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‘Maohi Lives Matter’: Tahiti protesters condemn French nuclear testing legacy

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By Mong Palatino/Global Voices

More than 1,000 people gathered in the Tahiti capital of Papeete to condemn the failure of the French government to take full accountability for its nuclear testing program in the South Pacific.

France conducted 193 nuclear tests from 1966–1996 in Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia). France’s 41st nuclear experiment in the Pacific led to catastrophe on July 17, 1974, when France tested a nuclear bomb codenamed “Centaure.” Because of weather conditions that day, the test caused an atmospheric radioactive fallout which affected all of French Polynesia. Inhabitants of Tahiti and the surrounding islands of the Windward group were reportedly subjected to significant amounts of ionizing radiation 42 hours after the test, which can cause significant long-term health problems.

The July 17, 2021 protest was organized under the banner of #MaohiLivesMatter to highlight the continuing fight for nuclear justice. Campaigners said that despite the statement of former French President François Hollande in 2016 recognizing the negative environmental and health impact of the nuclear tests, the French government has done little to provide compensation or rehabilitation to French Polynesia.

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After analyzing 2,000 pages of declassified French military documents about the nuclear tests, in March 2021 a group of researchers and investigative journalists from INTERPRT and Disclose released their findings on the health implications of the experiments.

According to our calculations, based on a scientific reassessment of the doses received, approximately 110,000 people were infected, almost the entire Polynesian population at the time.

The report has revived public awareness in France about the impact of their nuclear testing program. The French government held a roundtable discussion about the issue in Paris in early July. Though some criticized the French government for their alleged lack of transparency around the clean-up efforts in French Polynesia, officials denied these claims.

Protesters in Tahiti insisted that the French government should do more to address the demands of French Polynesian residents. Some noted that if French President Emmanuel Macron was able to seek forgiveness for the role of France in enabling the Rwanda genocide in 1994, he should at least make a similar apology for the harmful legacy of the nuclear tests in the Pacific.

The #MaohiLivesMatter protest has inspired solidarity in the Pacific.

Community leaders of West Papua expressed their support for the protest:

Youth activists from Pacific island nations also took part in the protest:

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN) Australia issued this statement of support:

As you gather in Maohi Nui on the 17th July we offer our deep respects to your leaders and community members who have long spoken out against the harms imposed by these weapons. We have heard your calls for nuclear justice. We continue to listen closely when you speak of the lived experience of the testing years and the on–going harms.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to tackle the legacy of nuclear testing during his visit to Tahiti this month. #

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Kodao publishes Global Voices articles as part of a content-sharing agreement.

Pinoy undocumented workers bear brunt of France’s lockdown

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By Macel Ingles

OSLO, Norway– Filipino undocumented workers are hardest hit by the French lockdown brought by the coronavirus pandemic. This, according to the Nagkakaisang Pillipino sa Pransya (NPSP), a Filipino migrant organisation based in Paris.

“Since the start of the lockdown last March 17, the Filipino undocumented workers found themselves in a no work, no pay situation,” NPSP wrote in an online interview on the situation of Filipinos in France.

“The struggle of being undocumented and not declared at work doubles the vulnerability and burden of our compatriots gaining no benefits and aid both from France and especially the Philippine government,” the organization added.

Undocumented workers are considered as “invisible workers” in France because they are not covered by existing labor laws. The state tends to neglect this sector of workers making them extremely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse from their employers and to inhuman working conditions.

The NPSP had been monitoring the situation of Filipinos in France since the French lockdown and has started a fundraiser to help the undocumented kababayans, who because of their status, cannot access social services from the government of France. The fundraiser hopes to collect enough money to buy 20€ relief packages for those who may need assistance.

“Napakahirap po ng kalagayan sa Paris. Isa, dahil sa Covid bawal lumabas. Sa usaping sahod, ay nasa amo ho sa katulad kong illegal worker. May among magbabayad at may among namang hindi,” part-time nanny told Acee Catahan Pinoy Portal Europe on an online interview.

She also worries about her financial situation and has asked her family in the Philippines for understanding if she won’t be able to send them money in the meantime. “Kako sa pamilya ko ay mas kailangan namin dine ang financial. Sila naman ay may halaman at kahit papaano’y may pantawid gutom doon sa Laguna,” she added.

Undocumented workers like Catahan fear police controls that ask for their identification cards and work permits when they venture outside their homes during the lockdown. Fear of being caught stops them from going out to work.

Some of the concerns of Pinoy during the lockdown in Paris include worries about employment for those who still work, and issues on payment of salaries despite the lockdown.

Some Filipino workers were also elated by news that the French government has assured workers that they will be paid but this policy only applies to “declared” workers. A worker is considered “declared” if the employer registers their employment to the government. Some declared workers do not have work permits.

“Sa aming mga nanny na declared ang work, 80% ang sahod ang ibibigay ng amo. Sa ibang part- timer wala siguro silang sahod/pero yung iba pasasahurin sila,” Irene Carlos revealed. She is lucky to have an employer who is complying with the government policy despite the fact that she has no work permit.

