Living in a Dilemma

Rahmad Azhar Hutomo (National Geographic Indonesia, Jakarta)

It is a dilemma, having a “dark identity” in the Land of Windmills and languishing in the shadows of deportation and blacklisting laws. “Dark” is how they call illegal migrant workers. Being lured by rogue agents or failing to partner in a trading are several reasons these workers choose to come to the Netherlands without legal documents for working. Unilateral termination of employment, getting no health benefits, and difficulty finding a place to live, these are the things must be faced everyday.

Initially, they come to the Netherlands with legal document. But then, they overstayed their visa permit. This is how they turned into illegal migrant workers. The Netherlands, which had occupied Indonesia for three centuries and had historical ties with Indonesia, became prima donna for hunting down the Euros compared to other European countries.

“Until now the number of undocumented migrant workers is around 2.000-4.000 people, then those who are not recorded estimated to be up to thousands” said Yasmine Soraya, initiator of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union Netherlands (IMWU NL). They usually work in the domestic sector, hotels, cafes, restaurants, construction workers and other sectors.

Edy’s dream of starting a fish oil business was completely destroyed. Hundreds of millions of capital has disappeared, he was trapped by his partners. Edy is part of the illegal workers who come from Indonesia. “I am ready to work without documents, because it is the last weapon,” complained Edy. The Netherlands has become Edy’s last resort to support his family.

Illegal workers are always needed. Without them, the economy in the Netherlands would stall. The toil and sweat of the dark actually flowed into the foreign exchange of their home country and place of work.

“In short, if it wasn’t so bad in my own country, I wouldn’t go all the way to another country and be far away from my family,” Edy said. Returning to Indonesia is not an option. Will the country of origin guarantee the welfare of these illegal workers?