• He is responsible for operating a machine that artificially replaces a patient’s heart or lung functions during surgery.
• Koswara has gained new skills and experiences since joining the hospital in 2010.
• He has been able to access new devices and equipment that are not yet available in Indonesia due to government support.

For more than a decade, Ade Koswara has been serving as a perfusionist on the cardiac surgery team at one of Saudi Arabia’s top hospitals, working alongside some of the best in the field.

Originally from Sukabumi, West Java, the 42-year-old Indonesian is responsible for operating the machine that artificially replaces a patient’s heart or lung functions during surgery.

Since Ade Koswara joined the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh in 2010, he has developed his skills and gained new, previously unthinkable, experiences.

“There are many precious things I have gained, especially the knowledge and skills that I acquired,” Koswara told the News.

“There are many new devices and equipment that aren’t yet available in Indonesia because they are very expensive, but they have a lot of them here with the amazing support from the government for the people in Saudi Arabia.”

When he decided to move abroad, like many Indonesians, Koswara considered the financial benefits of working in the Kingdom, where he would earn about eight times the salary he was earning at the time from a public hospital in his home country.

“There’s a significant difference financially, in terms of material rewards,” he said. “In 2010, I was earning about IDR 6 million ($372) (per month), which included benefits and incentives, but in Saudi Arabia, I would earn about IDR 50 million.”

Since moving to Riyadh, Koswara, who also heads the Indonesian National Nurses Association’s chapter in Saudi Arabia, has collaborated with doctors from the US and Europe. He has adapted to the international standards practiced at the hospital, which has facilitated his training abroad to upgrade his skills.

“I had the opportunity to go to Germany and it was amazing because there was a time when I’d dreamed of going there and it came true … It makes me happy and motivated,” he said.

“Opportunities here are equal. It’s not just for the Saudis, it’s also there when they see potential in any staff, even when they’re not Saudi nationals.”

Koswara expressed that there is considerable potential for other Indonesian nurses to pursue careers in Saudi Arabia.

“For Indonesian nurses especially, the opportunity for an international career in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia, is huge. We have the potential to enter this market, to gain new and better experiences, and hopefully a better financial reward,” he said.

According to government data, Saudi Arabia ranked seventh among the top destination countries for Indonesian migrant workers last year. Koswara estimated that there are currently at least around 600 Indonesian nurses working in the Kingdom, although most Indonesian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are domestic workers.

Akhir Fahruddin first went to the Kingdom in 2015 to work under the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, which has since become the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. After working for nearly three years, Fahruddin returned to Indonesia to continue his studies. He then returned to Riyadh in 2021 to work as an occupational health nurse, specializing in protecting and promoting the health and well-being of workers.

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