Indonesian Students Victim of Germany Human Trafficking Mostly In Debt

Germany – The Indonesian police have uncovered many students who have become victims of an international human trafficking network to Germany, where they are trapped in debt.

This is because they bear the costs while participating in internship programs in Germany that are not suitable.

"They received around IDR30 million as their salary, but there were deductions for accommodation and other expenses, including daily living costs which are quite high in Germany, so on average, the students ended up losing money," said Brigadier General Police Djuhandhani Rahardjo Puro, Director of General Crimes at the Indonesian Police Criminal Investigation Agency, on Wednesday.

Puro explained that the students were sent by Cvgen and SHB, with a registration fee of IDR 150,000 charged to the account under the name of CV-Gen.

Furthermore, students also had to pay 150 euros for the issuance of a letter of acceptance (LoA) to SHB.

After obtaining the LoA, the students had to pay 200 euros as a requirement for visa issuance. Thus, they were charged a down payment to the university ranging from IDR 30 million to IDR 50 million deducted from each monthly salary.

"Many of them are still paying the down payment offered by the university until now. They didn't profit from going to Germany but instead prepared debt in Indonesia in the form of down payments ranging from IDR 24 million to IDR 50 million. Those are down payments provided by the cooperative (university)," Puro explained.

In this case, the Indonesian Police have successfully uncovered an international human trafficking network with a modus operandi of sending students for internships to Germany through the ferien job program.

However, the students are suspected to have been employed non-procedurally, resulting in their exploitation.

The police have named five individuals as suspects. They are ER alias EW (39), A alias AE (37), a woman, both of whom are currently in Germany.

Then there are two men with the initials SS (65) and MZ (60). The last one is a woman with the initials AJ (52). Each of the suspects has a different role.

Puro further explained that this case was uncovered after receiving information from the Indonesian Embassy in Germany.

The information related to four students who came to the embassy claiming to be participating in the ferien job program in Germany.

After investigation, it was found that the program was run by 33 universities in Indonesia. The total number of students sent was 1,047, distributed among three labor agencies in Germany.