COVID-19 Volunteers in Indonesia Felt Forgotten, Allowances Unpaid

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The Galang Island COVID-19 Special Infection Hospital (RSKI) has officially closed as the COVID-19 cases are going down in Indonesia. But as people pay less attention to the dangers of COVID-19, the volunteers are also forgotten.

The volunteers are still waiting to get their daily allowances from the government which have not been paid for months. Many of them also left their previous jobs to became volunteers.

One of them is Rikha S Simamora, a midwife. After helping people in need while risking her life, she thinks government has forgotten their promises, even just to pay the daily food allowance.

"There were so many sweet promises when we were about to join the RSKI, one of them is to be able to work everywhere. This hospital was also said to have a long working life, but now nothing is clear," Rikha said.

Rikha admitted that she became volunteer to help others, even though her life was at stake, considering that there were big risks that must be faced when becoming the forefront to handle the rise of COVID-19.

"At that time, many people did not want to volunteer for COVID-19 because they were at great risks. In the early days we volunteered, many flattered and praised us," Rikha said. 

Another volunteer, Robby Mahesa, also joined the hospital in 2020 when many people were reluctant to do it.

Rikha also said that many of the volunteers left their jobs and professions to join as volunteers at the Galang Island COVID-19 RSKI even though many parents forbade them to join. But RSKI closed after one and a half years of operation.

Rikha and the other volunteers did not bother to ask about all the sweet promises, however they just asked for the food allowance to be given. The government has not paid their food allowances since April 2022.

"Right now, I am not thinking about the sweet promises, but please give us the food allowance, it is essential to continue life," she said.

The promised allowance was Rp 100,000 per day (US$ 6.4). After their hard work from 6 April 2020 until 21 December 2022, there was not even the smallest official ceremony to appreciate their merit.

The Task Force Commander of Galang Island COVID-19 RSKI, Brigadier General Yudi Yulistyanto, asked the volunteers to stay patient while waiting for the money to be paid.

"I, as the Task Force Commander, am responsible to fight for it, I asked all to pray," Yudi said to the volunteers.

After the ceremony in which the volunteers got certificates, Yudi asked his aide to take his bag from his car and give Rp 10 million (Rp 641) to a representative from the volunteers.

"If you want to make a farewell party, I can only help you this much, that is my ability," he said.

Writer: Adelina Wahyu Martanti.

Ajang Nurdin contributed to this report.