 days at the hospital.

His mother, who came to Taiwan last December, has been taking care of him at the nursing home.

Since his condition was caused by heart defects rather than an occupational hazard, Reynaldo's medical costs are not covered by his insurance policy. Owing to the local language barrier, his mother wanted to take him back to his home in the Philippines for further treatment.

However, Reynaldo has had difficulty in meeting his medical costs in Taiwan, not to mention the cost of his flight home.

After learning of his plight, the Chiayi County Social Affairs Bureau asked the Ministry of Labor Affairs for urgent aid of NT$100,000 (US$2,900), and managed to raise another NT$180,000 (US$5,700) from local charities, including the Chiayi Do Good group.

Witnessed by officials from the Social Affairs Bureau, the funds were given by representatives of the donors to Reynaldo's mother Tuesday to help them return home.

Erwiana Tells Court of ‘Torture’ by Hong Kong Employer

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Dec 08, 2014

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih arrives at the Wanchai Law Courts to begin giving
 evidence against her former employer who is accused of abuse and torture, in
Hong Kong on Monday. (AFP Photo/Isaac Lawrence)

Hong Kong. A former Indonesian maid on Monday told a court that she was starved, beaten and ritually humiliated by her Hong Kong employer in a case that sparked international outrage.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih described in vivid detail how for months on end she lived on nothing but bread and rice, slept only four hours a day and was beaten so badly by her former employer Law Wan-tung that she was knocked unconscious.

“I was tortured,” she told the packed courtroom through a translator on the opening day of Law’s trial. “She often hit me … sometimes she would hit me from behind, sometimes she hit me in the front. I was hit so often sometimes I got a headache … She hit me in my mouth [so] I had difficulty breathing.”

Erwiana’s case has shone a spotlight on the plight of Hong Kong’s nearly 300,000 domestic workers, drawing angry crowds onto the streets in May to protest for better working conditions.

Opening the prosecution, solicitor Louisa Lai detailed the harrowing litany of abuse the former maid allegedly suffered, including how she was told to wrap her sores-covered feet in plastic bags “because of the smell.”

International condemnation

Pictures of the 23-year-old, who was admitted to a hospital in Indonesia in January emaciated and in critical condition, drew international condemnation as they spread on social media.

But on Monday, Erwiana, dressed in a purple jacket and white woollen jumper, remained calm as she told the court how Law had even “scratched my nose and my face” with her bare hands.

In one incident, she described being stripped naked, sprayed with water and made to stand in front of a fan in the bathroom in the middle of winter.

Prosecutors also allege Law used household items such as a mop, vacuum cleaner and a clothes hanger as “weapons” against Erwiana.

“She put a vacuum cleaner into my mouth … and twisted it round my lips. It was bleeding and very painful,” Erwiana said.

‘Slavery-like’ conditions

Law faces 21 charges — also relating to two other former domestic helpers — including grievous bodily harm with intent, criminal intimidation and failure to pay wages. The most serious are punishable by up to life in prison.

The 44-year-old mother-of-two was arrested in January as she tried to board a flight to Thailand but was released on bail pending the trial.

Dressed in a light brown coat and thick-rimmed glasses, Law kept her head down as her former maid described the alleged abuse, occasionally shooting her a glance.

Earlier she had pleaded not guilty to all but one of the charges against her, admitting only that she had failed to arrange insurance for Erwiana.

Hong Kong is home to nearly 300,000 maids, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Amnesty International last year condemned the “slavery-like” conditions faced by some domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city, and accused authorities of “inexcusable” inaction.

On Monday around 20 members of an organization representing domestic workers in the city staged a protest outside the court, waving signs saying “No to modern day slavery” and featuring pictures of Erwiana.

“Justice for Erwiana!” and “We are workers, we are not slaves!” they shouted.

Virtual prisoner

Erwiana on Monday said she became a virtual prisoner in the house where she worked after she was caught trying to run away. After that Law took her passport and wallet and locked her in the house at all times, she said.

It was only when she was too weak to talk that Law bought her a ticket for home.

“She threatened to kill my parents back home if I talk about the torture to anyone,” Erwiana said.

The case is continuing.

