A group of six migrant workers from Indonesia was reportedly trapped in Syria after being promised job opportunities in the Middle East.
The group was initially promised jobs in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, but were then sent to a shelter belonging a Syrian national where they were met with violence, tempo.co reported.
Yanti, a 45-year-old migrant worker from the Malang regency, raised the alarm after she managed to escape from Aleppo.
Yanti said she was in the war-torn area with nine others for five months before she managed to get back to Indonesia late last year. She added that videos promising the workers good conditions were falsified and she was only able to return due to her pregnancy.
The local Manpower Agency in Malang acknowledged and stated that the workers were, in fact, illegal migrants and referenced a moratorium on sending workers to the Middle East. Sukardi, an official at the agency, said no relatives of the victims reported the case, which kept authorities in the dark about the situation.
He added that information on how they went there was limited and authorities were waiting for an official report before taking action. The agency is now trying to locate the company and the sponsor who sent the migrant workers to Syria illegally.
