Day: February 10, 2023

Jakarta – The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has dispatched a medical team to support evacuation and recovery efforts in Turkiye following the February 6, 2023, earthquake in the country.

“Yes, it is the medical team that is part of the national team. The PMI has dispatched five health officers (consisting of) doctors, nurses, and X-ray experts to Turkiye,” PMI Chairperson Jusuf Kalla informed at the Turkish embassy here on Friday.

The decision to dispatch a medical team is an expression of solidarity with Turkiye, he said, adding that PMI is ready to extend a helping hand in disaster response and rehabilitation operations anywhere.

The PMI has also sent US$100 thousand in aid to Turkiye, he added.

According to Kalla, the medical team will work in Turkiye until the conclusion of the emergency response period, and the team is ready to carry out strategic measures during the recovery and reconstruction operations.

“The disaster (response teams) will start from the emergency response team, then the rehabilitation team, and the reconstruction team. Our first assistance will be for emergency response, and our future assistance will be in the form of housing,” the PMI head said.

He then asked the Indonesian people to get involved in assisting earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria by donating money, saying that any amount they donate would be helpful and benefit earthquake victims.

He also highlighted the need to repay the kindness the Turkish people showed Indonesia during the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh in various forms.

“Turkish contribution to Aceh is huge; they helped the reconstruction of up to one thousand houses, so we need to help each other,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian embassy in Turkiye has sent another evacuation convoy from Ankara to Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Hatay, and Gaziantep regions for three days to search for and evacuate Indonesian nationals.

“We have received new requests to evacuate 12 Indonesians from earthquake-affected regions,” the embassy’s trade attaché and evacuation team head, Eric Gokasi Nababan, said on Friday.

The embassy has also distributed 179 aid packages for Indonesians who have decided to stay behind in their regions and need logistics assistance.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – Exposure to cigarette smoke can reduce pregnant women’s chances of experiencing a healthy and comfortable pregnancy, the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) has said.

“For men whose wives are pregnant, please reduce smoking to increase the pregnancy quality,” BKKBN head Hasto Wardoyo said in Jakarta on Friday.

Responding to a statement by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin regarding the effect of smoking on stunting, Wardoyo said that several studies conducted in the health sector have shown that cigarette smoke, which contains toxic substances, can reduce the volume of clean air available for pregnant women. It is also harmful to the growth of the fetus inside the womb.

Exposure to cigarette smoke can cause the fetus to experience intrauterine growth restrictions, causing the baby’s body size to become smaller than normal. In fact, it can cause a baby to be born with low birth weight (LBW), he added.

According to him, the anomalies in fetal growth and development can be dangerous because they can cause a child to become stunted while in the womb. The condition can worsen with a lack of animal proteins in the mother’s diet.

Therefore, Wardoyo asked all family members who smoke to reduce their smoking habit and opt for consuming foods with animal proteins. He suggested that no family member be allowed to smoke in the house to maintain the air circulation for the mother and the baby.

“They can smoke outside to avoid the pregnant mother being exposed to the toxic substance. In addition, the consumption of fish containing Omega 3 and DHA such as mackerel or catfish can increase the baby’s brain development,” he said.

Earlier, Minister Sadikin said that smoking within the family can eliminate the opportunity for parents to provide animal proteins to children.

“If the parent prefers to buy cigarettes, it can reduce their economic power to buy eggs,” the minister added.

Sadikin highlighted that the biggest determinant of stunting is the quality of pregnancy and the end of the exclusive breastfeeding period, which requires the provision of complementary food supplements (PMT) to children. Therefore, children must consume animal proteins such as eggs, milk, fish, and meat.

Unfortunately, smoking behavior can eliminate the opportunity to buy 16 eggs, which can be purchased for around Rp25 thousand. This is in line with research, which has shown that the money used by families to buy up to three packs of cigarettes a day can be used to purchase eggs.

Thus, Sadikin asked all family members to pay more attention to the health of pregnant women and babies by reducing or stopping expenditure on smoking.

“The money the family spends to buy cigarettes reaches three packs a day, (with) which (they) should be able to buy eggs. Therefore, I remind the family to stop smoking and buy eggs as an important nutritional intake for children,” he added.

Source: Antara News

Papua acting governor Muhammad Ridwan Rumasukun has said that his administration is taking an inventory of structural damage caused to buildings in the 5.4-magnitude earthquake that jolted Jayapura on Thursday (February 9, 2023).

“The Sasana Krida (activity hall) in the Papuan Governor’s Office has been damaged on its ceiling and some glasses. A wall in the local archive office collapsed and damaged one car, while cracks were reported on some walls in Gedung Negara (State Building),” Rumasukun informed here.

The provincial authority also recorded cracks in the walls at Swiss Bel Hotel and Jayapura Hypermart and shattered glasses at a local Toyota dealer store and Maranatha Church in Polimak, he said.