Agence France-Presse

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is seen in her
hospital bed in Sragen district, central Java, on February 5,
2014 (AFP Photo/Anwar Mustafa)

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Singapore Population Growth Hits 10-Year Low

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Sep 25, 2014

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks during the Singapore Summit at
 the Singapore Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Sept. 20, 2014. Foreigners account
 for nearly 40 percent of Singapore’s total population, but the government has been urging
young Singaporean couples to start families. (AFP Photo/Mohd Fyrol)

Singapore. Singapore’s population grew at its slowest pace in a decade in the 12 months to June as the government tightened the inflow of foreign workers, official figures showed on Thursday.

The statistics department said the city-state had a total population of 5.47 million people as of the end of June, up 1.3 percent from the year before.

“This was the slowest growth in the last decade, driven by slower growth in non-resident population,” it said.

The number of citizens stood at 3.34 million, up a slight 0.9 percent from the year before, while those with permanent residency fell 0.7 percent to 527,700, the department said in its latest population trends report.

According to the statistics, over 29 percent of Singapore’s population comprises “non-residents” — those working, studying or living in the country but not granted permanent residency.

Including permanent residents, the statistics show that foreigners account for nearly 40 percent of Singapore’s total population.

Complaints from citizens about overcrowding, foreign workers competing with locals for jobs and resentment over the bad habits of foreigners has made immigration a hot-button issue on the affluent but space-constricted island.

With the complaints becoming more strident especially on social media, the government has taken steps to slow down foreign hiring and the granting of permanent residency status.

The discontent spilled into the 2011 general elections when the ruling party garnered its lowest-ever vote count after more than 50 years in power, and analysts say it remains a key issue for the next election, which must be held before January 2017.

Singapore’s fertility rate also fell to 1.19 babies per woman in 2013 from 1.29 in 2012, well below the 2.1 babies needed to naturally replenish the native-born population, the report said.

In January, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged young Singaporean couples to get off to a “galloping start” in the Lunar Year of the Horse by having more babies to boost the flagging birth rate.

Agence France-Presse

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Seven billion people and climbing, but not everywhere


"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  3 - Longer Life is Going to Happen, But…

Here is one that is a review. We keep bringing it up because Humans don't believe it. If you're going to start living longer, there are those who are frightened that there will be overpopulation. You've seen the way it is so far, and the geometric progression of mathematics is absolute and you cannot change it. So if you look at the population of the earth and how much it has shifted in the last two decades, it's frightening to you. What would change that progression?

The answer is simple, but requires a change in thinking. The answer is a civilization on the planet who understands a new survival scenario. Instead of a basic population who has been told to have a lot of children to enhance the race [old survival], they begin to understand the logic of a new scenario. The Akashic wisdom of the ages will start to creep in with a basic survival scenario shift. Not every single woman will look at herself and say, "The clock is ticking," but instead can say, "I have been a mother 14 times in a row. I'm going to sit this one out." It's a woman who understands that there is no loss or guilt in this, and actually feels that the new survival attribute is to keep the family small or not at all! Also, as we have said before, even those who are currently ignorant of population control will figure out what is causing babies to be born [Kryon joke].

Part of the new Africa will be education and healing, and eventually a zero population growth, just like some of the first-world nations currently have. Those who are currently tied to a spiritual doctrine will actually have that doctrine changed (watch for it) regarding Human birth. Then they will be able to make free choice that is appropriate even within the establishment of organized religion. You see, things are going to change where common sense will say, "Perhaps it would help the planet if I didn't have children or perhaps just one child." Then the obvious, "Perhaps I can exist economically better and be wiser with just one. It will help the one!" Watch for these changes. For those of you who are steeped in the tradition of the doctrines and would say that sounds outrageously impossible, I give you the new coming pope [Kryon smile]. For those of you who feel that uncontrolled procreation is inevitable, I encourage you to see statistics you haven't seen or didn't care to look at yet about what first-world countries have already accomplished on their own, without any mandates. It's already happening. That was number three.….”

Beijing plans orderly migration of 100m farmers to cities

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-08-09

Harvesting sunflowers in Gansu province, Sept. 11, 2013. (Photo/Xinhua)

China's sweeping hukou reform will grant 100 million migrant workers equal access to urban social welfare by 2020, but many have started to wonder where the 100 million strong rural population will settle down.

