Nov

embe

r-D

ecem

ber 2

012

1

APMMnews digestofficial monthly newsletter of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)

Nov

embe

r-D

ecem

ber

2012

edi

tion Guilty!

This is the verdict issued by the International Migrants’ Tribunal (IMT) on the Global Forum on Migration on Development (GFMD) in conclusion of its 2-day activity held on November 28-29, 2012 at the Malcolm Theater, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines.

Prof, Osamu Niikura, head of the panel of judges for the IMT and former president of the Japanese Lawyers for International Solidarity Association (JALISA), read the 20-page verdict that contained the three charges that the GFMD was found guilty of, namely: (1) on the charge that it prescribes migration policies that advance the neoliberal agenda of commodification of labor and modern-day slavery; (2) on the charge that it, through the sending governments, is criminally neglectful of the migrants’ political, economic, social and cultural rights; and (3) on the charge that it, through receiving governments, has violated the migrants’ political, economic, social and cultural rights.

The other members of the judges’ panel who read the verdict were Atty.

For promoting modern-day slavery, criminal neglect and perpetuation of

violations committed against migrants

GFMD IS GUILTY!

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM (clockwise): Symbolic abolition of the GFMD as a photo opportunity dur-ing the November 29 press conference; people’s prosecution lawyers listening to the witnesses; youth performers hold on to the “ripped GFMD” as Osamu Niikura reads the verdict

IMT, go to p. 2 photo courtesy of Joy Prim

2

AP

MM

ne

ws d

ige

st

Ana Lorena Delgadillo from Mexico, Bishop Soritua Nababan from Indonesia, Monique Wilson and Prof. Roland Tolentino from the Philippines (please see separate article on their profiles).

The IMT

The IMT, organized by the International Migrants’ Alliance together with the International Women’s Alliance, International League of Peoples’ Struggle and the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, had more than 200 local and foreign participants listen to nine witnesses relaying how the GFMD has been party in the many violations being committed against migrants and refugees.

Three expert witnesses from various organizations and institutions came forward: Antonio Tujan, Jr from Ibon International, Jose Jacques Medina from Mesoamerican Migrant Movement, and Dr. Irene Fernandez from Tenaganita. The six other witnesses represented various sections of the migrant sector, namely: Eni Lestari representing foreign domestic workers; Rex Osa representing refugees; Vivian Medina representing women migrants; Gregario Cagod representing seafarers; Luz Miriam Jaramillo talking about the European Union Return Directive; and Garry Martinez talking about the labor export policy. (please see separate article on their profiles)

Dr. Irene Fernandez was not around during the IMT but provided live testimony through Skype. Viviana Medina, on the other hand, could not attend the tribunal due to financial limitation but instead sent a video recording of her testimony.

The whole legal process leading

to the IMT was observed. As testimonies were verified and notarized, an indictment was released and sent via messenger and/or post to the 37 country governments and institutions organizing the GFMD. The 37 countries are Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

The Verdict

In addition to the thee major charges, the IMT also found the GFMD guilty of the following:

On the European Return Directive.

The GFMD promoted the criminalization and violations of the rights of undocumented migrants in Europe through the EU Return Directive which sanctions the criminalization, detention and deportation of what it considers illegal or undocumented migrants;

On the issue of Refugees. The GFMD’s view and policy that the problem vis-a-vis refugees should be seen simply within the framework of stepping up border controls encouraged human rights violations;

On issues of Domestic Workers. The GFMD is merely concerned with making more systematic temporary labor migration to serve their agenda of commodification and reduce migrant workers to modern-day slaves;

On the issue of Women Migrant Workers. The GFMD exposed women

The participants and audience of the International Migrants’ Tribunal on the GFMD

IMT, from page 1photo courtesy of Joy Prim

Nov

embe

r-D

ecem

ber 2

012

3

migrant workers to violence, abuse and exploitation and imposed additional legal barriers for their migration;

On the issue of Seafarers. The GFMD has perpetuated the condition where the vast majority of seafarers of the world are suffered to work the perils of the sea with lower and lower real wages, inhuman working conditions, unsafe ships, and longer hours; and

On the issue of Labor Export Policy. The GFMD has endorsed labor export over the rights and protection of migrant workers and their families through a policy that has resulted in tremendous hardships to them.

