Maria Editha Garma-Respicio fondly recalls her teenage years writing for her school newspaper, reading in the library and penning poems about love. Growing up in Tuguegarao, a city in the northern Philippines, she sought solace in the written word when all else seemed to be falling apart.
Maria Editha Garma-Respicio, a member of Migrant Writers of Hong Kong. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
“I wrote about everything,” Respicio, as she asked to be called, said. “I wrote about my emotions, being in love, everything.”
Decades later, writing continues to play a central role in Respicio’s life. The 45-year-old domestic worker in Hong Kong writes poems about life as a migrant worker, her two children back home and whatever inspires her at the moment.
“Writing is a kind of therapy for me,” Respicio said. “It’s healing.”
Respicio’s poetry has been published in a number of literary magazines. Most recently, two of her poems found a home in “Ingat”, a new anthology of poetry, photographs and sketches by the city’s migrant workers.
Released last Sunday, “Ingat” — meaning “take care” in Tagalog — is a collaborative effort by Migrant Writers of Hong Kong, photography nonprofit Lensational and independent publisher Small Tune Press. It features the work of dozens of domestic workers telling stories about family, hardship, love and sacrifice.
All the works in the book are accompanied by Chinese translations to make it more accessible to Hong Kong readers. The anthology’s dust jacket pays tribute to balikbayan boxes, or large cardboard boxes stuffed with food, clothes and other gifts that domestic workers send home to their families.
The city’s 340,000 domestic workers, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, are the backbone of many Hong Kong families. Research has shown that domestic workers contribute significantly to the city’s economy, freeing up parents from childcare and other duties so they can enter the workforce.
Respicio wrote two poems for the anthology: “Diaspora Spirit” and “Adios”. The first is a tribute to the courage of migrant workers, while in the second, she describes a tearful farewell to her family in the Philippines:
Goodbye’s a torture, my tears shedding / I’ll no longer witness my baby’s milestone / Others children I will be caring / Making me numb like an ice stone
Christine Vicera, one of the leaders of the project and co-founder of be/longing, an initiative supporting ethnically diverse communities, said the book aimed to carve out space for work that is “often forgotten or not as visible” on Hong Kong’s creative scene.
Born in the Philippines but having moved to the city as a toddler, Vicera — who co-edited the anthology — said she always wished there was more diversity in the literary scene:
Growing up, I’ve always wanted to see works by people in our communities on bookshelves. People from Hong Kong, people who are Filipino and of course, people who are migrant domestic workers.
‘A very powerful story’
Established in 2021, Migrant Writers of Hong Kong unites domestic workers with a common love for the written word. The group partners with universities to organize writing workshops, poetry exhibitions and arts events on Sundays, the sole day off for most domestic workers.
Maria Nemy Lou Rocio co-founded the group after being inspired by Migrant Writers of Singapore. Noting the absence of such a community here, the 42 year old set out to create a safe, inclusive space for domestic workers in Hong Kong to share their creations and hone their craft. Rocio, who has been a migrant worker in Hong Kong for six years, said:
Migrant workers are very talented. Every poem they write is a very powerful story.
Shortly after establishing Migrant Workers of Hong Kong, Rocio told Vicera that she wanted to produce an anthology to showcase the writing of domestic workers. The idea was soon expanded to spotlight not just written work but photos, art and other mediums.
Kristine Andaya Ventura’s contribution to “Ingat” is a sketch of a couple paddling a boat under the full moon. The 36-year-old Filipina has been working overseas as a domestic worker since she was 19, first in Lebanon and then in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Malaysia. She came to Hong Kong at the end of 2022:
[My sketch] is about two hearts saying goodbye. No matter how happy they are today, tomorrow they need to say goodbye to separate, to have a good future.
Ventura is as much a writer as she is an artist, having penned dozens of poems over the years. She published a book of her poetry called “She is a Lioness” in 2021, telling stories about heartbreak over a failed marriage, battling depression, and life as a domestic worker in a foreign land.
Her main writing inspiration, she said, was her two children, aged 8 and 17:
I want to dedicate [my poems] to them [to show] how I love them and miss them,” Ventura said. “When I miss them, I will express that I need to work outside the country for them… to give them financial support… Writing also helps me ease the pain.
