WUNRN
THE PHILIPPINES +
http://www.uniglobalunion.org/UNIApron.nsf/0/88FBF461EE5FC53BC12574ED0059E5E0?OpenDocument
10/25/2008....
FEMINIZATION OF
MIGRATION
- Labour
news from UNI global union - for trade unions in a global services economy. -
As the
Global Forum on Migration and Development in Manila comes closer, women’s
groups such as The World March of Women Pilipinas (WMW) and the Coalition
Against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) held a forum on 24th
October,2008 near the PICC, Manila ,site of GFMD, to bring to light the
exploitation suffered by women looking for work. The Women’s groups were joined
by victims-survivors of sex trafficking to condemn the Philippine government's
labor export policy and the lack of local full employment program.
WMW-Pilipinas is part of an international feminist action movement connecting
grassroots groups and organizations working to eliminate the causes at the root
of poverty and violence against women."We struggle against all forms of
inequality and discrimination directed at women. Our values and actions are
directed at making political, economic and social change," said Jing
Geaga,of WMW-Pilipinas.
Andrea Luisa Anolin, Executive Director of Batis Center described the
continuing increase of Filipino women overseas, despite government data to the
contrary. "More and more of them are leaving as undocumented
migrants," says Anolin. She elaborated that marriage channels have been
exploited more by traffickers both in Korea and Japan. According to Anolin, in
2007, deployed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are 1,077,623 and 811,070 are
land based and 266,553 are sea based.
Female OFWs out number male OFWs in Middle East and Asia. In the Middle
East,118,393 are female OFWs and 89,217 are male OFWs. As for Asia, 52,336 are
female OFWs and 22,297 are male OFWs.
Deployed female domestic workers (2007) are:
Hong Kong -22,127
Italy---------- 4,951
Kuwait------- 4,806
UAE --------- 3,149
Saudi Arabia - 2,581
Qatar ---------- 1,912
Cyprus -------- 1,763
Singapore ----- 1,568
Deployed Overseas Female performing artists in 2007 are: Japan -4,592, Korea
-1,350, Hong Kong-113, UAE -100 and Saipan-45.
The exploited migrants who testified came from the urban poor, labor and
peasant sectors, illustrating that the poorest of women are pushed to the edge,
leave their families, given the lack of local job opportunities. Ms. Marites
Bagasala, an overseas worker who sought the help of Kaisa-Ka,aWMW member
testified that she is one of eight women who came back from Kuwait. "One
of us was sold and sexually exploited and another's spine was broken because of
her employers' violence" cried Bagasala.
Sarilaya, another WMW member, was similarly approached by Mila, who was
trafficked to Singapore. Mila said since she has no work in the Philippines she
was recruited by a women recruiter promising good job and high salary which she
can never dream here in the Philippines. When she arrived in Singapore, she found
out that all her dreams were shattered because she was put in a night club
serving customers. She said there were plenty of Filipino women working in
bars.
Anna, a woman who approached CATW-AP, on her part, narrated how she was brought
to Dubai and then transferred to Syria. "There, I was held hostage by my
agency, made to work without pay and slept in the kitchen," testified
Anna. All these cases point to the fact that the demand remains high for women
to be exploited abroad.
Why do most Women migrate?
The answer is most women see migration as a strategy for a better life, not
just for them but primarily for their families. Migration is brought about by a
combination of socio-cultural, economic and political factors in the
Philippines that push women to migrate. The unequal and unjust divide between
the rich and the poor; the colonial culture ingrained by years of colonisation
by the west; the Philippine government's failure to address decisively the
problem of poverty and its policies that encourage labour migration and the low
value of women's work in the Philippines.
Like other migrant women, Filipino women also experience racism, social
exclusion and sexual discrimination. In spite of the high level of education,
most Filipinas are employed in low paid "reproductive work", receive
low salaries, suffer deskilling, intellectual stagnation, unrecognized
educational level, and are often confronted by language difficulties. Driven to
leave their homeland, they struggle not just to alleviate the poverty of their
own insecure social status abroad but the poverty of their families in the
Philippines.
We have to remember that "Women and migrants are not commodities to be
bought and sold!" We have to convince the general public, other social
sectors and social movements to support and institute the changes necessary for
improving the status and living conditions of women and women's quality of life
all over the world.
By Ms. Marlar H. Sabado, President UNI-PLC Women's Committee
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