SF CHRP – May 1st Statement (by Rupert Estanislao)

(taken from http://kiwizzo.wordpress.com/, please share this with folks)

OFW = Overseas Filipina/o Worker

May 1st Press Statement
Rupert Estanislao,
SF Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines

(English)
From childhood well into adulthood the bitter truth I learned is that I would never be able to grow old in the country of my origin.

I came to America at age fourteen in 1993.

My mother went ahead of the family and took up work as a dental assistant while my father was a security guard and a part time hotel manager.

In his homeland, my father was a lawyer; here he was a security guard at the courthouse.

My mother was a dentist with a practice in Metro Manila, but here her degrees and experience were dismissed and deemed inapplicable.

They kept their dignity and worked diligently no matter how meager the pay, no matter how racist or petty the boss.

Leaving for work everyday at three am and coming home past ten at night left no time to eat and sit with one another as a family.

I know their bosses took advantage of their status and they being accustomed to the corrupt system of the Philippines silently complied and turned a blind eye to the violation of their own rights.

Legal or illegal, they are still immigrants.

The Struggle Continues | BAYAN-USA Statement on May Day 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2009
Reference: Rhonda Ramiro, Secretary-General, BAYAN-USA, email: secgen@bayanusa.org

The Struggle Continues… Even in the Age of Obama, Filipino-Americans Must Fight for Genuine Immigration Reform

Statement of BAYAN-USA on May Day 2009

The US Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN-USA, an alliance of 14 Filipino organizations across the United States, calls on all Filipino-Americans to commemorate May 1st, 2009 by joining the people’s continuing struggle for genuine immigration reform in the United States, and systemic change to the exploitative labor export structures in the Philippines.

On May 1st, 2006, Filipinos in the United States under the banner of BAYAN-USA were amongst the millions across the country who revived the militant spirit of May Day, an international workers holiday celebrated around the world but whose significance is suppressed and systemically erased by the US ruling elite and government. As exploitation and oppression against immigrants in the US grows worse– even in the age of the new Obama administration, which reaches its 100th day in office on May 1– it is paramount that Filipinos, coming from one of the world’s largest labor exporting countries and the poorest in Asia, express solidarity with all immigrant workers by fighting for dignity, justice, and human rights. This May 1st, BAYAN-USA remains at the forefront of the May Day rallies and street mobilizations in several US cities, and appeals to the broader Filipino-American community to join us in this righteous fight.

Sulong Gabriela! 25 Years and Forward!

SULONG GABRIELA! 25 YEARS AND FORWARD!

GABRIELA-USA Celebrates International Working Women’s Day with Month Long Activities Culminating in the Formation of the First Overseas Chapter of GABRIELA- USA

Los Angeles, CA–To honor International Working Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Babae, FIRE, and PINAY sa Seattle will undertake a slew of activities during this March 2009. These celebrations will culminate in the National Founding Assembly of GABRIELA-USA, where Filipinas from across the nation will gather on March 29, 2009 at the University of California, Los Angeles Downtown Labor Center, to establish the first overseas chapter of the Philippine-based progressive women’s alliance, GABRIELA.  Presenting the keynote address will be GABRIELA’s renowned Secretary General, Emmi de Jesus. 

This commemoration of 25 years of GABRIELA history comes at a very challenging time for women all over the world. In the Philippines, the current global economic crisis affects Filipino families gravely as the daily struggle for wage, healthcare and basic social services become increasingly more difficult. The Philippine import-dependent and export-oriented economy is heavily reliant on remittances from overseas workers.   Filipina women, who represent over 70% of the overseas workers, are dramatically affected due to dwindling dollars impacting the welfare of families still living in the Philippines. According to the Philippine Department of Labor, over 3,770 workers were sent abroad daily for work in 2008 and in the same year, ten million overseas Filipino workers (OFW’s) remitted over $16.4 Billion USD.

The Philippine government heralds these economic gains as national successes, yet it neither recognizes the vulnerabilities and exploitation of overseas workers, nor protects individuals when they face abuse. In the past year, over 20 overseas workers were sent home in body bags labeled “mysterious deaths,” but are suspected cases of employer abuse. Despite this, the Philippine government, under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has responded by increasing the number of laborers sent abroad, rather than strengthening the local economy which might help retain talent and skills within the nation.