Professor Vincent JH Houben (Germany) presented on Migrant Labor in Java

The presentation by Prof. Vincent JH Houben dealt with the history of labor migration from Java, Indonesia to other areas outside Indonesia, which were originally Dutch colonies during the colonial period. Through a clear description of the labor recruitment process, labor laws and labor conditions of Javanese people in different places, he summarized the characteristics of this migration process and the importance of studying its history.

According to Professor Vincent JH Houben, the history of migrant labor in Java during the colonial period contains many interesting issues, with common elements of migration and slavery in the world in general and specific characteristics of each region in particular. Specifically, migrant labor in Java also took the form of hired labor on colonial plantations. Professor Vincent JH Houben said that this form of labor was between slavery and free labor, that is, it did not have the status of a slave but was under the control of a contract and a labor hiring agency.

Professor Vincent JH Houben (Photo: Jackie Chan)

However, in each region where Javanese workers migrated, they experienced different working conditions. If in New Caladonia, a former French colony, Javanese workers were treated equally with the French, worked as domestic servants in their homes, learned French, and even converted from Islam to Christianity; in North Borneo, a British colony, they encountered bad and negative working conditions, starvation and labor abuse, irregular wages, and were considered a low class in society. The rate of migrant workers who died in New Caladonia was also much lower than in North Borneo. In addition, there were places where migrant workers were treated well and fairly, but the rate of workers who died was very high, for example in Malaya. All of this created a diverse picture of migration flows in many different places, requiring researchers to have a good grasp of survey data on workers and compare and contrast between regions.

Through the analysis of the history of labor migration in Java, Professor Vincent JH Houben argues that we can use this history to compare and contrast with the history of labor migration in other countries such as Vietnam, Laos, and Maldives. From there, we see that the history of Javanese labor migration is part of the transnational history of labor and migration in general, although in each place that history has its own differences and characteristics. Therefore, we need to combine national history, with the research tool of area studies, and transnational and global history to build a complete picture of any historical issue.

At the end of the presentation, many lecturers and students asked Prof. Vincent JH Houben questions about related issues.