The GFMD has also implemented policies and committed actions that run contrary or are in violation of 12 international conventions, namely: 1948 Universal Declaration

of Human Rights; 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; The 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; 1984 Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child; 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its protocols; ILO Migration for Employment Convention (Revised); and ILO Convention on Decent Work

for Domestic Workers (C189).

Several recommendations were also made by the Judges, namely: the abolition of the GFMD and the abrogation of its policies; the adoption by sending States of genuine national economic development policies that will curb forced labor migration; the adoption and implementation by the States of national policies that are in line with international instruments and conventions; that an investigation and prosecution of cases of violations committed against migrants and indemnification of victims and their families; scrapping of the globalization policy and the labor export policy.

For more information about the tribunal, please check out its website: http://internationalmigrantstribunal.wordpress.com.

Judges

1. Bishop Soritua Nababan. Rev. Dr Soritua Nababan of the Protestant Christian Batak Church (HKBP) is currently the president of the World Council of Churches.

2. Monique Wilson. Monique Wilson is a world-renowned artist, activist and feminist. She is spearheading in the Philippines One Billion Rising, a campaign to have one billion people sign up against violence against women by February 14, 2013.

3. Dr. Roland Tolentino. A teacher, writer and activist, Dr. Roland Tolentino is currently the dean of the College of Mass Communications of the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus.

4. Ana Lorena Delgadillo. Ms. Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez worked at the Human Rights Commission in Mexico City, where she advocated in favor of reparations for human rights violations.

5. Osamu Niikura. Osamu Niikura is currently the secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and the vice-president of JALISA,

or the Japan Lawyers International Solidarity Association.

Witnesses

1. Eni Lestari. Eni Lestari is the erst president of the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers (ATKI-HK) and now president of PILAR, an alliance of Indonesian migrants’ organizations against overcharging.

2. Rex Osa. Rex Osa is a member of The VOICE Refugee Forum Germany, Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants. He is a Nigerian refugee in Germany.

3. Luz Miriam Jaramillo. Luz Miriam Jaramillo is the representative of the Comitato Immigrati in Italia (CII) and a member of the International Migrants’ Alliance International Coordinating Body (IMA-ICB).

4. Viviana Medina Velasquez. Viviana Medina Velasquez is 39 years old and a migrant worker from Mexico living in Montreal, QC Canada.

5. Garry Martinez. Garry Martinez was formerly the chairperson of Kasammako, an alliance of Filipino migrant workers in South

Korea and currently serves as chairman of Migrante International.

6. Gregorio Cagod. Gregorio Cagod is currently serving as the Vice-President of the National Union of Seafarers Crewing Danish Ships (FILDAN) and a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Seafarers Action Center Philippines (ISAC).

Expert Witnesses

1. Dr. Irene Fernandez. Irene Fernandez is a Malaysian human rights activist and director and co-founder of Tenaganita, which promotes the rights of migrant workers and other oppressed and poor people in Malaysia. 2. Antonio Tujan. Jr. Antonio Tujan, Jr is the director of IBON International and chair of two major international aid coalitions, Better Aid, and the Reality of Aid Network, among other organisations.

3. Jose Jacques Medina. Persecuted by Mexico’s government in the 70’s, Jose Medina fled to the United States and joined progressive forces in the struggle for justice for workers and immigrants.

Profiles of Judges, Witnesses and Expert Witnesses

4

AP

MM

ne

ws d

ige

st

Around 50 human rights and peace advocates from countries and country destinations from

Asia Pacific as well as from Europe and North America attended the Asia Pacific Conference on Philippine Human Rights Advocacy on November 25, 2012 at the University Hotel, University of the Philippines, Quezon City. The conference was organized by the International Coordinating Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICCHRP) and Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of Human Rights in the Philippines).

The conference started with the cultural presentation from the Southern Tagalog Cultural Network. Pastor Joram H. Calimutan in his opening remarks emphasized the need to establish a regional support group to support the struggle for human rights and peace in the Philippines.