Cafe Cirita also collapsed and sank into the sea underneath it, he added. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) declared the cafe site the focus of its rescue operations on Thursday afternoon.

“Damages were also reported at the Cendrawasih University auditorium, and shattered glasses were reported at the Papua local legislative building,” Rumasukun said.

The acting governor appealed to residents to remain calm and vigilant against potential aftershocks in Jayapura and surrounding areas.

“Be attentive to information published by the government and the BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency), and do not be provoked by dubious information,” he stressed.

Earlier, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that 2,136 people were displaced by the earthquake, and they all sought refuge at evacuation locations spread across 15 areas.

Acting head of BNPB’s Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, informed that 50 heads of families (KKs) took refuge at CV Thomas Complex, 50 families at Bank BTN Jayapura city, 200 people at Kristus Raja Dok V, 400 people at Bhayangkara I, and 300 people at B-One.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly urged various parties at the “Bali Process Government and Business Forum” to make collective efforts to overcome people smuggling and human trafficking.

“We encourage collective attempts (in collaboration) with the private sector to fight human trafficking, forced labor, modern slavery, and child exploitation as well as to promote transparent supply chain and ethical business practices,” he said at the forum in Adelaide, Australia, on Thursday.

The forum was part of a series of the “8th Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process) Ministerial Conference.”

The Bali Process was initiated in 2002. It is co-chaired by Indonesia and Australia. Currently, it has 49 members, consisting of both countries and international organizations. In addition, it has 18 observer countries and 9 observer international agencies.

According to the minister, the application of technology is important to overcome the problems of trafficking and smuggling of people.

“Strengthening the involvement of various technologies and digital platforms can reduce the risk of human trafficking through online spaces,” he said.

The Indonesian government has issued several policies to address human trafficking, including the new Criminal Code (KUHP) and the Government Regulation in lieu of the Law (Perppu) on Job Creation, which are expected to support business implementation and protect workers.

Other policies include Law Number 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of Human Trafficking as well as Presidential Regulation No. 22 of 2021 on changes to Presidential Regulation No. 69 of 2008 on the human trafficking prevention and handling task force.

In the future, Indonesia will encourage the Bali Process to become a more responsive and proactive forum for the development of human trafficking handling as well as increase collaboration among members, observer entities, and other relevant stakeholders.

According to the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Ministry’s Women and Child Protection Online Information System (Simfoni-PPA), as many as 1,545 cases of human trafficking and 1,732 victims of human trafficking were recorded in 2019–2022.

Source: Antara News

Jakarta – The Ministry of Manpower has praised Soekarno Hatta Airport (Soetta) Police, Tangerang, Banten, for successfully detecting a syndicate that was placing Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) illegally.

“We appreciate the Soetta Police ranks who are very serious about uncovering the criminal act of illegal PMI placement. This is a good step to have a deterrent effect on others,” the ministry’s director general of development of labor inspection and occupational safety and health Haiyani Rumondang said in a written statement received here on Friday.

She stressed that the placement of PMI in other countries must follow the regulations. Therefore, the ministry has urged those who wish to work abroad to follow the regulations.

“We already have the procedure and please visit the Manpower Service in each region if you wish to work abroad. Do not be easily persuaded by the instant procedure to work abroad because it is very risky. If you decide to work abroad without clear procedures, according to Law Number 18 of 2017 concerning PPMI, of course, you will not be registered with the government and representatives,” she informed.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s director of labor norms examination Yuli Adiratna expressed his gratitude to Soetta Police, immigration officials, airport operator Angkasa Pura, and the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Protection Agency (BP2MI) for working together to prevent illegal PMI from going abroad.

“This is the result of our joint work between ministries/agencies and the police. We hope that non-procedural placements will not occur again in the future. This is a lesson for all of us because there are elements who take advantage of our PMI,” he said.

So far, the ministry has continued to conduct outreach and education among the community, and even involved village governments in raising awareness about the legal procedure for PMI placements, he noted.

“The government does not prohibit people from working abroad. However, we must regulate the procedure to avoid incidents that may harm our people, especially PMI in this matter,” he added.

Head of the Soetta Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Commissioner Rezha Rahandi said that his party had identified three members of the syndicate (RC, ABN, and MBA) as suspects. They promised PMI candidates money to work abroad illegally.

“Funding for PMI comes from abroad. Usually, one worker is promised US$3,200 or around Rp48 million. The arrangements for passports and visas are handled by these syndicates,” Rahandi explained.

He informed that the arrests were made based on information that dozens of prospective migrant workers were planning to go to several Middle Eastern countries on October 17, 2022.

The police found that there had been an attempt to smuggle prospective PMIs. Joint investigators with BP2MI immediately secured the workers and thwarted their departure from Soekarno Hatta Airport.

Source: Antara News