Middle Eastern countries and Malaysia are major destinations for Indonesian migrants although Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan are becoming increasingly important. The Middle East-bound flow is dominated by female domestic workers migrating on short-term fixed contracts leaving families behind (Tatisina & Sari, 2017). In 2004, women accounted for 94% of registered Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia. In 2005, more than a million Indonesian female migrants were employed as domestic workers in the Middle East and Asia. There is indication of a “care drain” when women in families are leaving the households to take up caregiving or domestic helper roles in other families.

References:

Tatisina, C. M., & Sari, M. (2017). The Correlation Between Family Burden And Giving Care for Dementia Elderly at Leihitu Sub-District, Central Maluku, Indonesia. 2(3), 41–46.