Inputs on the prevailing human rights violations in the Philippines were shared. Rev. Fr. Rex RB Reyes, general secretary of National Council of Churches in the Philippines in his keynote address stated that the current Philippine president has not mustered the political will to prosecute those responsible for human rights violations committed during the time of her predecessor. None of the current cases filed against the former president has anything to do with her blatant disregard of human rights.

Marie Hilao-Enriquez, chairperson of Karapatan, provided the context of human rights violations. She said that the war being waged by Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III against the Filipino people through Oplan Bayanihan, a continuation of Oplan Bantay Laya, has intensified. His adherence to neo-liberal globalization policies like the public-private partnership (PPP) and

EO79 and failure to allocate subsidy for basic social services like health, education and shelter as well as its failure to address the ballooning of prices of basic commodities, low wages and landlessness resulted to hunger and has worsened the crisis.

After the inputs, human rights survivors and their relatives shared testimonies. They came from Southern Tagalog and Mindanao regions, two of the highly militarized areas in the Philippines. Alfredo Gonzales, chairperson of PAMALAKAYA-ST (Pambansang Kaisahan ng mga Mamalakaya sa Pilipinas-Souther Tagalog) and Mylene Saldua, Save Bondoc Peninsula Movement, shared about the continuing threat to their lives because of their struggle for genuine land reform and national industrialization.

Bae Adelfa Balayong, an indigenous

To build solidarity for human rights in the Philippines

AP Confab on Phil HR Advocacy held

phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Joy

Prim

Nov

embe

r-D

ecem

ber 2

012

5

people from Higaonon Tribe in Agusan del Sur, Mindanao and Genasque Enriquez from Manobo Tribe testified on unabated killings and other forms of HRVs against indigenous peoples fighting against large scale mining and environmental destruction.

Connie Empeno, mother of Karen Empeno abducted in 2006 by soldiers of 24th IBPA under the command of then Gen. Jovito Palparan, shared her family’s continuing quest for justice and how she became human rights activist in the process. In the afternoon, Dra. Angie Gonzales of ICCHRP presented the advocacy and campaign works initiated in international level. Country presentations from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong followed.

A declaration of unity is approved during the conference. It stated that President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III is no different from his predecessor then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in terms of human rights violations records. Oplan Bayanihan a new counter insurgency campaign of

the government is vastly linked to US military intervention in the Philippines.

The Asia Pacific Coordinating Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCCHRP), a regional coordination network of solidarity groups aimed to support the struggle of the Filipino people for human rights and peace in the Philippines, was formally organized. Country coordinators have been selected from the existing country committees in AP region. Tinay Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan shared about the Karapatan’s GPOA to guide the

APCCHRP of their plan of action in the coming years.

The conference ended with the sharing of Southern Tagalog Cultural Network of their ‘paper crane campaign’ symbolizing their campaign to free all political prisoners in the Philippines. And a closing remark from Peter Brock of Action for Peace and Development in the Philippines of Australia.

A joyful yet militant solidarity night led by the Southern Tagalog Cultural Network (STCN) ended the one day activity.

APPCHR’s Proposed Plan of Action

Speaking tour of survivors of human rights violations, their relatives and human rights advocates in AP region

Participation in organizing of anti-US bases campaign

Advocacy, campaign and lobbying (i.e. Jalaur Mega Dam in Iloilo, pull-out of military troops in the countryside and adopt a political prisoner campaign)

Support the International Human Rights Conference in July 2013

Country coordinators/conveners of APCCHRP

Australia: Peter Brock, Australia Action for Peace and Development in the Philippines

Taiwan: Yi-shiang, Taiwan Committee for Philippine Concerns/ Taiwan Alliance for Human Rights

Korea: Rev. Jang Cheong Won, Osan Migrant Center/ Asia Pacific Workers Links Solidarity-Korea

Japan: Butch Pongos, MIGRANTE- Japan

New Zealand: Cameron Walker, Auckland Philippine SolidarityHong Kong: Jackie Hung, Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP)

Indonesia: Iwenk, Assosiasi Tenaga Keja Indonesia (ATKI)

FROM OPPOSITE PAGE: The participants, speakers and organizers of the human rights conferenceTHIS PAGE: Connie Empeno (top) and Genasque Enriquez (right) giving their testimonies during the conference

6

AP

MM

ne

ws d

ige

st

“Migration for development is a flawed approach by stakeholder states, resulting in the forced and systematic migration of workers globally. In and by itself, massive labor migration is already symptomatic of the current global crisis of capitalism.”

