VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jan. 29 - A total of 158 Indonesian migrant workers, including ship crew members, were repatriated from some Pacific countries of Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Fiji.

The migrant workers arrived at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on late Thursday (Jan 28), the Foreign Affairs Ministry noted in a statement here on Friday.

The batch that landed also comprised 35 ship crew members, who were stranded in Majuro, Marshall Islands, for five months after their work contract with a Chinese fishing ship expired.

The ship crew members could not return to Indonesia in the wake of the quarantine policy imposed by the Marshal Islands government amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some 29 migrant workers were repatriated from Fiji, 15 from Papua New Guinea, and 78 from Solomon Islands.

The ministry has also returned the remains of a ship crew member, identified by its initials as AW, who had died in a work accident in Fiji.

The repatriation was conducted in coordination with the Indonesian embassy in Manila, Port Moresby, and Suva.

During the pandemic, the ministry facilitated the return of over 27,064 ship crew members who were stranded in foreign nations owing to the enforcement of movement restriction policies. (Antaranews)