Will they flock to already over-crowded mega cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where increasing population will further strain urban resources? Or will they become residents of China's smaller cities, which would be better able to accommodate them but provide fewer job opportunities?

The State Council, the Cabinet, issued the most comprehensive guideline for the newest reforms to the hukou or household registration system, on July 30.

To ensure orderly migration of the 100 million migrant workers, the guideline asks local governments to set differentiated household registration policies based on their ability to absorb migrants and provide public services.

Under the guideline, migrants can settle in towns and small cites with populations under 500,000 freely, with previous hukou restrictions abolished. For medium-sized cities with populations between 500,000 and 1 millon, however, controls have been set in hopes of establishing an orderly resettlement of rural population.

More conditions apply for big cities of with populations between 3 million and 5 million, and movement into cities with more than 5 million people will be strictly controlled.

Primary conditions include legally being employed at a stable job for a certain period and owning or renting a residence in the city they wish to move to.

China's hukou system is tied to one's place of residence and was set up in 1958 to control movement of rural population into cities. The hukou system has prevented the country's 269 million migrant workers from receiving the same public benefits as people with urban hukous and is felt to hold back the urbanization and domestic consumption that the government sees as China's growth engine for the future.

The new guideline says China will implement a single household registration, scrapping the nominal distinction between rural and urban hukou, but the benefits tied to hukou of different areas still exist with more developed areas providing better public services.

The differentiated hukou relocation policies are based on three socioeconomic factors, Huang Ming, vice minister of the Public Security Ministry, told Xinhua

After years of rapid urbanization, with 52.6% of the population living in cities last year, imbalances have arisen in the process. While more industrialized eastern areas are under increasing environmental strains, middle and western regions are still underdeveloped; the industrialization potential of underpopulated small cities have yet to be realized; and mega cities suffer from excessive populations, causing deteriorating "urban malaise" such air pollution and traffic jams.

For instance, migration has stretched Beijing's capacity to the extreme. According to official figures, Beijing's population increased by 87% from 1990 to 2011, reaching 20.18 million. Among the new residents, 7.42 million are migrants. The surge in population means Beijing now has to import its natural gas and fuel supply, as well as 64% of its power.

Wang Xiaoguang, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said differentiated policies could serve the goal of encouraging development of middle and western areas. At the same time, these policies are necessary, given the fact relocating to big cities costs much more.

After 15 years in the booming province of Guangdong, migrant worker Liu Yong finally decided to settle in Longshe township near his hometown in southwest Chongqing municipality. Liu, a former villager from Dadi village, bought a new house in the town in 2010 and relocated his hukou from his rural home to the town.

The reason for his move is simple. Settling down in the nearby town is affordable and allows him to live near his relatives. The same year, the housing price in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong, soared beyond Liu's financial reach.

Chongqing, as one of the two pilot hukou-reform regions in China, abolished its hukou restrictions in 2010. So far, nearly 4 million migrant workers have relocated their household registrations to urban areas, with 70% of them choosing to settle in towns and small cities. This shows migrant workers are more likely to relocate to more livable and affordable small cities.

Zhang Xiaode, another professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said setting employment and residence requirements for hukou relocation can prevent rural populations from flooding into cities, which could cause slums and widespread unemployment in cities.

According to a survey, about 50% of China's migrant workers who have entered cities work in counties and small cities. Keeping this in mind, the government has planned to invest more in infrastructure in small cities so they can attract more migrant workers to settle down.

World lacks adequate social protection net

Over 70 percent of the world's population lacks proper social protection, states a new report by the International Labour Organization. It also warns of the trend's negative impact on economic stability and development.

Deutsche Welle, 3 June 2014

When people become unemployed or ill, or simply too old to continue working, they should have the right to claim social security, but many still lack such protection, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), a UN agency. In its World Social Protection Report 2014-15, the ILO gives an overview of social security coverage around the world. One of its key findings: only 27 percent of the global population enjoys access to comprehensive social security.

"We're focusing not only on income benefits, but also on services and noncash benefits," said Christina Behrendt, one of the authors of the World Social Protection Report.

A driver of economic growth

The report notes that the level of social protection is largely determined by the general economic situation of the country in question. At the same time, a country's economic development is influenced by its social protection system.

"We have observed that many developing and newly industrialized countries that have invested in social security have made positive steps forward," Behrendt told DW. "There we see that investments of this kind have a very, very positive effect on economic development."

