台灣穆斯林移工服務之省思

Taiwan Muslim Migration Service:

“From the Aspect of Religious and Human Rights”

The local Muslim community in Taiwan is a minority that originated from the descendants of Muslim emigrants from mainland China in the years following 1949. This Muslim community is estimated to number in the fifty-thousands, and is found in all regions of the island. However, due to a combination of small population size, lack of resources, and a more conservative and secluded outlook, they have been less active in social services and community contributions.

However, this all changed since the controversy over the right of ownership of the Taipei Grand Mosque in 1996, when TGM was faced with the prospect of demolition. At that time, it received warm concern and support from the entire Taiwanese society. Consequently, through the administrative procedures of Taipei City Government, the fate of TGM was preserved as one of Taipei's ancient monuments. As a result of this interaction, the staff at TGM realized that they could no longer live in isolation, and that they must interact with the local community at large in order to receive support by providing support to their non-Muslim fellow citizens. It was then that they decided to adopt an open-door policy and begin an effort to contribute and give back to the local community.

In the year 2001, there were almost 30,000 foreign laborers working in Taipei. Approximately 90% of them were female Muslims from Indonesia. The foreign worker's policy or motto of Mr. Ma Ying-Jeou, the mayor of Taipei City at the time, was “Humane Treatment, Legal Protection.” However, since the city government could not effectively protect the domestic workers and caretakers from maltreatment or abuse by their employers, the Labor Department of Taipei City Government initiated a Migrant Workers' Asylum Center, which was to be established by the government and run by citizens, specifically under the entrusted care of TGM. This newly established Taipei City Muslim Migrant Workers Asylum Center would exclusively accept female Muslim migrant workers who were mistreated by or had disputes with their employers. “Treat travelers with kindness” is one important Islamic teaching, and mosques are one of the first places a Muslim traveler would search for, in his/her travels, and from which s/he would seek help and support when s/he is facing any difficulty. Thus, the mosque has long played a role as the “rescuer” for any Muslim, traveling or otherwise, who needs or seeks help. However, it was truly a new challenge for TGM to run such an Asylum Center and provide help from a religious perspective. In addition to providing the typical “shelter service,” where counseling and additional support for daily needs would be provided, we designed the Center to be their “transitional home.” Herein, they would find a secure and comfortable environment, where their oppressed hearts and exhausted bodies could find warmth and comfort. Furthermore, the Center would serve as their “training center,” where they could acquire relevant and necessary vocational skills that would help prepare them for their new careers with their new employers, or for a new occupation back home.

This “Transitional Home” service lasted for four years, from the beginning of 2002 until the end of 2005, when it was officially closed. During this period, we provided services to 150 female Muslim workers. Through companionship of such workers and handling of their daily affairs, we gained deep insight and true empathy for their individual difficulties and understanding of the common issues that they faced. During this period, we also collaborated with other labor organizations, engaging in discussions and offering suggestions pertinent to future law amendments, directed at various government offices concerned with such matters, in order to advocate increased rights and improved protection for such workers.

Indonesia is a country with a large population, but a national economy that is not relatively advanced. Due to its lack of sufficient domestic job opportunities, a lot of its nationals wish to seek jobs abroad in order to support their families and improve their financial circumstances with foreign currencies they may earn abroad. Another reason for the high percentage of Indonesian female workers is that they possess highly valuable work ethics, such as being hard working, compliant, and capable of bearing many difficulties. For such reasons, they are enthusiastically welcomed and preferred by Taiwan's employers. Hence, Indonesian workers comprise over 80% of Taiwan's domestic workers and caretakers market, with their numbers once reaching almost 100,000. However, these laborers pay a painful price for being such a lucrative labor market. Due to the physical and psychological damage resulting from the mistreatment and abuse they suffered at the hands of their employers, compounded with the self-blame and guilt caused by their violation of certain Islamic teachings, these workers faced inhumane work expectations and unrelieved depression endured as a result of their heavy workloads. In fact, many found the fruits of their hard work to be broken families back home, caused by their long term absence and inability to take care of their children and husband. Is this the fate that they deserved?

