Christian activists have demanded the Indonesian government take strict action against human traffickers on the Catholic-majority island of Flores after the recent death of a worker due to starvation in East Kalimantan province.
Yodimus Moan Kaka, 40, a resident of Sikka Regency died on March 28. His wife, Maria Herlina Mbani, reported to police on April 5 that he was recruited with 70 others in Sikka by Yuvinus Solo, a politician.
“They were smuggled in a boat as they did not have legal documents. They were made to work at a palm oil company in East Kalimantan without proper food or shelter,” said Holy Spirit Sister Maria Fransiska Imakulata.
The nun, who is the coordinator of the Humanitarian Volunteer Team (TRUK) based in Flores island, said the authorities need to be serious about resolving the recurring problem of human trafficking.
Imakulata is currently accompanying Kaka’s wife and children and demanded that the police should arrest the politician as “the evidence is clear.”
TRUK secretary Heni Hungan said Solo was recently elected a member of the local parliament.
“The past stories we heard from victims strengthen our suspicion that he is not a new perpetrator,” she said.
Petrus Arifin, 38, a fellow worker who is still stuck in East Kalimantan, told UCA News over the phone that Kaka had died of hunger.
They left Sikka together on March 12 and started working on March 18 without much to eat or a place to stay.
“We only ate in the morning and late evening, and it was always some stale rice,” he said.
Arifin said Solo paid the police to smuggle them out by boat as they did not have official documents.
The Sikka Regency government is now planning to bring home those still stranded in East Kalimantan, said media reports.
Solo was questioned by the police on April 9. His attorney Dominikus Tukan denied any involvement in the case.
A Sikka police spokesman said they were probing the case including the alleged involvement of police personnel who may have collaborated with the alleged perpetrator.
Gabriel Goa Sola, an activist with Zero Human Trafficking Network, said human trafficking for palm oil companies in Kalimantan is a major concern.
“We estimate around 1000 people are being illegally trafficked per year,” he said. “And it’s not just the workers, they also smuggle their families.”
The police always act against the recruiters, but nothing is done to trace the masterminds.
“We always emphasize that cases like these will continue to occur if only field actors are caught, and not those running the syndicates,” Sola said.
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