REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian embassy in Damascus, Syria, has repatriated 45 migrant workers on Friday (Sept. 18), while 61 others are still in the embassy awaiting the settlement of their unpaid wages, the foreign affairs ministry stated.

Moreover, 61 Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) are still staying at a temporary shelter of the Indonesian embassy in Damascus as they are fighting for their rights, such as the settlement of unpaid wages for several years, Charge d'Affaires Ad-Interim/Head of Indonesian Representatives in Damascus Didi Wahyudi said here on Wednesday.

According to Wahyudi, the 45 repatriated TKI have successfully fought for their rights and have managed to resolve their issues.

With the recent repatriation of 45 TKI, a total of 8,652 Indonesian citizens have so far been sent home from Syria since 2011, either through Lebanon, Jordan, or Turkey.

Moreover, since September 2011, after the security situation in Syria deteriorated, the Indonesian government has imposed a moratorium on sending workers followed by the permanent cessation of migrant workers and has begun the repatriation of all Indonesian citizens from Syria.

The government has even decided that workers who entered Syria after the moratorium came into effect since September 2011 would become the victims of the Crime of Human Trafficking (TPPO).

Didi further stated that the repatriation of 45 TKI from Syria has entered its fifth year, but such efforts still encountered problems due to acts of human trafficking.

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