China has made great improvements
to its national pension system

China is close to achieving universal pension coverage, while Brazil has accelerated the expansion of social protection benefits to support low-income families, according to the report. In India, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has managed to secure jobs for millions of people in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year. All this, say the report's authors, strengthens the domestic market and the local economy.

So one needs to "turn the question upside down and ask if poor countries can afford not to invest in social security," said Behrendt

Social security on the decline in Europe

In Europe, meanwhile, cuts are being made to social protection as part of fiscal consolidation measures. "Especially in southern Europe, we are seeing an increase in poverty and social exclusion among children," said Behrendt.

International poverty-relief organization Oxfam has also warned about the consequences of social spending cutbacks in Europe. "I find the news coming out of countries like Greece particularly alarming - that child mortality has greatly increased because people can no longer access certain medical services," said Tobias Hauschild, a development finance expert at Oxfam Germany. "This is a return to rudimentary social security systems and rudimentary health and education systems, which exacerbates social inequality."

Widening gap between rich and poor

Economic instability led to social
 unrest in Argentina in the early years
of this millennium

Oxfam recently conducted an analysis of the social protection systems in the G20 group of leading industrial nations. In most of them, the gap between rich and poor is growing too.

"This is a worldwide trend," said Hauschild, adding that despite a few exceptions among the G20 - such as the narrowing rich-poor gap in South Korea and some Latin American countries - the situation remains serious in countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

According to Hauschild, not only the G20 but also the G7 - the seven wealthiest major developed nations - will need to examine the issue of social protection more closely, as well as the question of social stability. The ILO's report also warns of negative consequences for global political and economic stability if nothing is done to improve the situation.

Hauschild said he hopes that the World Social Protection Report will have an impact, pointing out that new global development goals are to be set at the UN summit in September 2015.

"Now is the start of the so-called hot phase, in which an agreement on new objectives needs to be reached," said Hauschild. "For this reason, the report has appeared at the right time."

Related Article:

Domestic workers around the world: the big picture

Protest day for fast-food workers planned for more than 30 countries

• Union representatives gather in New York City

• Protests will call for pay of $15 an hour

theguardian.com, Associated Press in New York, Wednesday 7 May 2014

Protesters in New York call for higher wages for fast-food workers. Photograph:
Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Labour organisers say they are planning another day of fast-food protests next week, with coordinated actions expected in the US and more than 30 countries this time around.

Union representatives from countries including Argentina, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand and Panama gathered in New York this week to share tips and strategise for the demonstrations slated to take place on 15 May. Organisers announced the global actions at a news conference outside a McDonald's in New York on Wednesday afternoon.

The protests, calling for pay of $15 an hour in the US, have gained national media attention since they began in New York in late 2012. The push is getting financial and organisational support from the Service Employees International Union – which has more than 2 million members – and has served as an important backdrop as President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers seek to raise the federal minimum wage in an election year.

Although the effort to raise the federal minimum wage in Congress seems unlikely to succeed, several states and localities have raised their minimum wages recently.

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour was last raised in 2009. That translates to about $15,000 a year, assuming an employee works 40 hours a week.

The protests come at a time when the widening income gap has become a pressing issue. Since 1980, income has grown the most for top earners, while falling for the poorest 20% of families. Advocates for raising the minimum wage say a growing number of people in low-paying jobs are trying to support families.

Fast-food workers have historically been difficult to unionise, because of the high turnover rates in the industry.

Turnouts for the fast-food protests over the past year have varied. In New York, chanting demonstrators led by community leaders and local lawmakers typically flood a fast-food location for about a half hour, temporarily making it impossible for customers to enter the restaurant and place orders. Once the crowd disperses, however, restaurant operations quickly return to normal.

In other cities, demonstrations are often much smaller.

Organisers say many of the protesters are workers who walked off their jobs at places including McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell. But such chains typically rely on a large number of part-time workers, in order to avoid paying overtime, meaning they can usually call up other workers to take over. The practice underscores another common grievance in the industry – employees say they never know how many hours of work they'll be given from week to week.

Ron Oswald, general secretary of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations, said at the two-day meeting in New York that the idea of fast-food workers from around the world collaborating would have been unthinkable 10 years ago.

