"Don't Be Traded": Minister Karding Reminds Of The Danger Of Brokers For Migrant Workers

JAKARTA - Minister of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI), Abdul Kadir Karding, emphasized the importance of increasing public literacy related to the safe and procedural migration process in order to suppress the practice of brokering and criminal acts of trafficking in persons (TPPO).

This statement was conveyed by Minister Karding while reviewing the training center for prospective migrant workers, Nusa Daya Academy, in Bandar Lampung, Tuesday, July 30.

"The first problem regarding knowledge about migration itself in the community is still very limited, so they use a lot of brokers," Karding said as quoted from a press release from the Ministry of P2MI, Thursday, July 31.

He reminded that the practice of brokering is not only detrimental economically, but can also trap prospective migrant workers in inhumane working conditions. Many victims, he said, were dispatched without official documents and without adequate skills.

"Their contract is weak, some are even not contracted. In the end they can be like being traded. Don't go illegally," he said.

To strengthen protection, KemenP2MI formed a Rapid Response Team tasked with handling cases of illegal placement and TIP in various regions. However, Karding emphasized that prosecution alone is not enough.

"This protection issue should not only be the ministry itself. It must involve all parties, including the community," he said.

As a precautionary measure from upstream, KemenP2MI is encouraging the formation of the Golden Migration Village, namely a village based on protection and migration literacy.

"Because there are many recruitments from the village, we form a system and a team there to protect the community," said Karding.