A poem that Kristine Andaya Ventura dedicated to her daughter called “Please Let Me.” Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Used with permission.
Besides poems, “Ingat” also features around two dozen photos taken by members of Lensational, a non-profit that supports domestic workers interested in photography.
Felicia Xu, a volunteer at Lensational who curated the photo submissions, said photography was a powerful tool for migrant workers as it transcended the barriers of language.
Years ago, Lensational ran an event inviting domestic workers and their employers to view their work, she told HKFP. Some of the employers became emotional when they talked to their domestic workers, Xu said:
When [one of the employers] saw the photo, it raised her interest and she started asking questions. She got to know the struggles of the domestic worker that she basically spends every minute with, but she didn’t know anything about her emotions… and that photo broke the ice.
Defying stereotypes
For the migrant workers who contributed to the anthology, writing poems and taking photos is a way for them to express their emotions and prompt society to seek new perspectives.
A study by researchers at Lingnan University last year found that domestic workers were unfairly represented by the city’s media outlets. According to an analysis of almost 400 reports about the mistreatment of domestic workers in Chinese-language media, outlets tended to use language that highlighted the “positive personality traits” of employers.
The anthology’s launch also comes as the government continues to crackdown on what it calls domestic workers’ “job-hopping”, or prematurely ending their contracts to change employers. The government is slated to announce new rules by July that could make it harder for domestic workers to switch employers.
Vicera said influencing policy-making was tougher nowadays as the legislature lacked lawmakers who campaigned for domestic workers’ rights.
Since authorities overhauled the electoral system in 2021, only people deemed “patriots” by the government can run in leadership races. During previous legislature terms, when there was still an effective opposition, pro-democracy lawmakers worked with NGOs and activists to lobby for domestic workers’ interests.
Under these circumstances, visibility through projects such as “Ingat” is more important than ever. #
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This report was written by Hillary Leung and originally published in Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) on March 9, 2024. The edited version above by Global Voices is republished by Kodao as part of a content sharing agreement.
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/poetry.png11501728Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-04-03 10:11:072024-04-03 10:11:09Poetry as therapy: Hong Kong’s domestic workers muse about love and sacrifice
It’s been nearly a month since hundreds of Filipino construction workers lost their jobs throughout New Zealand and some are forced into desperate measures to survive.
Migrante Aotearoa said many laid off workers have resorted to fly fishing for something to eat after about 720 fellow Filipinos suddenly lost their jobs when their recruitment company ELE Group collapsed last December 20.
“Yes, many are already doing that,” Migrante Aotearoa confirmed to Kodao.
First Union Network of Migrants general secretary Dennis Maga said that one month after ELE entered receivership, the distressed Filipino workers are already in dire financial hardship.
“[M]any are relying on community food support and waiting for financial assistance from the Philippine Embassy. Two weeks ago, the union reported that some workers were sleeping in their cars due to financial difficulties,” Maga said.
Bills and debts both in NZ and Philippines, mental and emotional stresses are mounting for the ELE workers, Maga added.
Distressed OFWs picketing Deloitte headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand (Migrante photo)
Distress call to NZ and PH governments
Along with Migrante Aotearoa and First Union, several of the workers held a picket at the Philippine Embassy as well as outside ELE Group caretaker Deloitte Corporation in Wellington today.
The groups also held meet ups with other laid off workers in Auckland and Christchurch on Friday.
In a statement, the groups said they are asking Deloitte to give the laid-off workers’ final pay and benefits before month’s end.
They demanded as well that the workers are given work immediately and given new work visas by the New Zealand government.
They also asked the Philippine government to expedite its promised financial aid to the workers while they remain jobless.
“For the NZ government, we reiterate that it’s high time to investigate the practices of labor hire operators that disadvantage and exploit migrant workers,” Migrante Aotearoa said.
The group added that even before ELE’s collapse, they have been receiving reports of employment redundancy, exploitation of migrant workers, visa scams and fake job offers.
“We reiterate calls for the Philippine government through the Philippine Embassy in Wellington and the Department of Migrant Workers in Manila to fast-track the release of financial aid for all ELE workers and give high priority for ELE workers currently in the Philippines to avail OWWA assistance and waive the required application for new Overseas Employment Certificateto be able to return to NZ without further costs and delay,” they said.
