A 26-year-old Indonesian migrant worker in Taiwan who was diagnosed with permanent paralysis in January 2015 was able to return home on Thursday after a joint effort by the two governments.
Shinta Danuar, from Banyumas in Central Java, Indonesia, had worked worked as a nurse for her employer Gao Jia Tai in Hsinchu City in Taiwan from April 2014, the Jakarta Post reported.
In early January 2015, the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei (KDEI Taipei) received a report from the worker’s employment agency, which informed them that Danuar was in a coma in Mackay Memorial Hospital in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Spinal cord damage resulting not from a fall or physical abuse, but from health problems, was diagnosed. It left Danuar paralyzed from the neck down, and required her to use respiratory equipment on a permanent basis.
Having spent two years in Heping Hospital in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Danuar was in a stable condition, but completely dependent upon life-supporting equipment.
Her mother Suryati had asked for the return of her daughter, which drew the attention of the Jakarta government.
The cost of Danuar’s return was completely covered by the Manpower Ministry and the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI).
Danuar’s flight took place on November 29. A team from the Taiwanese Emergency Medical Service provided special care during both the transits between hospital and the airport in Taiwan and from the airport to Kramat Jati Police Hospital in Indonesia.