Due to low wages in the Philippines, Kuya Ver was willing to take the risk of becoming a seafarer in Taiwan. However, the abuse that he and his crewmates suffered led to a man’s death and almost his own. Now, he is pushing for justice—and you, too, can help stop these cases from happening again.
Category: Voices
Posted inComic
Courage is Collective: A Retrospective for Transgender Day of Visibility 2023
Editorial Manager Bonnibel Rambatan presents a personal experimental short comic on the idea of visibility, courage, and collective care for this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility.
Posted inArtists Respond
Honouring Trans Lives in Southeast Asia: Artists Respond to Transgender Day of Remembrance 2022
New Naratif’s Editorial Manager Bonnibel Rambatan talks to five other trans artists who have made works of art to commemorate this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Confusion
Devy Christa receives a call from a friend on a Sunday morning who urges her to look at the television news. It turns out all the news is about her mother, Merry Utami, who is on her way to Nusa Kambangan—a highly secure prison in Indonesia.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Fragments
Devy Christa remembers fragments of her memory with her mother. Her mother went away for quite a long time to become a migrant worker to provide money for the operation of Devy’s brother, Yossi. And now, Devy sees her mother again on television.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Scapegoat
Devy Christa discovers the details about the case of her mother, Merry Utami, the same week the state plans to execute her. Her mother was manipulated by a foreign man named Jerry and underwent an unfair process of interrogation, trial, arrest, and detention for over a dozen years.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Wishes
President Jokowi may have cancelled Merry Utami’s execution that day, but he never gave the clemency. To this day, Merry can still be executed at any time. Devy Christa continues to hope, “Don’t let them kill my mother”.
Posted inComic
In Need of Cleaning
The promise of high wages draws Indonesian migrant workers to Singapore. However, exploitative practices by agents such as deducting monthly salaries and charging illegal fees make life difficult for the migrant workers and their families back home.
Posted inVoices
Learning in Lockdown
Our son lost in-person social and emotional support from his teachers when the pandemic forced a shift towards remote learning. We worked to mitigate its effects—but not all families in the Philippines can afford to do the same for children with disabilities.
Posted inComic
Indonesia, 1965: A Conversation With My Parents
My parents lived through Soeharto’s New Order regime. We don’t see eye-to-eye politically, but would I be able to sit with them, listen to their stories, and appreciate their memories?