Even as the Saudi ambassador to Indonesia promised to enforce the legal rights of Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Indonesian workers were being detained for protesting to demand their right to return home.

Up to a thousand Indonesian overstayers – many of whom had had their documentation confiscated by traffickers as they came over to work as migrant labour building the giant cities of the House of Saud – are being held awaiting deportation.

Most were being held after they had demonstrated outside the Indonesian consulate in Jeddah, demanding that the embassy help them to return home. Shortly after their arrest, more protestors began to arrive hoping to be deported.

The problem of overstayers has been growing throughout Saudi Arabia over the last decade as poor working conditions and terms of service, which amount to indentured servitude for the workers brought over, force many to flee their employers – who hold their documentation as collateral to force people to work.

Labour activist Anis Hidayah, of rights NGO Migrant Care, noted: “Most of them came to work legally but they were abused and weren’t paid, so they ran away from their employers.” Anis added that they were undocumented because their employers had retained their passports.
Around eight million Indonesians work overseas, with hundreds of thousands in Saudi Arabia alone. It is thought around half of these are undocumented.

Saudi Arabia are currently attempting to recruit 3,000 Indonesian nurses as part of an effort to upgrade their healthcare system.