The problem of women migrant workers abroad
The problem of women migrant workers abroad is very complex and involves various parties. These problems can be divided into at least four parts, namely a) before leaving abroad (permission, training, brokering), b) when working abroad (wages, working conditions, violence), c) when they return to Indonesia (brokering , extortion, 818 ASPIKOM Journal, Volume 3 Number 5, July 2018, pp. 817-832 safety), and d) the problem of adaptation back after they returned to their area of origin. The focus of academic and social studies so far has largely been in the domain (domain) before the departure of women migrant workers and the problems that arise when they work abroad. An important problem that has not been much studied is the problem of cultural transition that must be faced after they return to their area of origin. Based on data from BPN2TKI (BPN2TKI, 2014) the number of migrant workers returning to Indonesia is quite volatile from year to year. Data from 2006 to 2014 show that over the past nine years the average return of Indonesian migrant workers was around 395,535 people. Most of the migrant workers who go abroad work as workers in the domestic sector (households) where the majority of those working in the domestic sector are women. When women migrant workers go to work abroad, they must adapt to the new environment, overcome various problems related to cultural shock, and carry out work for which they are responsible. Almost the same struggles and difficulties they must face when they return to their respective regions. Their experience abroad has more or less changed personality, individual tastes, personal relationships, various family supports, and changes in society that occur when they are abroad (Niesen, 2010). Bourdieu (in Ashall, 2004) argues that the strategy of male masculinity makes women alienated in the male ‘game’. Some personal problems, such as the lack of family relations, pregnancy / having children from a legitimate husband, and lifestyle changes, are factors that complicate the process of cultural transition. In addition, social and cultural factors from the area of origin also influence the re-adaptation process that women migrant workers must go through. Communication is a substantial need for women migrant workers when experiencing a transition when returning to their area of origin. Intercultural communication competence is a personal need for migrant workers to be able to adapt culture when they return to their area of origin. Culture shock is experienced when returning from abroad requires the fulfillment of basic communication needs, especially related to attention and fostering relationships. The right communication strategy will make it easier for them to face various obstacles that arise both at the level of interpersonal, family, and social environment. The study of adaptation of female migrant workers who experience reversed culture shock is a study of cultural adaptation (cultural adaptation) which can conceptually be understood as a long-term adjustment process that ultimately creates a feeling of comfort in Turnomo Rahardjo et al. Communication “Adjustment … 819 new environment (Kim in Martin & Nakayama, 2010: 320). How a person adapts in several respects depends on the “host” environment. In a sense, is the culture of the “host” able to accept individuals who make adjustments or on the contrary it is not friendly (hostile). Ranggi Larissa Izzati’s study (2012) on Understanding Competence of Intercultural Communication in Legal TKIs and Illegal TKIs provides an explanation that almost all TKIs experience anxiety and uncertainty when they first come to Saudi Arabia. Research conducted by Ranggi Larissa Izzati (2012) shows a communication strategy of adaptation in the workplace conducted by migrant workers, but
the research has not yet reviewed that adjustment constraints will also arise when Indonesian labor migrants return to Indonesia. Whereas a study conducted by Gulei (2014) examines the difficulties faced by migrants when returning to their area of origin and examines the importance of social support to help adaptation. This study shows how this process of re-adaptation is influenced by social values and images which in turn affect social support for the process of readjustment. A study of TKI re-adjustment is needed to be able to provide an overview of the barriers and communication strategies for re-adaptation of TKI when returning to the area of origin. Furthermore, in the context of re-adaptation, this study uses a reference study conducted by Ward (in Martin & Nakayama, 2010: 320) to explain the important factors in the adaptation process. Ward stated that many individual characteristics including age, gender, level of preparation, and expectations can influence how migrants make cultural adaptations. This research shows a need for a comprehensive understanding of demographic and cultural factors that have contributed to the adaptation process again. The research conducted by Callahan (2010), on the other hand, is research that examines the process of re-culturalisation as identified in the Adaptation Theory. The context used by Callahan is a person’s process of re-entering into a culture that was once abandoned. According to Callahan (2010), if the description of the theory of