KANLUNGAN

Migrante (The Filipino Diaspora) – London Screening

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Gabriela Organising Committee Workshop Meeting

Filipina migrants unite for Women’s Day in UK

By Patrick Camara Ropeta

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/03/13/13/filipina-migrants-unite-womens-day-uk

LONDON – Filipina migrants from all walks of life united for an open forum to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) last March 8, aiming to create a platform for issues affecting women in the UK and the Philippines.

Dozens of female activists from various UK-based organizations gathered at the Hinsley Room in Victoria on March 9, in a bid to openly discuss and raise awareness of women’s rights and migrant issues of the day.

“We need to move forward to fight for our rights as women and citizens, we can’t just stand in the sidelines,” said Sheila Tilan from the Filipino Domestic Workers Association UK (FDWA-UK), which co-hosted the event with non-profit support group Kanlungan.

“It’s important for us to organize. We should know our rights. We have to mobilize and let all women from the UK to the Philippines to join in the campaign.”

Women’s rights have come a long way since the start of the feminist movement in the late 1900s, but for many women around the world, including vulnerable Filipina migrants, the struggle for equality, safety, and respect remains an ongoing battle.

This struggle was evident in “Au Pair”, an observational documentary screened at the event, which follows the lives of a small group of Filipina migrants in Denmark.

Released in 2011, the short film exposed the various problems faced by migrant women including job insecurity, legal issues, discrimination, and even loneliness away from family and friends.

Some of the Filipina migrants at the event have had similar experiences, including Zenaida Cabanatan, a 52-year-old housekeeper who was allegedly abused by controlling employers who tried to restrict her civil and employment rights.

“I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone. I didn’t have a day off. I worked long hours even until 12 midnight. They didn’t pay me enough either. And when I want to send money to my family in the Philippines, they would refuse and insist that they do it themselves,” she revealed.

Cabanatan, a Quezon City native who has been working in the UK for 14 years, claimed that her remittances were often delayed, which sometimes affected the life of her dependent child in the Philippines.

Furthermore, her employers allegedly attempted to send her back to the Philippines permanently with a one-way plane ticket, but she quickly realized the plot and managed to return to the UK.

She is now in the process of lodging a formal complaint against her former employers with the help of Kanlungan and Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

Speaking to ABS-CBN Europe, she added: “I was shocked. I kept wondering why they would so something like this to me. And then I found out through some advisers that I didn’t have insurance, which my employers keep a secret from me.”

Cabanatan’s story is just one of a number of cases involving vulnerable Filipino migrants in the UK, many of whom happen to be women.

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), women made up the majority of Filipino migrants since 1993, peaking at 74% in 2004.

On average, 35,892 Filipino women emigrate each year, alongside 23,993 men, based on statistics from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) between 1981-2011.

Most migrants work abroad in search of a better future for themselves and their families, but many will find that life away from home is not always easy.

“We really need to discuss the issues. We are affected by so many issues, from work to the legal framework. We have lots to consider and I’m hoping that this forum will be a wake-up call for us,” said Florence Cayboen, a 47-year-old domestic worker from Baguio.

She added: “The hardest part is to organize women here in the UK, it’s not easy. I hope this could be a real starting point for us to unite as Filipino women of all ages and profession.”

Inspired by IWD, the group agreed to work towards launching a UK chapter of the Philippine women’s party Gabriella later this year.

Actress and campaigner Monique Wilson, who has been collaborating with Gabriella since 1999, attended the forum to lend her support and expertise.

“Filipinas are leaders. We just have to be given an opportunity and a platform to really find our voices, and to really exercise that voice,” said Wilson, who was elected as Director of International Affairs for Gabriella in 2012.

“What Gabriella represents is fighting for not just women’s rights and women’s freedom, but also national democracy which affects women in the end. Gabriella has been growing rapidly, it’s got international and regional chapters, and I think it’s time we have one in the UK because we have so many amazing Filipina migrant women here, and we have to continue to fight for issues that affect us, not only here but also back home.”

For the female activists, the aims are simple: to find a platform for women’s issues; to improve women’s rights through equality, respect and support; and to secure a better future for the next generations of young women.

And with the seed in place, only time will tell if their efforts bear fruit for the cause.

International Women’s day Celebration 9 March

Information Forum and Celebration

Kanlungan Celebration

15th of October 2011

3 pm – 10 pm

At Dragon Hall 17 Stukeley Street, London WC2 5LT

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

There will be an

‘Immigration forum on Settlement’

that will commence at 3 pm – 5 pm

Followed by

Music, Dance & Cultural Performances

No entrance fee and Food & refreshments’ will be served free!

Please confirm by telephoning 02072638992 or text 07538797963

In memory of Dr. Fernando Santiago Jr.

Click here for flyer info

Kanlungan Launch Event at the Houses of Parliament on Migrant Care Workers

12th of October 2011, Wednesday

Committee Room 16, House of Commons,

Houses of Parliament,

London SW1A 0AA

Kanlungan invites you to the launch of five [5] briefings based on its research into the effect of immigration changes on Senior Care Workers in the UK. This is to be held immediately after the meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Care sector in the UK. Through a panel discussion, the launch will address the role migrant senior care workers play in the UK, and the impact immigration changes have had on their lives and will have on the UK care industry.

Click here for more information

26 March, Filipinos join march against cuts!

‘Dukot’ (Desaparecidos), A Community Film Showing

Kanlungan (The Alliance of Filipino Organisations) and Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines are proud to present –

‘Dukot’ (Desaparecidos)

4th December 2010 at 7:30pm
Praxis Hall, Pott Street, Bethnal Green London E2 0EF (map)
(Filmshow is followed by dinner and dance to celebrate the early holiday season.)

Tickets at 10GBP inclusive of film, dinner and dance.
For enquiries, contact Kanlungan and/or CHRP.

Vote for Migrants’ Rights website launch

Vote for Migrants Rights! is a joint project of Kanlungan, Migrante UK and CHRP-UK, that aims to highlight pertinent issues and aspirations of Filipino migrants in the UK and their families that they want to put forward this Philippine election season.

The project aims to gather issues and opinions from different Filipino migrant community organisations and individuals in the UK, in the light of producing a consolidated migrant agenda of the country. A national consultation is planned to take place on 17 April 2009 in London, where selected delegates from different migrant organisations across UK regions will gather to unite on their issues and endorse our own agenda.

To visit the website go to: http://votemigrantsrights.wordpress.com

4 Comments February 8, 2010

Are you a former health care professional who feels deskilled and wants a change?

Training: “Advocacy Based Approaches to the Deskilling of Migrant Health Professionals”

Saturday 31st October 11 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.

@ Praxis (community centre) Pott Street, London E2 0EF

Tel: 020 7729 7985   Buses: 8, 106, 254 and 388  Underground: Bethnal Green Station  (Central Line)

Are you a former health care professional who feels deskilled and wants a change? This training will help you to gain support and advocacy to move in this direction. Taught by Sondra Cuban, PhD, of Lancaster University, you will start a portfolio of hidden but important skills and knowledge about advancement and advocacy in the UK that aims at collective empowerment for students in social care. The goals are: (more…)

Alliance of Filipino Organisations

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