For Risti Ariyani, the dream of working abroad and helping her family is over. Her contract with a computer components factory in Malaysia was abruptly canceled because of the global financial crisis, leaving her no choice but to return home to Central Java.
"My family was counting on me," the 20-year-old said. "Everyone, including my sisters now in school, depended on the money I sent back."
In 2008, some 200,000 Indonesian nationals were sent home from Malaysia because of the recession. Most come from rural areas of the country, where poverty is particularly rife.
"Due to the global crisis, I see more migrant workers from other sectors returning," said Choirul Hadi, secretary general of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Trade Union.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 migrants are now returning through Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport every day, he said, with serious implications for thousands of families.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Development Program warned that the financial crisis threatened to undermine the government's ability to meet its poverty reduction and employment targets.
A large segment of the population is vulnerable to shocks and at risk of falling below, or further below the poverty line, according to a March 31 statement from the UN agency.
"You can only imagine the impact this will have," said Albert Bonasahat, national project coordinator for the International Labor Organization.
He noted the importance of remittances not just on the immediate family, but the extended family as well. "This will, of course, stop the development of the local economy," he said.
Eighty percent of labor migrants are the only breadwinner for their families, with the vast majority women from poor rural families, he added.
For those who only recently went abroad to work, including Risti Ariyani, retrenchment can be particularly bitter.
Many had borrowed heavily to pay agent fees and other charges to secure their employment and have had the least amount of time working to recoup those costs. When work visas are cancelled, there is little chance of a refund.
The government estimates that there are approximately 2.7 million documented Indonesian migrants working overseas, while the number of undocumented workers could be four times that.
Approximately 700,000 documented migrant workers go overseas annually to help their families and send back much-needed remittances – a policy the government has actively supported.
According to the World Bank, the registered remittances Indonesian migrant workers send home account for more than $6 billion annually, comprising the second-highest source of income after oil and gas.