I’m from Wonosobo and I worked in Selangor. Initially I had a good relationship with my employer, but then after a week I was going to be dumped on the street. I had refused to be sent back and insisted that I continue working for two years as agreed initially, but my employer refused. Then they were going to kill me, throw me from the 11^th floor.

The problem first started when I was bathing their dog, but the dog did not want to be bathed. And then I had been hanging out the wash, and some fell on the floor, and that was the problem. The wash was on the apartment balcony, and it fell down. We left it to go shopping, and when I came back the clothes were already on the ground, I don’t know why they fell, maybe because the wind, I don’t know. Maybe they just fell by themselves. That’s it. The agent was called in by my Madam. She told the agent that I was not working properly. The agent told me to get a mop, and my employer told me to get the clothes that fell down the balcony, but I first went to get the mop, and that was wrong. That’s it. I was going to be pushed off the balcony.

I was pushed, but then two persons suddenly came and pulled me. If I had fallen I would already be dead now. The two were my employer’s two older siblings who were visiting, from China. There were railings on balcony, and my leg was stuck between the railings and I couldn’t pull it out, I was stuck. I was very scared, afraid that I was going to die. And it hurt where my leg was stuck, like it was going to pop off. I was very scared. Afraid that I’d die, really. I thought they were good people. I didn’t think that they would do that.

And before that, every time they take me to go outside, I was not allowed to get back into the car, I was always going to be dumped. Dumped on the street, and not allowed to return home. Yes, they wanted to dump me, not allow me to go back. They told me to walk, to get off the car. I was not allowed to return home with them. The deliberately wanted to dump me. But I held on to the car. They insisted that I stay where I am and not go home with them. But I refused, and said that if they don’t want me to work, then they must return me to Indonesia. That’s what I asked them to do. If they don’t want to send me back to Indonesia, I wanted to be taken to the embassy. But they refused.

I was returned to the agent. The agent hit me, so one eye doesn’t see very well. I was hit until I was bleeding. He hit me with his bare hand but he was wearing a ring, and the ring punctured my skin.

Then I had another employer. I was told that I will be taking care of an elderly person. But I was raped by my male employer. I was raped while I was unconscious. Maybe I was drugged or something, I don’t know. After I was raped, he made promises. He said that he will give me money amounting to the total of my salary for four years. And then he said he give my passport and buy me a ticket, return me to my home. But in fact, a little later in the afternoon I was collected by my agent. None of the promises were met. I was deceived.

I worked in Selangor. I start work at six in the morning, and I finish work at four the next morning. I was only given this rice and salt to eat without any meat. I was given a meal only once a day, at half past one in the afternoon. I was given a break for only 15 minutes, no more.

We had to produce 70 barrels of tofu every day. I prepared the ingredients. I suffered burns to my skin due to contact with the chemicals contained in the tofu. There were five kinds of chemicals, labeled in Chinese letters. When I came into contact with these chemicals, my hands would swell and also my feet. It was mixed with the filtered eggs. We wore rubber gloves, but the water and chemicals seeped through.

I worked at the factory for two months. During the two months there were many harassments, because there were ten male workers from Myanmar, and I was the only female Indonesian workers. After work I was usually afraid, afraid that I would be raped.

Once I tried to kill myself, by drinking poison, because I can’t stand the work. I was not only making tofu, but after work I also had to clean the floors which would use up about five barrels of water. And then I would have to wash the equipments that are used to produce the tofu. To wash three pieces of equipment takes around eight hours. I asked my employer to have one of the Myanmarese workers help me wash the equipments, but she answered “I purchased you from your agent for 7,000 [ringgits], so you can’t have any help,” and then she slapped me two times.

Looking at me, the Myanmarese workers mocked me. If I had known their language I would have retaliated. Everyday they made fun of me, insult me. I was once even locked in the toilet for two days by the Myanmarese workers. I was scared, there were ten of them and I was alone. Luckily there was a chair in the toilet, and I used it to jump out of the room and was able to return to the factory floor. There were no daily supervision by my employer. The work was completely entrusted to me and the Myanmarese workers.

Finally, after my body hurt all over, and I couldn’t stand it any longer, there was one of the Myanmareses, Machi, who took pity and he told me to run, let myself be caught by the police, rather than work like this. He said your work should be done by six persons, but you are working alone. He told me to escape and that he will wait for me. He gave directions. He told me to run straight, and at the fork of the road I must not choose the left fork, because I would be chased by black Indians, killed, have my heart and kidneys removed and sold to the hospital. He told me to take the road to the right, and I will arrive at the main street. I walked for four hours, from two o’clock in the morning.

Machi told me not to go before or after two o’clock for my own safety. If you find a policeman or someone willing to help, just trust that person. But I prayed that I would not be caught by the police, because I would certainly be arrested and jailed, after being hit with a rattan cane.

