The Story of a Stubborn TKW Ambon Neglected in Polman
Polman, Sulbarkita.com-- Novita Abraham, 25, sits on a bench near a Polman Regent Office on Sunday November 3. The woman from Ambon, Central Maluku was hit by confusion because she did not know where to go in an unfamiliar area. "I just want to go back to my village," Novita said in tears.

Novita had just run away from the house of an Indonesian Labor agent (TKI) with the initials DN on Jalan Anoa, Kelurahan Madatte, Polewali Mandar. He has lived there for five months accompanying DN's elderly parents.

In 2016, Novita became a migrant worker in Malaysia through the DN agent. He was tempted by the promise of high wages to support his only son, after a divorce from her husband.

But luckily, unfortunate cannot be denied, Novita is actually suspected to be a victim of human trafficking. He is employed as a housemaid without being paid a penny by the employer.

Even though the youngest of seven siblings had to do quite heavy work, ranging from washing cars, washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning the entire house every day. "Even the bread on the kitchen table is counted before the employer goes to the office," he said, "I am only given one meal a day."

Unable to be treated this way, Novita finally tried to escape. Luckily he found 150 ringgit from his pocket when he was washed around 2017. With the money, Novita tried to return to Indonesia via Kuching, Sarawak, heading to Pontianak, West Kalimantan. "There I called the DN TKI agent to be sent back to my hometown," he said.

DN finally bought Novita a plane ticket, but the ticket only drove it to Makassar. Upon arrival in the capital city of South Sulawesi, Novita again suffered an unlucky fate. DN prohibited him from returning to Ambon if he did not redeem Rp26 million, "He said it was my transportation compensation," he said.

Novita certainly doesn't have that kind of money. He also resigned. Since then Novita has lived in DN's house. There, he was treated like a maid but without payment. He was also not allowed DN to set foot outside the house, "So I just stayed indoors for two years," he said.

Two years later, DN asked Novita to accompany her parents in Polewali Mandar. That's where he had the opportunity to run away. Novita sold her cellphone for Rp. 600 thousand for capital going to Ambon. "My son quit school because there was no one to send, my father and mother all died," he said again with tears in his eyes.

The Novita case has now entered the Polewali Mandar Resort Police. However Kasat Reskrim Polman AKP Syaiful Isnaini could not comment on the case. The Head of PPA Aiptu Sastri said that Novita's natural occurrence was not in her jurisdiction. "The locus was not in the Polman but in Ambon and Makassar," he said when met at the Polman Police Station on Sunday.

The Novita case is also now a concern of the local government. Deputy Chairman of DPRD Polman Amiruddin promised to provide assistance. Even so Polman Regent Andi Ibrahim Masdar, "I who help with ticket money when reporting to PJTKI," said Andi Ibrahim.

AHMAD G.