Another Sad Story on "Pahlawan Devisa"

Literal translation of "Pahlawan Devisa" is "Currency Hero". It does not make sense, I know, mostly because of my limited vocabulary, so any Indonesian outhere who can translate better, feel free to speak up! :)

The terminology is often used to describe indonesian workers outside Indonesia. They bring money into Indonesia, so they call them "hero". If I think about it, this terminology is supposed to be applied to all indonesian workers outside Indonesia including all the Indonesian expatriates, but because many of indonesian workers work outside Indonesia are also maids working in middle east, malaysia, singapore, etc, the terminology of "Pahlawan Devisa" usually refers to the indonesian maids.

Although they are paid better than if they work inside the country, there are a lot of sad stories. The most common case is that they are not paid as promised and even worse, got tortured mentally and physically. This one happened in the US.

clipped from timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Indian couple gets 40 yrs in jail for 'slavery'

19 Dec 2007, 1150 hrs IST,CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA,TNN

he charges as detailed graphically by the prosecution were horrific. India-born Mahendar Sabhnani, 51, and his Indonesia-born wife Varsha, 46, were a multi-millionaire couple who owned a perfume business, living in the upscale Long Island, NY, neighborhood of Muttontown. But beneath the calm of their expansive mansion lurked a bizarre and repulsive story of unimaginable cruelty and bestiality.

T

The couple employed two Indonesian maids who for years bore the brunt of their perverse ways, according to the prosecution. At various times they were abused, starved, and tortured while being made to work 18-hour days.

The women said they had been beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, made to take freezing showers and climb stairs repeatedly. They were locked in small closets to hide them from visitors.

 

Comments

[Cordelia]

Other possible translations: "Heroes of Foreign Reserves" or "Foreign Remittance Heroes". Another case of euphemism?

[tere616]

Tragic isn't it ? The worst part is when they come home to Indonesia, the imigration people tream them like they were 2nd class citizen.

Just recently, when I went to Singapore by Emirates, in our row there's one Indonesian Heroes of Foreign Reserve worker and indonesian wealthy man, if I may say so, sat next to her. And the way he looks at that Indonesian worker, like she was bird flue patient.

Sad and tragic ...

[tisi]

And I heard the Indian couples only paid their maids USD100 a month. That's totally against the labor law in U.S.