Tegal is a coastal city, and many of the male residents will go sea fishing before ten years old with their families. They are more adapted to life afloat than other Indonesians. Each year, more than five thousand people in the city board Taiwanese fishing boats.Every year, there are about ten thousand Indonesian fishermen dedicating themselves to Taiwan’s far sea fishery through offshore employment. They endure dreadful working conditions and labor exploitation to earn a better life.

We set off from Jakarta and drove for eight or nine hours to Tegal in Central Java, the place where exports the maximum amount of fishermen to Taiwan.