It Took 2 Months For The Body Of An Illegal Migrant Worker From Cianjur To Be Returned From Cambodia

Parents of migrant workers from Cianjur, West Java who died in Cambodia hope that their child's body can be buried in his hometown in Cijati District. (ANTARA/Ahmad Fikri)

CIANJUR - The body of Muhammad Abdul Fatah (20), an Indonesian migrant worker (PMI) from Cijati District, Cianjur Regency, West Java (West Java), was sent home after being detained for two months in Cambodia.

Head of the Cianjur Tohari Sastra Manpower and Transmigration Service (Disnakertrans) said the repatriation of the bodies of migrant workers assisted by the Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Cambodia is expected to arrive in the country via Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Soetta) Tangerang, Banten Province, Friday evening, December 29.

"We have sent a team and ambulance to take the body to Cianjur, then it will be handed over to the family for burial in their hometown in Cijati District," he said in Cianjur, West Java, Friday, December 29.

Over the past two months, his party together with their attorneys and families have tried to repatriate the bodies of migrant workers who are suspected of illegally departing for Cambodia. Through the ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Cambodia, the family's hopes were finally granted the return of the bodies.

He hopes that in the future there will be no more Cianjur residents who will go to work abroad illegally, because apart from harming themselves and their families, the government has difficulty providing legal assistance or assistance when something unexpected happens.

"We ask Cianjur residents not to be persuaded by sponsors who promise various benefits and large salaries while departing illegally. Those who are interested in working abroad please come to the service to get clear information," he said.

So far, he added, many cases have happened to migrant workers from Cianjur who left illegally to a number of banned countries such as the Middle East and other countries, not even a few who returned in coffins because they experienced violence as victims of trafficking in persons.

The attorney for the victim's family, Ali Hildan, said that currently his party and his family are waiting for the arrival of Muhamad Abdul Fatah's body which will be brought directly to Cianjur for burial.

"After waiting for two months, the family's hope to bury Fatah in her hometown has been granted, at this time we are still waiting for the arrival of the body at Soekarno-Hatta Airport," he said at the Cianjur Renewal Astakira Office.

As reported by Muhammad Abdul Fatah leaving for work abroad around May 2023, through his neighbor's R, but the victim was initially promised to work an office in Thailand with a salary of 700 US dollars per month and was apparently dispatched to Cambodia.

During his two months of working in Cambodia, the victim had sent Rp20 million to his family in Cianjur. However, in August and September, the victim complained of illness to his family, until he was finally reported to have died at the Phnom Phen Hospital on November 13, 2023.