In a separate statement,Migrante-International called on the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government to speed up and increase support for the laid-off workers.
The group is set to hold a dialogue with the Department of Migrant Workers on Monday, January 22 about the plight of the Filipino workers in New Zealand.
“The sudden retrenchment of our kababayans in New Zealand again exposes the folly of the Philippine government’s labor export program. The Philippine government has the responsibility to create decent jobs at home, which is possible only through land reform and national industrialization,” Migrante International said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
Distressed OFWs and supporters picketing the Philippine Embassy in Wellington. (Migrante photo)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ele-3.jpg7361487Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2024-01-19 15:11:592024-01-19 15:12:00Retrenched OFWs in New Zealand sleep in cars, resort to fishing to survive
Harassment against Hong Kong migrant workers imperils their employment opportunities and prompts them to incur more debt. Governments are aware of the problem, but advocacy groups say regulations and enforcement are not enough.
BY CHERRY SALAZAR/ Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
(Last part of the series)
Many Filipinos working in Hong Kong are hounded by their lenders from the Philippines, who even hire debt collectors to threaten and harass their employers.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) found that Hong Kong employers have received threatening calls and visits from the debt collectors demanding payment for the Filipinos’ mounting debts.
In extreme cases, the employers would receive snakes or photos of their pets with eyes crossed out in their mailboxes or find their door with red paint.
“Marami pong kasong ganyan (There are many such cases),” Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, chair of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong, an alliance of Filipino migrant groups, told PCIJ. “Of course, the employers get angry and are stressed out.’’
Some Hong Kong employers have since required applicants to have no standing debt. For good measure, some confiscated the worker’s passport and contract on arrival that otherwise could be used as loan collateral, an act that is prohibited by Philippine and Hong Kong laws.
In the Philippines, applicants take out loans at interest rates higher than eight percent per annum — from lenders specifically referred by recruiters — to pay for a raft of excessive fees, including placement fees that are lumped with training and medical examination fees.
As their debts pile up, they’re forced to take out new loans to pay for old ones in an endless cycle of indebtedness.
“The worker’s pay is small. A month’s worth of salary isn’t enough to pay off a loan,” Pelaez said, noting that a migrant worker had to divide the monthly pay between loan payments, family expenses back home, and personal expenses. “So it’s not really enough.’’
In China’s special administrative region, migrant domestic workers are paid a minimum monthly salary of HK$4,730 or P33,000.
The problems are clear, but the solutions are not.
1. OFWs need more guidance during the recruitment process so they do not fall victim to unscrupulous recruiters.
2. Not all violators are punished, promoting a culture of impunity among recruitment agencies and third-party services.
3. Some lenders impose high interest rates.
4. Some lenders shirk responsibility when the debts are sold to partners that harass OFWs to collect payment.
Hong Kong reports 11 convictions
The Hong Kong government, which has allowed foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) to work in the region since the 1970s to meet the shortage of live-in helpers, acknowledged the risk of debt bondage among migrant workers, but has no data on this.
In the past five years, it has prosecuted and convicted 11 employment agencies for overcharging commissions pegged at 10 percent of a worker’s monthly wage. It has also ensured that employers shoulder the workers’ medical examination and visa fees, among others.
But the authorities there said governments should do their part, too, to address the issue of excessive placement or training fees.
In a joint response to PCIJ, the Hong Kong Labour Department, Immigration Department, and Police said the problem lies with “the indebtedness of the FDHs in their home countries before coming to Hong Kong.’’
The Hong Kong government could not tackle this alone, they added.
“We have repeatedly appealed to the governments of FDH-sending countries to address the problem of excessive placement or training fees charged by intermediaries in the FDHs’ home countries so as to tackle the problem of debt bondage at source,” they said.
Migrante International pointed to the Department of Migrant Workers’ mandate and responsibility “to coordinate with the other government agencies that can also put a stop to these cases.”
“But still walang (there’s no) strong enforcement and regulation on these lending agencies and further investigation,” said Joanna Concepcion, chair of Migrante International, a global network of Filipino migrant organizations.
DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia admitted that there were regulatory “gaps” concerning agencies that collect illegal fees. He said even some compliant agencies bend the rules “just to find a way to charge the OFW” even if the law clearly prohibits it.
Olalia, however, said the department wasn’t treating these agencies with kid gloves.
Erring agencies with valid licenses are charged with administrative cases and violations of recruitment laws. Other agencies with expired or invalid licenses face criminal cases, he said.
From 2018 to 2022, a total of 35 recruiters operating without a license were convicted and 5,099 agencies were charged with recruitment violations, according to DMW data.
High interest rates
High interest rates in Hong Kong could also be a factor in migrant workers’ debt bondage.
Based on Migrasia’s research, a third of surveyed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) took on debt that “was larger than their annual household income in order to finance costs associated with migrating overseas.”
“And then you’re talking about interest rates that in Hong Kong often exceed 100 percent. We’ve seen them over 300 percent, which means that if you made the minimum payment you would never get out from underneath that debt. So what do you do? You go borrow more money, right? And then you have a debt cycle that you can’t get out of,” it said.
Lending agencies based in the Philippines have also grown wiser. Instead of running after their Filipino clients, they outsource debt collectors to do the job for them. In cases of “bad debts,” they sell loans to their counterparts in Hong Kong.
Advocacy groups said this was one way to collect excessive fees.
Nolivienne Ermitaño, assistant director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Financing and Lending Companies Division, said Philippine lenders and their third-party service providers “should be jointly liable, solidarily liable for that.”
“That won’t work. You (lender) are still part of it because you were the one who talked to the borrower in the first place. You can’t say you’re not responsible for that anymore,’’ he said.
On average, OFWs would take more than nine months and spend a fifth of their monthly salary for debt repayment. But some reported a repayment period of as long as three years, a year longer than the contract of household service workers, according to Migrasia data.
OFWs need more guidance
Officials said migrant workers need to do their due diligence before processing pre-employment papers and verify the legitimacy of licenses of recruiters and lenders with the regulatory authorities.
The DMW website lists licensed recruitment agencies for both land-based and sea-based overseas jobs. The list includes agencies that were closed or permanently banned, and agencies with canceled or suspended licenses.
Ermitaño acknowledged that OFWs’ circumstances may “induce (them) to suspend their financial prudential thinking.”
But he said that migrant workers have to be “discerning” and “skeptical” to preempt predatory practices and debt bondage.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), now absorbed by DMW, had identified fees to be shouldered by household service workers and by employers. This should serve as a guide to Filipino applicants.
Olalia stressed that expenses that may be charged to the employer are neither reimbursable nor deductible from a worker’s pay.
Not all violators are punished
Advocacy groups identified several mechanisms for migrant workers to seek redress for their grievances.
They noted that DMW offers legal assistance and conciliation services; SEC accepts complaints on unfair lending practices; the Department of Labor and Employment processes money claims, and courts hear illegal recruitment complaints.
Workers living in far-flung areas can request assistance from the Public Employment Service Office, a multi-employment service facility maintained by local governments, community-based organizations, and state universities and colleges.
But here lies the problem: Not all migrant workers are aware of their options.
“They are not informed, they are not aware, and if you’re not aware of your rights, you cannot invoke your rights,” DMW’s Olalia told PCIJ.
The undersecretary said the OFW could file a complaint; otherwise, the department could launch an investigation on its own.
DMW can provide legal aid to the worker, from the preparation of his affidavit to the prosecution of the case. Otherwise, it can investigate his complaint on its own, requiring the worker to serve only as a witness, Olalia said.
But based on the SEC’s experience, many workers do not push through with their complaint once the issue comes out in the media and the harassment from the lenders or recruiters stops.
“Mabilis ba? (Is the action fast?) What will it take from my (OFW’s) end? Gaano ba katagal ‘yan? (How long will it take?)” said Ellene Sana, executive director of Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), a Quezon City-based non-profit organization promoting the welfare of OFWs and their families.
She pointed out that the bureaucratic process would also require time, energy, and money from complainants. Besides, she added, there’s a host of issues that “will make the worker think twice or thrice whether to pursue [a case] or not.”