This statement summed up the recommendations of participants in the workshop conducted last November 26 by the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) at the World Social Forum on Migrations (WSFM) in Metro Manila. The WSFM was held from November 26-29 at Miriam College in Quezon City, and was attended by a broad spectrum of organizations eager to partake of the smorgasbord of discussions that such events offer.

APMM’s workshop session, entitled “Critiquing Crisis, Forced Migration and the Neoliberal Globalization Paradigm of Development” was co-organized by MIREDES-International (Latin America) and IBON Foundation (Philippines). It aimed to explore the multiple crises of global capitalism under the neoliberal model, establish their interconnection with forced migration and formulate recommendations for confronting the “migration for development” approach being promoted by the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).

APMM’s workshop in WSFM tackles global crisis, roots of migration

Resource speakers who delivered substantive presentations were: Sonny Africa of IBON Foundation , on the multiple crises of capitalism; Jose Jacques Medina of MIREDES International, on the Latin American experience in forced migration; Joy de Guzman of National Alliance for Filipino Concerns – Southern California (NAFCON-SOCAL), on the roots of the Filipino Diaspora in the US; and Joselito Natividad of APMM, on migrant views regarding the GFMD and its conceptual framework. Some 52 participants from 38 organizations worldwide attended the 3-hour workshop.

Since the WSFM Secretariat required a maximum of three recommendations from each workshop, APMM’s facilitators were hard-pressed to squeeze in so many suggestions from the participants. After much deliberation, however, they finally united on the following points: deepen understanding of the crises-ridden monopoly capitalist system and its impacts on migrants and other marginalized

sectors ; mount resistance against the “migration for development” paradigm, especially as promoted by the GFMD; organize painstakingly among grassroots migrants and their families to harness their collective will and action.

From topmost: the forum of the APMM (left) and its resource persons (right); audience share their views and insights during the open forum (above)

photo courtesy of Joy Prim

Nov

embe

r-D

ecem

ber 2

012

7

Despite the downgrading of their proposed workshop on wage discrimination into a “poster-

session”, Asia Pacific migrant and trade union activists were still able to hold what amounted to a forum on the subject inside the 5th World Social Forum on Migrations (WSFM).

Sponsored by the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Union (IMWU) and the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), the activity was initially applied for as a full-blown workshop entitled “Workers Solidarity Against Wage Erosion and Discrimination” during preparations for the WSFM.

After a protracted process of nego-tiations that involved mismatches under the clustering arrangement implemented by the WSFM Secre-tariat, the proposed workshop was arbitrarily denied and relegated to a “poster-session” status (i.e., no recommmendation expected) slated for November 29, the last day of event.

Notwithstanding this handicap, IMWU and APMM mobilized key allies and network contacts inside the WSFM and converted the poster-session into an enlighten-ing forum between migrant unionists and trade unionists.

All of the speakers were genuine grass-roots migrant leaders; Sringatin of IMWU-Hong Kong); Yasmine

Soraya of IMWU-Netherlands; and Udaya Rai and Michel Catuira of Migrants Trade Union (MTU, South Korea). Each one presented the state of migrant wages in countries where they work, as well as a global over-view of migrant unionism and their relations with formal sector workers.

“Wage discrimination threatens to spread among countries that are hard-hit by the global economic cri-sis, resulting in a general wage ero-sion in the global labor market. The compulsion to draw in cheaper and more flexible labor from overseas has never been stronger, and compa-nies that outsource their workforces from abroad are quick to capitalize on liberalized labor standards to further squeeze migrant workers’ wages. With little or ineffectual social protection clauses availing in the na-tional laws of receiving countries, mi-grant labor is now developing as one

Migrant and trade unions hold forum on wage discrimination in WSFM

of the most heavily exploited subsec-tor in developed-country economies,” warned Sringatin of IMWU.

