They were repatriated via Tanjung Pinang and Pontianak (border checkpoints).Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Social Affairs Ministry conducted the repatriation of 4,539 Indonesian migrant workers to their hometowns across the nation until mid-August of 2020.
"They were repatriated via Tanjung Pinang and Pontianak (border checkpoints), Director General of Social Rehabilitation of the Social Affairs Ministry Harry Hikmat noted in a written statement released on Thursday.
The ministry recently also sent home 277 Indonesian migrants that had fallen victim to human trafficking from Johor Bahru, the capital of the Malaysian state of Johor. Some of them are being sheltered at the Tanjung Pinang Trauma Center, while the others at the Pontianak Repatriation Post, he remarked.
The repatriation of Indonesian migrants falling victim to human trafficking is aimed at allowing them to return to their hometowns to reunite with their families and the community, he noted.
Hikmat revealed that the Tanjung Pinang Trauma Center served the repatriated Indonesian migrants after being accommodated at the Indonesian Consulate General in Johor Bahru.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Social Affairs Ministry and Task Force for the Repatriation of Indonesian Migrants Falling Victim to Human Trafficking (WNI M KPO) applied health protocols since they arrived in the country. They also underwent rapid tests and swab tests to check their health condition. If they encounter a health problem, they will undergo a 14-day quarantine at the trauma center and thereafter be sent back to their hometowns.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Desi Purnamawati/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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