Sana also agreed that many workers were aware of recruitment violations but sometimes went along with these out of “desperation to get the job.” END
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Illustration by Luigi Almuena
This story was produced as part of the Trafficking Inc. investigation by journalists from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post, NBC, WGBH Boston, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley.
This new PCIJ series follows a two-part report on the fight of Filipino migrant workers for equal pay abroad.
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OFW-debt-intervention.jpg8001400Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2023-07-28 09:52:312023-07-28 09:53:32Hong Kong cases expose shortcomings of gov’t interventions to protect OFWs from debt burden
Migrante International (MI) demanded an end to “oppressive and exploitative work environments” affecting Filipino sailors on the occasion of the International Day of the Seafarers last Sunday, June 25.
The group pointed out Filipino seafarers still receive lower wages when compared to counterparts from ship-owning nations.
“Filipino seafarers suffer from precarious work since they are perpetually considered as contractual workers — employed for 11 months or less — who do not attain regular status despite many years of service under the same employer,” MI pointed out.
MI said the seafarers from poor countries such as the Philippines are victims of the Flag of Convenience (FOC) scheme prevailing in the global shipping industry where ship-owners from rich countries register their merchant ships in other countries to avoid financial charges or restrictive regulations in the own countries.
These ships usually bear the flag of Panama, Liberia, Belize, Malta, Bahamas, Cameroon, Cambodia, Bolivia, and Barbados that are known to have more relaxed tax laws.
Despite being very poor countries, Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands accounted for 44.3% of the world’s cargo, the group revealed.
“For workers on-board, this mean very low wages and poor on-board conditions and, most likely, on contractual basis,” MI said.
It does not help that skilled workers, including the seafarers, are marketed abroad as cheap and docile labor under the Philippine government’s neoliberal labor policy that continues under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration, the group added.
“Filipino workers are also made to spend so much for countless trainings, certification processes, tuition, and government fees and exactions before they can work on a ship, for a short period of not more than 11 months,” MI explained.
After the contract, Filipino seafarers do not enjoy security of tenure and have to join the long queue of some 300,000 jobless seafarers applying for jobs, it said.
“This, despite successive contracts of service with the same ship-owner and manning agency,” MI said.
Filipino seafarers performing repairs and maintenance tasks. (BB Telan/Kodao)
‘Fake Magna Carta’
MI said the Philippines must demand for better working conditions for its seafarers under the International Labor Organization’s Maritime Labor Convention of 2006.
Under the instrument, maritime sailors are guaranteed financial security in case of illnesses, injury or death while on an employment contract even without proving these are work-related.
“Unfortunately, the Philippine government doesn’t have an implementing law on this despite its nominal ratification in 2012 during the time of the late President Aquino,” MI said.
The group also expressed support to House Bill 4438, or the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, originally filed by Arlene Brosas of Gabriela Women’s Party and the Makabayan bloc.
The proposed measure aims to provide seafarers with all-out protection before, during and after employment, specifically in the event of maritime accidents, epidemics or pandemics and other natural o man-made crises.
The migrants group however lamented that HB 4438 had been superseded by HB 7325 they said shipping and manning companies managed to sabotage.
MI said HB 7325 has an anti-seafarer escrow provision where the seafarer has to wait for many years until the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court have affirmed a positive judgment from lower courts.
The group pointed out that this provision changes the long-held practice of labor cases being final and executory at National Labor Relations Commission level.
Seafarers now brand the bill as “Magna Carta of Ship-owners” as they are the beneficiaries, MI said. # (RBV)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ship.jpg626960Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2023-06-26 16:40:302023-06-26 20:54:05Migrants call for an end to oppression and exploitation of seafarers
Migrante International (MI) castigated Overseas Workers Welfare Administration executive director Arnell Ignacio on his statement against Filipinos who are in trouble abroad.
Reacting to Ignacio telling “stubborn” Filipinos to just stay in the country to spare fellow overseas workers from shame, MI said such rants only succeed in covering up the fact that the Philippine government is deficient in orienting them before they travel abroad.
“This will only make it appear that government officials are doing something when they are actually not doing anything on the issue,” MI chairperson Joanna Concepcion said.
‘Magbo-boyfriend, magpapa-buntis’
In a video, Ignacio did not hold back on his criticisms of Filipinos he accused of being abusive of their rights and freedoms while abroad.