Among the 32 participants were Elizabeth Tang of the International Domestic Workers’ Network (IDWN) and Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU); Willy Balawala of the Solidarity Center – Indonesia (AFL-CIO); Anannya Bhattacharjee of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (India); Mohammed Aryan of the GARMCO Trade Union (Bahrain); and labor organizers of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU, Philippines) and the Ko-rean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The forum ended with a militant song and sharing of solidarity headbands by the KMU participants.

Michel Catuira, former president of the Migrants’ Trade Union (South Korea) shares

as fellow migrant workers looked onphoto courtesy of Joselito Natividad

8

AP

MM

ne

ws d

ige

st Marriage migrants and women’s rights

advocates from all over the world held a workshop last November 27 at the World Social Forum on Migrations (WSFM) in Manila. The key topic in this activity was the acquisition of citizenship rights for women migrants in host countries, especially for marriage migrants.

The 3-hour workshop was spearheaded by Action Network for Marriage Migrants’ Rights and Empowerment (AMMORE), and co-organized by the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), Trans-Asia Sisters’ Association in Taiwan (TASAT), Center for Women’s Resources (CWR), Kalipunan ng mga Filipinong Nagkakaisa sa Japan (KAFIN-Japan) and Women’s Legal Bureau (WLB).

Aside from citizenship rights, the objectives of the workshop included an assessment of the impacts of Article 26 of the Revised Family Code on divorced Filipino marriage migrants, as well as promotion of lobbying in the ASEAN to address issues women migrant rights. To attain these objectives, organizers of the workshop fielded such notable speakers as Atty. Ana Lorena Delgadillo, a human rights lawyer working with Fundación para la Justicia y el Estado Democrático de Derecho in Mexico; Jane Brock, Executive Director of Immigrant Women’s Speakout Association (IWSA) in Australia; and Congresswoman Luzminda Ilagan, one of the two representatives of Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) in the Philippine House of Representatives.

A total of 50 participants from 33 organizations worldwide took part in workshop, and their recommendations were synthesized into the following points: (1) call on governments to recognize, protect and promote the rights of women marriage migrants, including right to citizenship, right to family and right to child custody; (2) call on governments to repeal all laws and reverse policies discriminatory to women marriage migrants; (3) organize marriage migrants and raise their capacity to conduct lobby work and advocate for their own rights.

AMMORE leads marriage migrants’ workshop in WSFM

phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Joy

Prim

Nov

embe

r-D

ecem

ber 2

012

9

Ever since I arrived in Hong Kong, APMM has discussed the preparations for the

International Migrants’ Tribunal. I began assisting with preparations in October. I sent out formal invitations, responded to emails, and helped with other arrangements. At the end of November, the big event finally took place! We stayed in the Philippines for ten days.

The tribunal, the main event, took place on Wednesday and Thursday, November 28 and 29. The event began with a cultural presentation performed by children of migrant workers from one of the communities surrounding Manila. The clerk of court then formally opened the session. I sat on the sidelines recording the proceedings. We heard from three expert witnesses who discussed the general situation of migrants around the world, the effects of labor export policy, and the role of the GFMD. In the afternoon, an additional six witnesses discussed the effect of certain policies and programs on specific migrants.

I was particularly moved by the testimonies of Rex Osa and Eni Lestari. Rex Osa discussed the issue of refugees in Germany. Rex, a refugee from Nigeria, chronicled the difficulties faced by refugees in Germany including inadequate living conditions, unemployment and poverty. Eni discussed the situation of female domestic workers in Hong Kong.

