From the group discussion forum (FGD) held at the Lipursari Village Hall, it was apparent that most participants were curious about the success of the ex-migrant workers’ struggle to protect their rights through permanent regulation by the district government until they received support from the village government. A former migrant worker who is now an activist defending the fate of migrant workers, Siti Maryam alias Maria Bo Niok, revealed that a long process was undertaken for the issuance of a Perda on Protection of Migrant Workers in Wonosobo.
It was explained, the ex-migrant workers of Wonosobo, it took more than two years to fight for the issuance of Perda No. 8/2016 on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers. “In this regulation, one of them regulates that every prospective female migrant worker who has a breastfeeding obligation, must wait until her child is two years old if they wish to go abroad to work as a laborer,” she explained.
It had become a polemic and some even accused him of violating human rights. “We did not budge and remained in the conviction that children are more entitled to get breast milk (ASI) and care for a mother until she is two years old, and finally the proposal was approved and accommodated in the Regional Regulation.” The positive impact is that Lipursari residents avoid the practice of human trafficking, because now PJTKIs are not just looking for workers without obtaining permission from the village government.
