As of March 2002, after a crackdown on illegal workers in Malaysia
and the introduction of new legislation, thousands of illegal Indonesian
workers have been deported from Malaysia to Nunukan, a small island
in East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. Between March and end July
2002, 137,256 were returned to Nunukan and at present there remain
around 30,000 persons stranded in the area. This number fluctuates
as people are continually arriving and departing. Furthermore, there
are also people who enter illegally and are not recorded. The government
aid centre estimates that there are currently 100,000 returned persons
in Nunukan.
The number of migrant workers presently in Sabah is estimated at
more than one million and of that number only 400,000 are
legal workers, the remainder are undocumented. This clearly signals
that there are many more illegal workers who will be sent back to
Indonesia, mainly through Nunukan the gateway to Malaysia, especially
Sabah. Currently there are already 70,000 illegal Indonesian workers
stranded in camps in Malaysia waiting to be extradited to Nunukan.
The living conditions of these displaced migrant workers in Nunukan
is deplorable. The workers with their families have been sleeping
in the shelters and barracks that are spread over several locations.
Many are sleeping in open spaces and pavements across the town. The
situation is exacerbated due to the lack of food and water. Sanitary
facilities are non-existent. To date 71 persons have
died from illnesses caused by respiratory problems and diarrhoea and
many suffer from fever, conjunctivitis, itchy skin, asthma, malaria
and malnutrition.
There is only one community health centre with 10 beds along with
8 doctors and 22 medical personnel (including nurses, a midwife and
paramedics) for the whole population, both original inhabitants (30,000)
plus the displaced.
ACT CO is currently processing a proposal from ACT member, Yakkum
Emergency Unit of CD Bethesda to provide basic necessities
for survival for the most vulnerable workers. The project includes:
water and sanitation, mobile health clinics and medicines, kitchen
utensils, supplementary feeding for children and pregnant women as
well as advocacy to assist illegal workers. The budget will be around
US$67,000.
