Another Story from Indonesia Domestic Workers



There it was ... a 60-second news on Tarsih's misery, a domestic worker from Karawang, East Java, who is treated badly by her employer but could not do anything else but to pray that this is all just a nightmare.She was raped, kicked, punched and all she could do was to be silent.



She is considered 'lucky' because she had the chance to run and ask protection from Indonesian Embassy. There are many others who are still in the hand of unknown miseries. Through her cry, she tries to speak to the world, that her tears wasn't the first one and sadly won't be the last either...



Indonesia government has tried to solve the problems faced by these domestic workers. However, the speed of problems growth is 'unbelievably' fast. Moreover, the biggest obstacle is that most of the problems are hidden and unheard.



I did my thesis on Indonesia women as domestic workers and I found that there are so many cases that did not even make it to the surface due to the fact that these women are considered as the lowest class in the world. They did not have anyone to turn to, so sometimes, some decided to change their destinies through the most desperate ways, like suicide or homicide.



This has to stop. I do not how I can contribute to help stopping the cruelty that these women face everyday. I start with writing their stories, to help telling their unheard voices.



She …


Laying in the silence of the darkness



she, who was “loved” with a palm of hand of those having the Dollars



is trying to portray a dejavu of tomorrow’s bliss



yet falling into a deep blackness and emptiness in an imperfect world



Failing to find a way to escape from the abstract depiction of her today’s tears



Attempting to erase the temptation to end her story in the world



Laying in the silence of the darkness



she, who was dedicated her all to volatile being so called laoban



Screaming the inner worm that gnaws at her frozen heart – in silence



Regretting the forcedly revolutionized dream of beautiful tomorrow into the abyss of shame



Breaking a vow of tolerating the last abuse



Building a will to survive



Laying in the silence of the darkness



she, who asked for nothing but respect



Thinking of the bloody body with her knife in his heart



Realizing that the sorrow has ended



Smiling on her outside, faltering on her inside



Struggling to find a path for the new future



Laying in the silence of the darkness



she, who is the new princess of jian yu Kaohsuing



Planting the new shoot of hopes and dreams but this time, her eyes are wide open



Blocking any manipulation once done by her “brothers”



Writing a new story of "I’ll begin again …"



Laying in the silence of the darkness



she, who by others is thought of as a despicable killer



Praying to her Allah



Craving that her sisters would be released from the ‘unexpected’ agony when pursuing a better future



but not swearing to those who sucked her hopes for a ‘sinful’ thing called money



because for her, they are still the brothers to love



Laying in the silence of the darkness



she, who was once admitted as the Indonesia’s remittance hero



Not knowing that she touched my heart in every possible way



She is the dreamseeker, the survivor, the sister of mine
-LM-



Dedicated to all Indonesian women as domestic workers

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