Both of these testimonies described the situation of migrants from a firsthand perspective. I found it disheartening to listen to the variety of human rights abuses faced by refugees and domestic workers. Rex described the mentality of German officials who dismiss these abuses because it should be “enough” for

refugees that they receive food and shelter. As refugees, they do not have a right to ”complain” because “something is better than nothing.” However, this mentality justifies a multitude of human rights violations. Everyone deserves access to housing, education, healthcare, and employment. Eni spoke passionately about her experiences as a domestic workers in Hong Kong and particularly about the need to stop violence against women. She said that women face similar difficulties as men, but the conditions are worse

My Reflections on the November events

for women as domestic work occurs within the private household. Thus, employers think that it is “ok” to sexually or physically abuse them.

Overall, I felt honored to be included in the Tribunal. I loved witnessing the work of many months finally happen and watching the interaction of various grassroots organizations. The Tribunal provided a unique platform to highlight and discuss the issues of migration, and I hope that organizations will use the results as an educational resource.

Katelyn Davis, GBGM Intern

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM (clockwise): Katie (middle) is joined by Yvette (her right) and Beth (her left) to welcome the international participants ; Katie and Beth share a light moment during the rally; Katie marching with other international and local partici-pants during the November 30 rally

photo courtesy of Joy Prim

10

AP

MM

ne

ws d

ige

st What things will come up in

your mind if people talk to you about the Philippines?

Beautiful beaches and endless sunshine? Hurricanes and floods? Or one of the largest migrant-sending countries in the world?

It was my first time to visit this country to attend the Human Rights Conference and International Migrants’ Tribunal in Quezon City.

Before coming there, I have already heard several frustrating stories about the Philippines. For me, these stories are second-hanrd information until I participated in the human rights conference and heard the testimony of Ms. Bae Adelfa Belayong, a Mindanao indigenous female activist whose 6-year old daughter and husband were killed by the military when the military and paramilitary troops were forcing them to leave their ancestral lands. They hid in the woods where bombs were dropped frequently. I asked: Why were they treated inhumanely? Just because the big companies are eager to take advantage of the natural resources in these aboriginals’ lands?

To be honest, I was almost tearful when she talked about her sad story. It led me to understand how difficult it is to live in this country if people do not agree with the government. I could not help but think of the meaning of ‘human right’ - Does the Philippine government have learned about it and protected it?

November 30 is Bonificiao Day, a day for Andres Bonifacio, a hero who fought against Spanish colonization of the Philippines. It was a very hot day, more than 30 degrees Celsius! We went to central Manila to participate in a rally. We squeezed in a small dyip-dyip (a large-size tax that can accommodate 10-20 passengers each time).

Kumusta Philippines!Yvette Pan, APMM Intern

I had the chance to look around the city and its dark-grey buildings under a very clear sky when we marched towards the US embassy and Malacanang palace to protest. I saw how progressive and united the Philippine people movement is in asserting their rights. At the same time, I also saw how indifferent this government is to respond to them. Pres. Aquino III was not in Manila but in Cebu to celebrate the holiday.

According to Migrante International, around 1.4 million Filipinos left the Philippines to work abroad in 2010. Many of them are in Hong Kong and 73% of them are women. One of

my new friends whom I met in the conference, told me that it is not so hard to find in the Philippines people who have family members working overseas. In general, salary per person in this country is around Php5,000, but one meal in a restaurant is already Php70-100. The living cost is higher than what people can afford. After my trip, I have a clear picture about the reasons why people have to leave their homes to find jobs overseas.

Hopefully, Philippines will be a real country that has human rights for people, no killings, and no forced migration.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM (clock-wise): Police officers in blue

uniform blocked the protesters; the famous Filipino dyip-dyip;

cultural performance by activists

photo courtesy of Yvette Pan

Nov

embe

r-D

ecem

ber 2

012

11

memoration of the IMD. They signed a petition opposing the New Pension Scheme-Social Security System Agreement (NPS-SSS Agreement) between the South Korean and Philippine government that increases state exaction against Filipino mi-grants. And as show of solidarity with the victims of typhoon Pablo in the Philippines, they collected material support for the victims.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, MIGRANTE-Taiwan and Association of Indonesian Migrant in Taiwan (ATKI-Taiwan), together with Samahang Makata Interna-tional (SMI), Overseas Workers BowlingAssociation(OWBA), conduct-ed a cultural exchange on December 23 with a theme ‘Stronger Unity Towards Advancing the Rights of Migrants”. The cultural presentations from both the Filipino and Indone-sians groups depicted the conditions of migrants in Taiwan and the root-

causes of forced migration in many countries in Asia.

