The Ballad of the Domestic Workers

From the Depression Ward of Kramatjati Hospital in Jakarta came stories of sorrow and pain. Hundreds of Indonesian maids working overseas have been victims of violence, physically maimed and sexually abused by their employers and, on their return home, robbed of their hard-earned dollars by heartless people at the airport. Not a few have returned to their villages in coffins. The government has failed to protect its citizens working overseas to generate billions of dollars annually in foreign exchange for this republic, blaming instead the worker-importing countries for the state of affairs. Meanwhile, unscrupulous labor suppliers and corrupt bureaucrats continue to prey on the helpless maids. Here are the stories of these poor women.