The OWWA chief was apparently reacting to reports of five OFWs arrested in Sharja for pretending on Tiktok to be prostituted persons who freshly arrived in the United Arab Emirates.
“Sa mga OFWs namin natin na lagi na lang isinasangkot ‘yung sarili nila sa mga kalokohan, nananadyang gawin, basta gusto nila gagawin nila, at alam nila na mapapahamak sila…utang na loob naman!” Ignacio exclaimed.
(To our OFWs who always involved themselves in shenanigans, who do it willingly—as long as they want it, they do it even though they know they will get themselves into trouble—for goodness’ sake!)
Ignacio said they are already at a loss on how to remind OFWs more and how his agency can serve them more but Filipinos in trouble abroad have the penchant of telling lies and not being honest with their shenanigans.
“Hindi ho ba tayo nahihiya sa pinag-gagawa natin? Magbo-boyfriend, magpapa-buntis. Kahit alam niyong bawal. Pagkatapos, kung ano-ano ang sasabihin. Kayo ho ang mas matapang e!” Ignacio said.
(Aren’t we ashamed? You go into relationships, get pregnant, even though you know it is prohibited. Then you tell lies. And you have the gall to be aggressive.)
Ignacio added that while OFWs are regarded as new heroes, this does not give them the license to do as they please.
“For goodness’ sake, if that is all you intend to do, do not fly abroad anymore!” he said.
Misplaced
But MI said Ignacio’s rant was misplaced, reminding the OWW chief that informing OFWs about migrant-receiving countries is most important in protecting their interests and welfare.
“What Ignacio and OWWA need to do is improve the agency’s Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) and Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) to educate prospective and repeat OFWs about laws and customs of migrant receiving countries,” Concepcion said.
“According to our members, these seminars often educate OFWs about being submissive to their employers, but about not the laws and customs of migrant-receiving countries,” she added.
Despite the government’s weaknesses in informing and educating OFWs, most OFWs abide by the law and customs of migrant-receiving countries, the migrant leader said.
She also added that most OFWs who report their problems to the media have real grievances, important points that Ignacio failed to mention in his anger at erring OFWs.
Concepcion revealed that OFWs also see many migrant-receiving countries as overly-harsh to migrants.
“While the government should educate OFWs, it should also learn from OFWs,” Concepcion said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
TORONTO, Canada–Several people were reported to have died from coronavirus in Canada, including Filipinos.
With the Canada death toll at 1,580 deaths, according to Public Health Agency of Canada as of April 19, the Filipino community is hard hit.
Many Filipino-Canadians are working in the health sector in roles including nurses, care aide, facility maintenance and as “front-line essential” workers during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Marie Christine Bacalocos Mandegarian, 54, succumbed to the virus on April 15 less than 24 hours after testing positive.
“I am a little bit scared, but duty calls,” she wrote on her Facebook account last month. “I can’t stay home, I’m a healthcare worker” she said. For 31 years, Mandegarian, worked as a personal support worker at Altamont Care Community, a long-term care center in Scarborough, Toronto.
Mandegarian was the first health worker in Toronto and second in the province of Ontario to die of COVID-19.
On April 9, Brampton Civic Hospital mourned the loss of their environmental services associate Ronald V. David. Uncle Ronald, 58, as he was fondly called, is believed to be the first known Ontario health-care worker to die after getting sick with the highly contagious respiratory disease.
Health-care staff make up about 11% of all reported COVID-19 cases in the province but make up only about three% of Ontario’s population.
The province is also reporting outbreaks of COVID-19 at long-term care homes where nearly half of total coronavirus-linked deaths in Canada happen according to chief public health officer Teresa Tam.
“We know that close to half of the deaths that we’re tracking are linked to long-term care facilities, but that ratio is actually different in different provinces,” Tam told reporters during her daily ministerial update on the virus.
Other Filipino victims of COVID-19 in Canada include Victoria Salvan, 64, who as a patient attendant. She immigrated to Canada from the Phillipines, and worked with senior citizens for 25 years.
