Sasak against the palm tree

Assalamualaikum wr.wb


“Brothers and sisters around Sanggau please help collect funds to save a Sasak who has worked for 10 years in the oil palm plantation without receiving his salary and now expelled from Malaysia. He is in our mosques, in a state of trauma, but he still comes to prayer. When the fund is collected we will send him back with a volunteer to our village”. (an SMS from member of the Sasak Community in West Kalimantan)

The tragedy of Manohara that could not be managed by our Embassy in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia that finally invited FBI and the United States and Indonesian Embassy in Singapore to involve in the case, made me aware of our nationalisme. I'm angry and I think about how that government officials work such as in the village level . Not because Manohara is a model, but because she is a woman of this country and I always cry out that if the women are bad the whole nation is bad. Fortunately Manohara has got two citizenships as she is only 17 and not old enough to chose one.. Had she only has Indonesian citizenship how awful she could have gone through the torture from her husband.

How many Sasak workers died and sent back home in a package to Sasakland, how many families mourn on the box of the cadaver that maight not be opened. How many women have become widows and children become orphans all at once?. How many people have become beggars because they sold their rice field to pay the ticket only to get die. And leave heirs with a debt burden that may not even be paid by selling themselves as prostitutes or thieves?. Give me an answer O Bajang Sasak, ahlil momot meco! ( O Young Sasak, the expert of idle and day dreaming!.)

When I checked in at the Kuala Lmpur internasioanal airport, I saw TKW (woman migrant worker) lied on the floor like Pindang (salty fish) covering the entire body with the traditional batik cloth, typical dasan’s children. How the nation shows to the world the face of her own children?. The buried women creates a buried nation. No wonder why foreigners consider us a garbage. Only garbage can ironed, burned, splashed with hot water, raped, aren’t we aware that we have treated our women like slaves?. They even could not speak well but we give them fake identities, because the smart women are not easy to handle and they would demand higher salary.. Our ignorant women are exploited like dairy cows by officials and the mafia of woman and children traffics and become slaves to their masters in neighboring country!

Pepadu (young) migrant workers are all the same , low education , less fluent of Indonesian and childish. They undertake something on basis of not heeding consequences and risks because of the sweet stories from some one who tries to get the advantage fro them. They go abroad mostly because they are ashamed to stay home to work in their plantation and paddy fields. They gain less money because of the less creativity ! If they are diligent why Lombok needs to import sugar and broad bins from Bali and Java? Salty fish comes from Sulawesi and Sumbawa! While all sources in Gumi Selaparang are plenty. The number of migrant Pepadu Sasak is awful a lot that so many of them hide in the Malaysian forest and the forest around the border. They are already determined to sail away from Gumi Paer, without documents and they ended up to be taken by the Tekong, mafia of human trafficking. Those who own passport are powerless, they must submit their documents to the company’s boss. Tratter clothes cover their body and they work until they die, like the fate of our brother in Sanggau.

The Revolution of the Sasak Nation children must include all of them in Gumi Paer and all the hiding or the legal ones in other countries. Those who are in Gumi Paer are easier and directly to be guided and for those who are abroad will be very difficult to be taken care of but possible. Why many migrant workers plunged into misery and finally have become slaves that died, expelled and jailed?.

There are three things that make them victims of migrant workers.
1. HR does not comply with the requirements specified by the recipient of foreign workers.
Foreign workers who enter another country using legal documents but with falsified identity will receive salary that is cut here and there and then when they come home they will be robbed in every corner of the airports and bus stations.

2. HR has the skills but not compeletely knowing rights and obligations.. Tehye have salaries but still they being expl;oited by their boss or provider of workers that keep their passports and salary for many moths.

3. HR bonek, are migrant workers who own nothing but determined decision, leaving without skills and without document they eneter other countries illegally, either through land or sea that often ended with the death. If they are not drawn in the deep sea, they would be arrested at the border. If they have escaped they hide in palm plantation or in the forest. The third kind is the majority of Sasak migrant workers in Malaysia . And those who are expelled as Pendatang haram ( illegal migrant) are found hack around along the borderline..

To prevent things like that continue taking place it is high time for all local government of Lombok to control the flow of migrant workers to leave for Malaysia. But people have to work extra hard to provide non formal training and education.. Because if formal one wil not be interesting to the yopung Sasak who actually have low disciplines. Skills training in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery, what they are doing in foreign country is pearing the palm oil, isn’t it?. For a more diligent and ambiacious one give them vocational training in technology to work in industrial countries. And for those who speared coconut palm, can hoe, build tunnel and water irrigation. The government should and must build the infrastructure to support the productivity of Gumi Paer. If Israil can produce the most delicious fruit in their desert why the fertile ground Selaparang land is deserted?.

Lets be honest to ourselves, Sasak Children, stop deceiving ourselves to hide weakness of our cover, that we continue sending slaves abroad that we will regert at the end. We have f more and more number of insanes , bad nutrition, thieves, prostitutes etc. The leaders must try hard to improve the quality of life in all aspect.. Young people should not play idle , only want to become musicans, movie stars, heroes, managers and governor without hard working and going through right procedures. It is better to be ourselves. So children of the Sasak nation will be strong, independent and dignified. Let us change the bad behavior such as attacking each other. Let's help each other, help such as shown by oyr ancestors.. Look at the situation of our children and compare it with the history of our ancestors.. They took part in the parade during Maulid, with Gendang Belex, they had holydays in the time of planting rice and after harvest, they were always cheerful and sang, blew kendola (rice flute) in the field.

The scent of an expensive perfume
doesn’t compete the fragrant of Gumi Paer
when it rains and the sun touches her face ....
Temptation from the beautiful life style
will not be able to compete the beauty of yellow rice.
City dance will not be able to match the swaying flow of coconut leaves
Thundering waves is the hymn,
call of the soul that invites us to gather
wealth in the deep of clear water.

Buffalo’s bellow is a call for children
To the lap of the fertile land.
Rinjani stands still beautifully, it is our
faithful promise that never be exchanged
by a moment of spoiled entertainment.
O child of dasan, Gumi Seleparang
Bore you , gave life and spoiled you,
Now is the time to come and spread flowers on her lap.


Only Allah knows everything

Do forgive me for all mistakes,
Sicereley yours

Hazairin R. JUNEP