The event was aimed to strengthen the ranks of migrants and broaden solidarity works to advance the rights of migrants. Local support groups and advocates actively participated in the event. They were Labor Rights Association(LRA), New Immigrants Labor Rights Association (NILRA), Taiwan Committee for Philippine Concerns (TCPC), Youth 95, Serve the People Association (SPA), Lakbay (Taiwanese volunteer), IPIT - Indo-nesian organization under Taiwan International Workers’ Association (TIWA) and TIWA’s staff and Trans Asia Sisters Association of Taiwan (TASAT).

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, around a thousand migrants under the banner of Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB) rallied simultaneously in front of the Philippine and Indonesian consulates

before proceeding to the Central Government Offices in Admiralty.

They demanded for policy changes that could alleviate the hardships of migrant workers. They submitted a 12-point demand to the HK govern-ment that mirrors the sentiments and interests of migrants in Hong Kong.

Some of the demands submitted were the legislated working hours for migrants, abolition of the dis-criminatory two week rule policy, making live-in condition arrangement optional, an increase in the foreign domestic workers’ wages and their inclusion in the statutory minimum wage.

IMD was also celebrated in coun-tries like Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Chapters of MIGRANTE in the said countries used the commemora-tion to raise the awareness of mi-grants and local people and broaden their ranks in pushing for reforms and changes in state policies.

IMD 2012, from p. 12

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The migrants and local workers in South Korea; Local supporters of the migrant movement in Hong Kong came in big numbers; Taiwan’s migrant leaders and their supporters; Members of Teresa held an International Migrants Day-themed Christmas Party

12

AP

MM

ne

ws d

ige

st

The APMM News Digest is the monthly newsletter of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (incorporated in Hong Kong as a company limited by guarantee). Its office is located at No. 2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR. Tel. No. 852-2723 7536, Fax No. 852-2735 4559. Email: apmm@hknet.com, Website: www.apmigrants.org. Editorial team: Ramon Bultron, Joselito Natividad, Aaron Ceradoy, Pastor Joram Calimutan, Rey Asis (layout artist). Contributors: Vicky Casia-Cabantac, Janet Saguiped-Carnay, Yvette Pan, Ganika Diristiani. Any reproduction or lifting of articles is herein allowed only when due recognition of sources is given.

Migrants all over the world commemorated the Inter-national Migrants Day on

December 18, 2012. In Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, the com-memoration depicted the unity of migrants of different nationalities and strengthening of international solidarity in advancing migrant rights and welfare and against all forms of abuse, exploitation, discrimination, government neglect and xenophobia.

The IMD commemoration took vari-ous forms such as cultural exchang-es, protests and mobilizations and sharings on the recently concluded International Migrants’ Tribunal on the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).

South Korea

In South Korea, the commemora-tion of International Migrants Day started on December 16 and ended on December 30. Around 500 mi-grants, many of whom were Filipino, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Chinese, Burmese, Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian, mobilized in Suwon station calling on the South Korean government to implement reforms that will ensure full protection of the rights and welfare of migrants.

A parallel activity was also held by the organization TERESA at Kyeong-song Church in Seoul. Participants who attended the International Mi-grants’ Tribunal (IMT) shared about the whole process of the IMT and the verdict released by the judges on the GFMD.

The Hanfil (an association of mar-riage migrants), New Era, Aguman and Bicolano migrants celebrated Christmas in time with the com-

Migrants all over Asia Pacific commemorate2013 IMD

IMD 2012, go to p. 11

FROM TOPMOST: More than 1,000 migrant workers and solidarity friends showed up in the Hong Kong mobilization while the leaders of various migrant organizations in Taiwan (above) concluded their momentous IMD celebration with powerful chanting

photo courtesy of Rey Asis, Hui-yi Heng and Jones Espino