Salvan, or Vicky to her colleagues, passed away April 17 just weeks away from retirement. She is survived by her husband and two children. One of Salvan’s sons said that she cared deeply for the elders in her care working overtime up to her final days of work at the understaffed Grace Dart Extended Care Centre, where nearly a quarter of the residents have been infected with COVID-19, according to public health records.
Warlito Valdez, 47, had been a residential worker at Pendleton House run by the Richmond Society for Community Living helping people with intellectual and physical disabilities.
Valdez died April 5 despite being in self-isolation following a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. According to a GoFundMe page that Valdez’s co-workers started, he was a “tireless provider” who worked multiple jobs. His wife Flozier Tabangin, who also works as a frontline care worker, described her husband as “a hero”
According to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the total number of COVID-19 cases among overseas Filipinos across 42 countries rose to 990. The number of overseas Filipino fatalities is now at 143 as of its April 20 report.
“The DFA remains committed to ensure the welfare of our people and stands ready to provide assistance to the COVID-19 positive Filipino nationals as needed,” it said.
A number of others continue to fight for their livelihood where Covid-19 is believed to have been on an outbreak making a hard job perilous.
In the province of Manitoba, the first presumptive case of COVID-19 is a woman in her 40s from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. The province says she was exposed to the virus through travel to the Philippines.
More than 850,00 people of Filipino descent are living in Canada, with settlement primarily in major urban areas, according to the 2016 census.
The country’s supply of health care workers is impacted by government’s reliance on immigration making the Filipino community one of the major sources of Canada’s health care providers who may be registered nurses or unregulated workers, such as nursing aides and orderlies.
Some Filipino workers, however, have raised concerns of being discriminated against and unprotected from the virus due to a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).
In the province of Alberta, Cargill Meat Processing Plant is vital to a bourgeoning immigrant community of Filipinos. Workers there tell Canadian media of poor working conditions and fears of viral transmission in an overcrowded “elbow-to-elbow” facility.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups, including Tulayan Filipino Diaspora Society, Sulong UBC, and Migrante BC, have penned an open letter calling on all levels of the Canadian government for “increased and timely resources” to be available for Filipino workers.
“The general feedback we are getting from our community is the lack of accessible information regarding the pandemic in Filipino languages. While we are doing our best as a community to translate and offer support to each other at this difficult time, we would like to ensure that Filipinos in Canada are getting direct and accurate information from the proper health authorities,” the groups said in the letter. #
Dubai, UAE: A welfare officer at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai was suspended after allegedly insulting and cursing over the phone a Filipina who asked explanation where the food aid given by POLO came from.
In a directive issued on Friday, Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has ordered the immediate suspension of Danilo Flores, a welfare officer at POLO-Dubai.
The labour chief also ordered a swift investigation to determine Flores’ culpability for alleged misbehavior in dealing with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The investigation followed an incident that transpired on April 16 between Joy Parafina, a Dubai resident, and Flores.
Parafina recounted the incident on a Facebook post that went viral.
Angry OFW Joy Parafina in her Facebook video narrating her spat with Welfare Officer Danilo Flores.
In the video, an angry and distressed Parafina alleged that Flores called her names after she asked whether there was a receipt for the food packs being distributed.
Parafina said she is aware that the Philippine government has earmarked a $200 (Dh730) cash aid to Filipino expats affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
She inquired if the food pack, containing two bags of rice and several canned goods, was part of the relief package.
She first asked a staff at a local grocery where the food packs were distributed but the staff was not knowledgeable of the arrangement and advised Parafina to contact officers from POLO-Dubai.
This led Parafina to contact Flores.
Parafina said she didn’t want to claim the food pack as there was no receipt and explanation where the goods came from.
Parafina alleged Flores blew his top and called her ungrateful.
Flores also used expletives, Parafina said in her FB Live video.
Flores suspended
Bello said Flores is suspended from performing his duties as Welfare Officer pending investigation of the incident.
The labor secretary also assured the public of DOLE’s continuing welfare and assistance programs for OFWs.
According to its website, POLO serves as the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) overseas operating arm in the implementation of the Philippine labor policies and programs for the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare and interests of Filipinos working abroad. #
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. #
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/france-4.jpg475700Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2020-04-16 09:30:002020-04-16 18:28:38OFWs in Europe press gov’t for assistance and mass testing for all Filipinos
The two babies detained by Malaysian immigration officers in Kuala
Lumpur arrived back in the Philippines with their mothers Wednesday night,
ending nearly three weeks of ordeal in a foreign jail.
