Foreign Minister: 114,587 Indonesians Returned Home amid Coronavirus Pandemic

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi reported that 114,587 overseas Indonesians have returned to the country resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

“For the past three months between March 18 until June 17, 2020, we have recorded more than 110,000 Indonesian citizens or exactly 114,587 Indonesians who have returned home,” stated Retno Marsudi during a virtual press conference on June 18.

The week of the announcement saw an uptick of 3.7 percent in the number of overseas Indonesians returning home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Read also: Home Affairs Minister: Indonesia Must Find Coronavirus Vaccine to Beat Pandemic

That total amounted to 4,130 Indonesians.

The bulk of the overseas Indonesians who made their way back to their motherland were ship crew members and repatriated Indonesian citizens.

The largest number of Indonesians returning home came from Malaysia with a total of 83,035 people.

Indonesians who were ship crew members from 30 countries accounted for 23,397 returnees.

Repatriated Indonesian citizens from 49 countries amounted to 8,255 people.

Overseas Indonesian returnees entered Indonesia through five entry points positioned in Jakarta and Bali.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister emphasized that the Ministry is closely monitoring the condition of remaining overseas Indonesians.

Helping Indonesians Abroad

Since mid of March, the government through the Indonesian embassies and consulates in Malaysia have distributed around 304,608 packages of daily goods to Indonesian citizens.

The Indonesian Diaspora members in Malaysia have sent out 109,168 similar packages.

Read also: Sale of Indonesian Foods Overseas Weather Corona Outbreak

In total, there have been over 413,776 packages sent to Indonesians citizens based in Malaysia.

A total of 481,940 packages have been sent out to overseas Indonesians living elsewhere around the globe.

Aid for Indonesian Migrant Workers

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s distribution of packages to overseas Indonesians are mostly sent to the country’s migrant workers.

Judha Nugraha confirmed on June 17 that Indonesian migrant workers are the most affected groups during the coronavirus pandemic.

He is the Director of Citizen Protection and Legal Assistance at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Indonesian Covid-19 cases in Saudi Arabia also affect Indonesian migrant workers the most.

“Many cases are from Indonesian migrant workers based in Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah where the spread of the Covid-19 virus remains relatively high,” explained Judha on June 17.

Read also: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Indonesian Covid-19 Cases in Saudi Arabia Mostly Migrant Workers

Based on data from June 21, there are approximately 1,074 overseas Indonesians who are confirmed to carry the Covid-19 virus.

Nearly 65 percent of them have recovered or totaling to 701 Indonesian citizens.

Although the Indonesian Foreign Ministry can assist with repatriation, it recommends that Indonesian citizens remain in their host country if possible.

Specific conditions must be met before the Indonesian Foreign Ministry moves ahead with repatriation due to limitations in movement amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Writer: Ihsanuddin | Editor: Fabian Januarius Kuwado) 

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/06/17/22132841/kemenlu-salurkan-481858-paket-bantuan-bagi-wni-di-luar-negeri