culturalisation is again accurate, then those who have adapted in other cultures will experience problems to relearn when returning to their original culture. Callahan’s research subjects are church missionaries who have spent 18 months to two years living in communities that have different cultures. The study was conducted by survey method with open questions, responses from research subjects were coded, and compared statistically. The results of the study do not support the theory of re-culturalisation and provide an explanation with the argument of sedimentation of cultural functions. These results indicate that there was no 820 ASPIKOM Journal, Volume 3 Number 5, July 2018, pp. 817-832 The process of culturalisation returned significantly to foreign migrants returning to social areas. These results can be input to consider various contexts at the individual, family, and social levels to help the communication process through which female migrant workers go. Research on the re-adaptation communication process of female migrant workers needs to be carried out with consideration of the Central Java population profile which shows an increasing number of women working in the informal sector where they have to migrate for the benefit of their work (Pradekso, 2000). Migration to other areas makes these women workers have to carry out communication activities between the cultures. The results of research from Rahardjo (2005) that mindfulness plays an important role in cultural communication activities. The process of cultural adaptation for those in marginalized groups such as women workers needs to be understood and explained, so that adaptation communication models can be formed that can help them to get through the conflict-prone stages of adjustment. Many theories explain how people adapt to the new cultural environment. Adaptation patterns will change depending on the situation and migrants, but there are some similarities. The most common theory is the U-curve theory of adaptation. The main idea of this theory is that migrants will undergo predictable phases in adapting to new cultural situations. The first experience is excitement and anticipation, followed by periods of shock and disorientation (the lower part of the U curve), then gradually adapting to new cultural contexts. More operationally, the U-Curve Model explains four phases of intercultural adaptation, namely 1) euphoria, a positive interest in a new environment; 2) culture shock caused by surprising experiences is usually negative in a new environment; 3) acculturation, a new environmental adaptation process; and finally 4) stable state is achieved if the acculturation process runs well (Szkudlarek, 2009). This framework is simplistic and does not represent the experience of each migrant, but most migrants experience these phases at one time or another. When migrants return to their original cultural context, the same adaptation process will take place or reentry as described in the W Curve Model (Gallahorn & Gullahorn
in Martin & Nakayama, 2010: 331). Sometimes this adaptation is more difficult, because something unexpected happened. We think that returning home should be easy. But the reality is the opposite. Theorists refer to this process as the W Curve Theory about adaptation, because migrants get another experience of the U Curve, which is anticipation of the process of returning home, experiencing a culture shock, and then adapting slowly. Another term for the process of adaptation back to its original culture is Turnomo Rahardjo et al. Communication “Adjustment … 821 reverse culture shock, reentry shock, and repatriation. According to Grushina (in Niesen, 2010) from various theories and methods used in the study of adaptation, there is a clearly emerging central theme where all individuals who go through a cultural transition (such as entering a new culture / country for the first time, returning to the area origin, or changing residence periodically) experiencing various obstacles to adjust to the new environment. Knowing and identifying various barriers and finding patterns in how to overcome these obstacles are key to being able to create models that can be used to increase the success of the adaptation process again. Research Methods The study of the adaptation of readjustment of female migrant workers who experience an inverse culture shock is a study of intercultural and gender communication that uses an interpretive paradigm as a philosophical basis. This study is a series of previous studies as described in the roadmap below (Figure 1.). This research is descriptive in nature to provide an overview of the experiences of women migrant workers as they adapt back to their native culture. The subjects of this study were female migrant workers or female migrants who worked in an area that had a different cultural background from theirs. Specifically, this research focuses on female migrants from two districts in Central Java Province, namely Cilacap Regency and Kendal Regency. Regional selection is related to the large number of migrant workers and the number of cases. Primary data in this study were obtained from the results of in-depth interviews with research subjects, while secondary data were obtained from literature reviews relevant to the study conducted. In-depth interviews are directed at