“Even if there was,” explained the female police officer I spoke to, who did not wish to be identified, “we would have not have just let it go like that. We would have done our best to help her. That’s what we always do. If there is evidence that we have not handled her case appropriately, especially if there is an impression that we were disrespectful, then we have indeed been neglectful. If what she’s saying is true, this is a strong criticism of our work and we will need to improve our service and our attitude,”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Suhiro, the head of Community Liaison at the Indramayu Police Headquarters. As the public face of the national community policing program (Polmas) in the region, Suhiro said this was very concerning and was a sharp criticism of the way this trafficking case was handled by police.
“This demonstrates our failure to socialize the community policing program at all levels of the Indonesian police. Of course, police officers are only human and Polmas is a new program. We still need time before all levels of the police force can reform themselves,” stressed Suhiro when I met him in his office.
Suhiro said he hoped that the victim would come and report the case again. “If it is indeed true that a member or members of our staff behaved inappropriately, I think I represent everyone in the police force in apologizing for what they did. To us, this is a black mark against the name of the Indonesian police force.”
Meanwhile, according to Afandi, an activist from the NGO Perempuan As-Sakinah in Indramayu, Sri’s case is a slap in the face to all parties, especially the government and religious leaders, particularly as this case was not treated seriously or acted upon for several months, until finally the victim decided not to speak out further or pursue the case.
“For us, it’s difficult to assist in this case because we don’t want to put pressure on the victim. There’s things we can do to help, if the victim and her family give permission. If the victim refuses assistance, we can’t force the issue. We do humanitarian work, and we respect the decision of the victim. If we force her to accept our assistance then we are in breach of humanitarian principles,” said Afandi.
Sri, however, just wants to get on with her life. “In terms of getting help from the police, I’m not interested anymore,” she says “I’m just trying to accept what happened and forgive everyone involved.”
Response from Religious and Community figures
KH. Syakur Yasin
(Community leader and spiritual leader of Cadang Pinggan Pesantren, Kertasmaya, Indramayu)
This case demonstrates the failure of all parties to deal with the problem of trafficking. Why are so many members of our community falling victim to these crimes? Because we are not doing anything to defend them. Why do so many, too many, women suffer in Saudi Arabia, in Batam? Why do so many of them run away? Why aren’t the perpetrators of trafficking punished as harshly as possible? Even though, I don’t think it’s difficult to figure out who they are. Maybe the problem is that many of the perpetrators are government officials. So it’s easy for them to protect themselves – they can just buy their way out. It’s ok for them, but what about poor farmers and their families?