According to Islamic teachings, a female Muslim should not travel without the accompaniment of one of her male family members, such as her husband, father, or son, etc. The major wisdom behind this regulation is to protect a woman's chastity and prevent it from being violated. These female Muslim workers, when choosing to work abroad, failed to abide by this stipulation. If one examines the case of domestic workers, we find that they not only travel without a male family member, but also live unprotected inside their employers' homes. Since their employers' homes are considered private property and are not available for public scrutiny, anything that happens behind closed doors of these homes is considered private business and not usually questioned by outside parties. Thus, if a domestic worker is harmed under these premises, who is there to protect her?

We have raised such concerns and reminded various Indonesian community leaders from relevant government and religious organizations about this violation of Islamic regulations, but they usually don't have a good resolution to this problem. Even if they cannot enforce Islamic regulations by forbidding their female citizens from seeking job opportunities overseas due to a stagnant economy, they should at least educate their foreign job seekers on how to protect themselves and establish certain mechanisms of providing support for such workers if they are mistreated or harmed. Shouldn't their community take a much more positive and active role in helping their own nationals? On the contrary, however, the referrers for such workers often force them to discard any religious items such as clothing, Qurans, prayer rugs, and the like, under the pretext of avoiding the displeasure of future employers.

Usually after the workers arrived in Taiwan, they are also advised or warned not to practice their individual Islamic duties, such as daily prayers, fasting, and etc. Many of them would subsequently be forced to perform tasks violating Islamic teachings, such as cooking pork, serving wine, etc. Some employers would even treat these workers as servants, or worse yet, as slaves. Day in and day out, they endure physically and psychologically abuse under such environments and from such treatment. Over the years that they work under such conditions, all kinds of harmful feelings accumulate in their souls, leading to spiritual or psychological disorders. Is freedom of faith not a basic human right? Is mutual respect of religious following no longer a world-wide accepted virtue, including in our communities? Who should protect these workers rights? Shall we not respect the religion of these workers'? At the current time, our Labor Standard Law has taken the legal migrant workers under its jurisdiction and protection, and this is a good initiative. However, such protection covers only the minimum wage stipulation for foreign domestic workers and caretakers, and not much more. As such, their work hours, nature of work, work load, work environment, and due holidays are all unregulated by the government, and are subject to the mercy of each individual employer. The right to be safe from physical violation is often breached, and many workers are sexually harassed or abused. As mentioned previously, within the closed environment of their employer's private homes, outside parties cannot extend a helping hand when such incidents happen, and it is difficult for such victims to report their employers to local authorities.

We have collaborated with other labor right organizations to voice our concerns to the local government, and have appealed that a “Domestic Service Act” be drafted. However, no clear actions have been taken by the authoritative government institutions as of yet.

It has been the strategy of Taiwan's foreign labor policy to exclusively employ cheap labor forces. These workers, in their age of youth and strength, can only come as individuals, without the accompaniment of their families. They have no way of effectively relieving the pressures that they encounter from a heavy work load, the ensuing depression they suffer under these work conditions, and find no outlet for their physiological and psychological needs. Some fall into temporary affairs with single or even married persons. Others fall prey to the control of individuals involved in human trafficking and exploitation. Such victims find themselves spiraling down a “black-hole” of despair, with the perception that no one cares about their predicament.

What can we do to help? Starting this year, TGM has planned a large-scale picnic at a local park for the Indonesian workers every quarter, in an attempt to offer support through these types of religious activities. We hope this may serve as one avenue of relief for their accumulated pressures and difficulties.

Taiwan has gradually become a developed country with an aging population (see statistics below). The labor force needed in Taiwan has reach beyond three hundred thousand. If Taiwan considers itself an immigrant country or community, its government should have a policy designed with a more magnanimous attitude and a vision of the future in mind to accept foreign workers as immigrants that will contribute to Taiwan's development. From the aspect of the law, the government should show no tolerance for coercion or subjugation from any party, and include all workers under the Labor Standard Law by protecting their deserved rights. Long term care for the old, sick, and disabled should not rely solely on the shoulders of migrant workers. Instead, we should remedy this deficiency with our own social service systems. We should establish large professional senior communities, and re-instill our traditional family ethics. In addition, we must treat our foreign workers with kindness and the understanding that they are only relief forces from overseas—not a slave market to be exploited. By establishing necessary sanatoriums and convalescent and rest homes, we should work together with both our national and foreign laborers to help improve the harmony and security of Taiwan's society.