"If I Get Sick in Taiwan, Will I Be Sent Home?" — Ati's Story

Ati, a migrant worker from Indonesia, has spent the last seven years in Taiwan. Like many others who come here to work, her biggest dream is to give her family back home a better life.

One day, Ati started feeling something unusual—there was a lump growing on her right leg. After several doctor visits, she received shocking news: she had a rare form of cancer and needed surgery. But life had other plans. Around the same time, her grandfather’s health took a turn for the worse. Putting her family first, Ati chose to delay her treatment so she could care for him.

For the next six months, she looked after her grandfather with love and dedication. When he passed away, Ati was heartbroken—but she knew it was time to focus on her own health.

Ati moved into the Yixin Shelter run by the GOH Migrant Foundation, where she waited for a new job placement and prepared for her second major surgery. After the operation, doctors told her she would also need electrotherapy and three months of rest.

Ati began to worry: If I keep going through treatment, will anyone hire me? What if I can’t work again? Will they send me back to Indonesia? What will happen to my family?

Thankfully, the shelter’s social workers saw what she was going through. They explained something many migrant workers don’t know: if you’re getting medical treatment in Taiwan, you have the right to temporarily pause your work without being forced to leave. With their help, Ati applied for a “temporary suspension of employer transfer,” which allowed her to stay in Taiwan legally while focusing on her recovery.

The treatment went well. Slowly but surely, Ati regained her strength. Her family, anxiously waiting back home, could finally breathe a sigh of relief. And best of all—once she recovered, Ati found a new employer and returned to work.

Ati’s story is a reminder that getting sick doesn’t mean the end of everything. With the right support and information, migrant workers like her can still have hope, heal, and rebuild their future.