But, he said: "Fast food workers have had enough.”

Organisers say protests are planned in countries including Japan, Pakistan and South Korea. But the scale of the actions will vary.

Louise Marie Rantzau, a 21-year-old McDonald's worker in Denmark, said she and her colleagues planned to take a photo of themselves holding a banner outside a fast-food restaurant, then post the picture on social media. She said a collective agreement with McDonald's prevents workers from protesting.

Her situation also underscores how fast-food employees work under varying conditions around the world. Rantzau said she earns about $21 an hour because of the collective agreement. Still, she noted that her colleagues often aren't aware of their rights, such as shift breaks and extra pay in certain conditions.

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'Tortured' Indonesian maid listed on Time's top 100

Yahoo – AFP, 25 April 2014

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih leaves the hospital in Sragen

district in central Java island on February 5, 2014 (AFP Photo/Anwar Mustafa)

Hong Kong (AFP) - Time magazine has named an Indonesian maid allegedly tortured by her Hong Kong employer as one of the world's 100 most influential people, putting the spotlight on the city's treatment of its migrant workers.

Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, reportedly suffered months of abuse in a case which has renewed concerns over the treatment of domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city and sparked angry protests.

Time magazine hailed Sulistyaningsih's bravery in speaking out against her employer and pushing for laws that better protect maids in Hong Kong.

A member of a support group for Erwiana

 Sulistyaningsih, an Indonesian maid allegedly

 tortured by her Hong Kong employer, holds a

 placard during a rally outside the Indonesian

consulate in Hong Kong on April 8, 2014

(AFP Photo/Philippe Lopez)

"It is brave women like her who speak up for the voiceless who will create lasting change," Cambodian activist Somaly Mam said of Sulistyaningsih in the list published on Thursday.

"Erwiana is advocating for better laws to protect others who may share her fate, placing a spotlight on the plight of a vulnerable and often invisible population," Mam said.

Time's recognition of Sulistyaningsih brings international attention to the treatment of migrant domestic workers in the city, Hong Kong-based Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body spokesman Eman Villanueva told AFP on Friday.

"The inclusion itself only proves that the issue of migrant domestic workers, the slavery, the exploitation and abuse is something that the international community should pay attention to," Villanueva said.

He described the situation as "ripe for abuse" in the city, where maids are required to live with their employers.

Villanueva also said Erwiana's actions and her inclusion on the list will help empower more victims to speak out.

"This would encourage and would strengthen the resolve of many other victims to come out in the open and fight for their rights and seek justice," he said.

Law Wan-tung, a 44-year-old Hong Kong mother-of-two has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Sulistyaningsih.

Prosecutors have alleged that Law turned household items such as a mop, a ruler and a clothes hanger into "weapons" against Sulistyaningsih.

She was also charged with common assault and four counts of criminal intimidation -- charges related either to Sulistyaningsih or to her two previous Indonesian domestic helpers.

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih

 looks on from a hospital bed in Sragen

district in central Java island on February 5,

 2014 (AFP Photo/Anwar Mustafa)

The trial has been adjourned to April 29, with officials awaiting the maid's medical records from Indonesia.

Sulistyaningsih was admitted to hospital in Sragen, on Indonesia's main island of Java, in critical condition after returning from Hong Kong in January.

The Asian financial hub is home to nearly 300,000 maids, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines, and criticism from rights groups over their treatment is growing.

Amnesty International in November condemned the "slavery-like" conditions faced by thousands of Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong and accused authorities of "inexcusable" inaction.

Time magazine's list also included Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban attack in 2012 when she was shot in the head by the militants for campaigning for girls' education.

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Blood Money Finalized for Indonesian Migrant Worker Facing Death in Saudi Arabia

Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, Apr 03, 2014

Jakarta. After weeks of controversy, the Indonesian government said today it had formally agreed to pay blood money in exchange for the life of Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, 41, of Ungaran, Central Java, who was scheduled for execution on Friday in Saudi Arabia after admitting to slaying her former employer in 2007 and fleeing with 37,970 riyal ($10,125).

“We have agreed to give the victim’s family what they demanded,” coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs Djoko Suyanto said on Thursday, as quoted by a report published on Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi’s official website, setkab.go.id.