Thank God I did not meet any policeman nor anybody on the street. I walked for four hours. I was chased by forest wild dogs because the factory was located in the middle of a forest in the suburbs. I was chased by eight dogs, but I held on to my Al Quran and read out the istighfar and the prophet’s prayers, and thank god the dogs only ran behind me, beside me, and in front of me, but they did not bite. But my clothes were wet, I peed in my pants because I was scared that I was going to die.

But fortunately after four hours I arrived at a house of a Malay. Upon arriving there I was only able to say three words, please help me, and then I passed out. After that, maybe I was taken inside by the owner of the house and taken care of for three days and three nights. The Malay was a bit confused and scared because I didn’t have a passport nor a work permit. Then he told me it would be better if we go to the embassy.

My body hurt so much. At the embassy I was bedridden for a week and was tended by a physician, because my hands were in such a hideous state, their skin peeling off. I still have deep scars, and my leg has not healed because the ointment is used up.

The arrangement was that I would be a domestic worker but I spent my days cleaning ditches using Clorox, a whitening substance. My feet were ruined because they did not provide me with shoes. We were only given brushes, but we did not get shoes. My feet hurt. I was there for eight months when I got word from my family that my child need to undergo surgery. I asked for my salary, so that I can send some money, but my employer didn’t give it to me. Two months later my child was discharged from the hospital, but two months afterwards he got infected and was readmitted to the hospital. Again I asked but he never gave me that money. Not ever. I worked for that employer for one and a half years.

During the second month of 2006 my employer called my recruiting agent. My employer said that he will be going on a trip for one month to India. He talked with the agent in Tamil, my employer was an Indian and so was my agent. They conversed using Tamil. After they finished talking I was told to gather my clothes. I asked where I was going because I was still working, my work hours was not yet up. “Just come with me,” he said. I asked how will I return? How about my money? He told me just to go along. Because they were talking to each other in Tamil, I assumed that my money was already handed over to the agent.

Someone offered me a program to work abroad, in Malaysia. Eventually I was enticed. I will admit frankly that I was enticed by the large sum of money. I left without a passport. I met with an agent in Jakarta. They offered me a passport of a person who resembles me. They said that I didn’t need to undergo medical screening. I didn’t need to do anything, there is already a passport of a person who looks like me. I asked them if this would create problems, and they said no. “You just relax, you will be going overseas.” I was stupid to accept their offer. I am speaking frankly, I am a stupid person. So I went. I departed on the 15^th of January at three in the afternoon.

There were nine of us who departed. To keep the story short, the other people were already assigned to employers, but I was not, along with two other older workers. Us older workers were then placed at the agent’s house. We were not placed with employers but were sent to a hotel and told to become masseurs.

I haven’t even set foot in a hotel before, and now suddenly I was being told to work as a masseur. Who was I going to massage? I was confused. So I said, rather than me becoming a masseur, it would be better if I return to Indonesia. I said that to the agent who was Indonesian. The agent came and told me that I was going to be placed with a friend of his. In fact I again went into the lion’s mouth, the friend turned out to be a pimp.

I was placed under the pimp. So—I am embarrassed to tell this story—we were held captive in room guarded by four bodyguards, and we were not allowed to go outside. There were many—excuse me—whores there. At night there was a crowd. Many were smoking, dancing wearing tight clothes, and all of them were Indonesian girls. From what I observed, many came from Cirebon and Indramayu.

Because I was the oldest, the pimp entered my room and grabbed my hair while I was praying. He said “You have brought me bad luck.” So I took the initiative to escape at three in the morning. I fled at three o’clock in the morning from the pimp’s house at the Miri district in East Malaysia. I ran to a police station. To cut the story short, I arrived at the station and the police handed me over to immigration. After that I was offered a job. They gave me a choice, be jailed for three months or work. I chose to work, because I did not want to go to jail, I did nothing wrong. So they told me to work. The police escorted me to a bus terminal in east Malaysia, and I was given work selling pastries for four months.

Maybe partly because I am old, and was exposed to the sun and rain, I contracted a fever and was ill for three days. I was not given any medication and was not offered anything. Suddenly I was slapped by my employer two times with force. I said, please don’t hit me, I am sick. I am not feigning this. I was then hit again on my body. I got up in my nightgown and pajama pants. I gathered my blanket and he ripped open my bag. He did not open the zipper, but ripped it open. He ripped it open, then pushed me outside.

I was really hurt being called a dog. I was very hurt being told that Indonesians are like dogs. I was hurt. I cannot forget it. I was hurt being called a dog. I am a Moslem and I was called a dog, told me that I should eat dirt. This is something that I cannot get out of my ears, I still hear it. I was very insulted.

Wherever I am, I am very angry with my agent. I was very hurt, being thrown away with my torn bag, with all my clothes in a mess.