Arriving at the Manila International Airport on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH804 at 9:40 in the evening the babies, both of whom are under two
years old, looked exhausted, Migrante International said in a statement.
“After spending weeks trembling in fear and torment, they are
relieved to finally get back home and be reunited with their loved ones. The
four children were clearly gripped by exhaustion,” Migrante reported
With them are two other toddlers, both under five years old, and
their mothers, who were also detained at the Bukit Jalil Jail in the Malaysian
capital, the group added.
Migrante said the four mother-child pairs appeared unsure after stepping out of the airport terminal and were relieved when approached by their staff and Churches Witnessing With Migrants (CWWM) volunteers who introduced themselves as colleagues of Malaysian migrant center Tenaganita that campaigned for their release.
“With almost all of their belongings looted by wardens and
immigration officers at Bukit Jalil, they only managed to carry with them small
shoulder bags,” Migrante said in a statement.
The mothers and their children upon arrival at the NAIA late Wednesday night. (Migrante International photo)
Horrific
ordeal
The deported mothers revealed they suffered humiliation under the
hands of their Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Centre custodians.
Ralyn (not her real name) said they underwent routine inspections
every five minutes by “barking detention wardens and spiteful immigration
officers” from 7AM to 12AM midnight the next day everyday.
Detainees were fed with “stale and burnt food good for swines,” she
told Migrante.
Enny and Anita (real names withheld) also told Migrante that their
cells were “cramped and filthy.”
The detainees said they were made to lie down on the cold floor
surface and nobody was allowed to use any sleeping mats.
Detainees had only one set of clothes which they had to wash and
wear every other day, the mothers told Migrante.
“Our rights as humans were violated! The female wardens acted as
if they are not mothers themselves. They were vile and mean, treated us like
animals. All the children always get terrified when they’re around,” Raly told
Migrante.
The mothers complained that non-married or single detainees are
constantly in handcuffs and any detainee inside the facility that is seen by
immigration wardens as misbehaving is dealt with severely.
They recalled how a female detainee from Kenya who has been
showing signs of psychosis was tied to the wall with both hands and was made to
stand the whole day.
Even the children are not spared from verbal abuse by growling
wardens and immigration officers, the detainees said, adding many of the young
detainees were in need of medical attention.
“Almost all of the detainees are from poor countries,” Anita told
Migrante.
According to Ralyn, most of their fellow detainees are from
countries like Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Kenya and
Nigeria.
Malaysian Immigration Department director-general
Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, for his part, said his office provided “basic facilities”
for the children detained at the centre and showed Malaysian reporters of children
playing at the detention centre’s nursery.
Successful campaign
The Filipinos homecoming was started by Tenaganita whose press statements triggered an outcry for the release of the babies.
“[Our] press statement triggered a blast of anger and outrage from the Malaysian Public, Member of Parliaments and some Ministers who are our allies in the New Government,” Tenaganita executive director Glorene Dass told Kodao.
Dass said that both mainstream and alternative journalists in Malaysia, some of whom are Filipinos, picked up the story and published Tenaganita’s articles on the plight of the young detainees.
They also kept calling the immigrations
authorities for statements, she said.
The social media scene was
also lit up by the campaign “that helped tremendously,” Dass added.
Tenaganita, Migrante International and CWWM are active members of the International Migrants Alliance.
Uncertain
future
When asked for their future plans, the mothers told Migrante that
going back overseas is still in the offing since they are not expecting to get
decent paying jobs in the Philippines.
“Coming back to the Philippines presents the same problems of
instability and peril to returning OFWs and migrant children,” Migrante International chairperson Joanna
Concepcion said.
Migrante said the all but one of the mothers and their children boarded
provincial buses headed to their respective hometowns in Bataan and Laguna.
Ralyn chose to stay overnight in Manila at a place offered to her
by CWWM before travelling to Bulacan this morning, Migrante said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/migrants-1.jpg8641152Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2019-07-04 16:44:212019-07-04 17:03:022 detained babies and their mothers arrive back in PH