Some of the workers have no choice but to work despite fears for their safety.

“Ako naman live-in sa amo, tuloy ang trabaho mahirap din pagod sa pag-asikaso sa kanila araw araw, nalabas ako na bumili ng food. Ingat na lang wala akong magagawa kahit bawal lumabas,” live-in domestic worker Marsha Bascar said.

She also said that she is unable to send money at this time as most of the establishments are closed.

Senior Chef Fourmi Fumante shared the uncertainties and difficulties of some Pinoys in being able to send some money to their families in the Philippines due to the restrictions.

“Dahil sa lockdown medyo pahirapan lumabas kasi pahigpit ng pahigpit ang rules, hindi natin alam kung madelay ang sahod or ano,” Fumante noted. He also said that , “ang mga undeclared dito natatakot din lumabas di lang sa virus kundi pag nasita need nila pakita ng ID.”

“Bukas naman ang mga Pinoy at Arab stores kung saan ka puwedeng magpadala ng pero ang tanong ay kung may ipapadala pa,” he added.

Au pair Mau de Guzman was lucky enough to have been able to send money to her family in the Philippines before the lockdown and she said that her employer has assured her that she will continue to receive her allowance.

Aside from the fundraiser, the NPSP has also urged the Philippine embassy in France to help Filipinos who have lost jobs but are not qualified to claim unemployment benefits. It also appealed to the embassy to include France in the priority countries in the Department of Labor and Employment’s USD200 AKAP Financial Assistance Program for OFWs who lost their jobs due to Covid-19 crisis.

The group estimates that there are now around 65,000 Filipinos in Frances and are mostly living in the cities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille.

It also said that most Filipinos in France work as domestic workers, childcare workers, maintenance workers, hotel and restaurant employees and embassy staff. Majority of these workers are undocumented and female.

Since the lockdown, the labor department had confirmed that a total of 400,000 businesses had been affected by the coronavirus crisis and that 1 out of 4 workers in France has lost their jobs. #

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If you want to help kababayans in France, this is the link to the fundraiser.

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This article originally appeared on Pinoy Portal Europe.

OFWs in Europe press gov’t for assistance and mass testing for all Filipinos

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By Ian Dexter R. Marquez

PARIS, France – Various organizations throughout Europe are urging the Philippine government to provide social assistance and mass testing to all Filipinos, including overseas workers.

A number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) throughout Europe may have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic and need assistance from the Philippine government, Migrante International chapter Nagkakaisang Pilipino sa Pransya (NPSP) said. 

“Filipinos in Europe are also largely affected by this pandemic,” NPSP spokesperson Seyra Rico said, pointing out that so-called undocumented OFWs are most vulnerable during the crisis that has also hit the world’s most prosperous region. 

“Most of them (undocumented OFWs) do not qualify for social welfare due to the nature and status of their work,” Rico said. 

Aside from fears of deportation, undocumented Filipinos have no access to health services and financial assistance from their European host countries, she explained

The organizations urge the Philippine embassies and consulates to provide financial assistance to nationals without access to health care and social services in their host countries.

They also appeal to host countries to provide health care for undocumented Filipinos and to ensure the safety of Filipino health workers in foreign hospitals.

In France, NPSP said there are an estimated 65,000 Filipinos, 60% of whom are undocumented. 

About 106,200 persons have already been infected by the virus in the Western European country with 17,167 deaths, including seven Filipinos. 

Weekly noise barrages

To demand immediate action and highlight the plight of compatriots throughout the continent, Filipino organizations in Europe will hold weekly noise barrages starting on April 18.

The weekly protests, held in Filipino homes across Europe, are scheduled every Saturday at 12 noon central Europe time (6 PM in the Philippines) and will culminate on May 1.

NPSP poster

The culmination will coincide with International Worker’s Day as a tribute to all Filipino migrant workers and front-liners at home and abroad, the Filipino organizations announced.

The protests are spearheaded by Migrante International, Anakbayan Europa, European Network for Justice and Peace in the Philippines and International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines. 

In France, NPSP shall lead the protests, “in solidarity with our compatriots in the Philippines and abroad,” Rico said. 

Rico said the noise barrages shall also call for an end to the autocratic and “dictator-like” tactics of the government in implementing its lockdown in the Philippines.

They also demand social assistance and food distribution for the Philippines’ most vulnerable sectors, instead of military actions and state violence. 

“Since President Rodrigo Dutere placed Luzon under lockdown in March, millions of workers have been displaced and out of work; communities left in need of assistance; medical workers dying from lack of PPEs; and government critics muzzled, arrested, or even killed,” Rico said. 

Rico said that the government response against the virus, including the Php 285-billion package announced by Duterte, has proven to be grossly inadequate to sustain the needs of families in Luzon affected by the lockdown. #