The al-Garib family — the close relatives of Nura, who was killed — initially requested 10 million riyal in 2011, but the Indonesian government managed to negotiate the amount to 7 million, with 5 million to be paid now and another two due in the next two years.

Djoko said the government had agreed to pay the diyat (blood money) in full and that Satinah was expected to be spared.

He said that a diplomatic a task force led by former religious affairs minister Maftuh Basyuni had conveyed the message to the victim’s family.

“Our team left for [Saudi Arabia's] Qassim province on Thursday morning to meet the governor and convey that the Indonesian government had agreed to meet the family’s demand,” Djoko said.

He said that the Saudi government had also confirmed having received a letter sent by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“The letter from the president has been sent to Saudi Arabian king, and the Saudis have responded by telling us that the Kingdom’s staffs will work on a pardon,” he said.

Anis Hidayah, executive director of Migrant Care, andNGO that advocates for the rights of migrant workers, said he welcomed the government’s actions.

“Finally, the public movement initiated by social media users has successfully touched the government’s arrogance, they can no longer ignore he fact that saving a citizen is the country’s responsibility,” Anis said.

The social movement joined by celebrities, public officials and activists, led by singer Melanie Subono, managed to collect Rp 2.8 billion ($246,400) for the cause.

“From the very beginning our main objective was not only to collect [Rp] 7 million, but also to push the government and to tell them that they cannot let the people to take over the responsibility to save Satinah,” she said.

Anis said she would let the donors to decide what to do with the funds collected through the movement.

‘We will discuss this later, maybe we can use it for the greater good, but we don’t advise that the money be given to Satinah’s family,” she said.

In a meeting earlier this week with the families of migrant workers facing death penalties overseas, Yudhoyono said that 246 Indonesian migrant workers were facing death but that 176 had been freed during his time in office.

A photo of Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad is seen on her sister’s phone
in Ungaran, East Java. (JG Photo/Dhana Kencana)

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Jakarta Globe, Mar 30, 2014

President Yudhoyono meets with the families of migrant workers on death

row in Central Java on March 30, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Twitter/@sbyudhoyono)

Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday met with families of Indonesian migrant workers facing the death penalty abroad, in the wake of recently announced negotiations to save the life of a worker who admitted to killing her Saudi employer — the latest in a string of high-profile cases involving Indonesian migrants.

“As you know, the government is making serious efforts to seek forgiveness from Saudi Arabia and the victim’s family,” Yudhoyono said at the meeting in Hotel Gumaya, in Semarang, Central Java, as quoted by news portal Detik.com.

Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, 41, of Ungaran, Central Java, was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia after admitting to slaying former employer Nura in 2007 and fleeing with 37,970 riyal ($10,125). She is scheduled for execution on April 4 if the Indonesian government cannot collect the proper sum of diyat, or blood money, by that date.

The al-Garib family initially requested 10 million riyal in 2011, but the Indonesian government managed to negotiate the amount to 7 million — with 5 million to be paid now and another two due in the next to years.

The families of Siti Zaenab, Tuti Tursilawati and Karni, all awaiting execution in Saudi prison, were also in attendance at the meeting, as were Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Education and Culture Minister Muhammad Nuh, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha and foreign affairs advisor Daniel Sparingga.

On Friday, Yudhoyono sent an envoy to Saudi Arabia to meet with the al-Garib family before the execution deadline: Head of the task force on migrant worker protection (Satgas TKI) Maftuh Basyuni, accompanied by a team of Foreign Ministry and Manpower Ministry staffers. They delivered the 5 million riyal, according to a report published on the Cabinet Secretary’s official website, setkab.go.id.

Yudhoyono said that 246 Indonesian migrant workers were facing the death penalty abroad, but that 176 had been freed during his time in office.

“We have freed 176 people from death sentences,” he said, according to news portal Detik.com. “That is not a small number considering how hard it is to ask forgiveness for even one person.”

He said that the central government sought clemency for Indonesians facing foreign death sentences as a matter of principle rather than as the result of political pressure.

Satinah’s brother, Paeri Al Fery, expressed gratitude for Yudhoyono’s actions.

“Thank you for your help, mister President,” Paeri said. “Thank you for coming to Semarang. Please pray for us.”

Indonesian migrant workers wait to exit a boat at North Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok
 port in this file photo. The workers were sent home from Saudi Arabia. (JG Photo/
Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

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