If You Die, Your Body Is Not Brought Home; If Stay Alive, Your Salary Is Not Paid

Month after month passed without them sending updates to each other. One day in December 2019, Rila called Soleh. Unexpectedly, Rila reported that he was already on a Taiwan-flagged fishing boat.

KOMPAS/PANDU WIYOGA

Officers carry the coffin of a crew member, an Indonesian citizen, who was recently repatriated through the Port of PT Bias Delta Pratama Layup Anchorage, Galang Island, Batam, Riau Islands, Wednesday (30/12/2020).

Stories of Indonesian citizens experiencing hardships while working on foreign fishing vessels are becoming increasingly common. You never get paid, but you’re considered lucky if you’re able to return home. If you’re unlucky and die at sea, your body will never be brought home.

Two friends, Soleh, 24, and Rila Salam, 22, young men from Tegal, Central Java, had the same dream of earning a living by working on foreign ships. Two years ago, they met a man named Ali Imron, the executive director and owner of PT Raja Crew Atlantic (RCA), a company that recruits and distributes crew members (ABK) for foreign ships. Ali promised them they would be assigned to a Taiwan-flagged fishing vessel.