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Migrants in crisis, rights under siege, movement on the rise: highlights of 2009

The year 2009 started and ended with an unprecedented economic crisis brought about by neo-liberal globalization.

Grassroots migrants and advocates hold successful 2nd IAMR during Athens GFMD 2009

THE ANCIENT SEAT of civilization that was Greece played host to a forum that promoted modern-day slavery.

The 3rd Global Forum on Migration and Development
Integration of migration policies to development policies: to whose benefit?

THE GLOBAL FORUM on Migration and Development (GFMD) is on its third run. Based on its past meetings and the themes to be discussed in the Athens GFMD 2009, the future of migration – as the expression goes – is in the bag for monopoly capitalist businesses and states while migrant workers get more commodified and their status reduced to as no more than modern-day slaves.

Migrants and advocates form network to confront ASEAN and FTAs

CONFRONTING THE ASEAN and even beyond: this was the guiding goal of the participants in the Asia Pacific Roundtable on ASEAN, Labour Migration and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Migrant Workers in Macau Launch Campaign against Provisions in Proposed Migrants Bill

A press conference and the formati on of a network ushered in the campaign against certain provisions in a proposed Migrants Bill in Macau.

AMMORE goes to South Korea and Japan
Getting the message across

Learning together, coming together, acting together – in the spirit of solidarity, marriage migrants and advocates from various countries spent one week in an exchange visit to Japan and South Korea.

Migrant workers in Sabah: unsecure, abused and exploited
AsPac groups hold 5-day FFM in Malaysia

MALAYSIA IS A HOTBED of abuses against migrant workers. After the Fact Finding Mission in Sabah organized by the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) and participated in by various NGO’s and migrant organizations, this fact is even better established.

HK local and migrant workers fight for inclusion of FDWs to statutory minimum wage

TWO MONTHS SINCE the Labour Advisory Board announced its recommendation to exclude foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in the statutory minimum wage (SMW), local media blitz continues to create public opinion apparently sowing fear and panic among employers based on unfounded fear of a significant wage increase in the event of FDWs’ inclusion.

Migrant Workers Join May Day Celebrations amidst Crisis

Migrant workers in the Asia Pacific region joined May Day celebrations in their respective countries amidst the unprecedented global economic crisis.

Exclusion of migrant workers is discrimination
Migrants should challenge HK gov’t on non-inclusion of FDWs in statutory minimum wage

In two successive occasions, the Hong Kong government has stated directly and indirectly that it will want to exclude foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to the statutory minimum wage.

Impact of Global Crisis on Migrant Workers in Macau

Macau, which relies most of its revenues on gaming industry and tourism, has not been spared by the global recession. This has greatly impacted on the local and migrant workers through job losses and wage cuts. At the same time the Macau government has passed measures to prioritize the employment of its local workers.

Campaign vs Impact of Global Recession on
Migrants in Asia Pacific to be Launched

A campaign against the impact of the global recession on migrant workers in Asia Pacific and the Middle East is being planned by APMM together with its partners in the region.

Job Security, Wage and Rights Protection for All Migrants!

For many migrants around the world, this year’s International Migrants Day commemoration focused on urgent calls to address the basic issues affecting them in their respective host countries especially under the current critical global economic conditions.

The Impacts of the Global Recession on Migrant Workers in Asia Pacific

The unprecedented global recession brought about by the failure of neo-liberal globalization policies including investing in purely financial schemes disconnected from any productive activity is already having an impact on migrant workers in Asia Pacific but forecasters warn that more will be affected by next year. This includes retrenchment and reduction in wages and benefits of household service workers but also to those in manufacturing, construction and other sectors.

Migrants and refugees confront GFMD
with int’l confab and protests

Migrant workers and refugees around the world have come of age. It was the very first time that their voices were heard loud and clear in an international gathering about them which has long been dominated by their advocates. Migrant workers and refugees said no to the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) through their parallel activity in the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR) held from October 28 – 30 in Manila, the Philippines.

Indonesian migrant workers in HK hold
summit on GFMD

In preparation for confronting the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) which will be held in Manila from October 28 - 30, Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong organized a summit on the GFMD on August 24 at the Hong Kong University.

IAMR: The Migrants’ Challenge to the Global Forum on Migration and Development

The International Migrants Alliance (IMA), the first global grassroots movement of migrants, immigrants, refugees, undocumented workers and their advocates, has launched a campaign in different regions to expose the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) by highlighting real stories and campaigns on violations and attacks of migrants’ rights and to mobilize significantly for the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR) and launch parallel protests during the GFMD in Manila from October 28-30 this year.

The Year of Living Dangerously for Undocumented Migrant Workers

BEING AN UNDOCUMENTED migrant worker has always been a risk and this year is getting more dangerous living as one in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions.

“For a long time, others spoke on our behalf. Now we speak for ourselves.”
Grassroots migrants launch int’l alliance

WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT of the International Migrants’ Alliance, grassroots migrants around the world can have a stronger unified voice in issues that affect the sector and the family.

All set for IMA founding assembly
107 groups from 25 countries set to gather in biggest grassroots migrants event

JUNE 15 AND 16 WILL mark a history in the migrants’ movement as grassroots migrant workers, immigrants and refugees around the world will launch the first ever International Migrants Alliance (IMA) in Hong Kong this year

Migrants in Asia-Pacific celebrate May Day with locals
Wage, labour and human rights highlighted

VARIOUS ISSUES AND concerns were raised by migrant workers in the Asia Pacific region during international Labor Day celebrations

Asian domestic workers in HK call for wage hike on Women’s Day

THIS YEAR’S CELEBRATION of International Women’s Day in Hong Kong drew around 3,000 foreign domestic workers (FDWs) from Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines in a rally organized by the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB) on Sunday, March 9.

For truth, accountability and the ouster of GMA
Filipino groups call for “No Remittance Day”

WHAT WILL HAPPEN if OFWs stop sending remittances?

Migrant workers score victories in campaigns
RP gov’t suspends ban on direct hiring
Under intense pressure from Filipino groups around the world, the Philippine government through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) was forced to suspend the implementation of the controversial POEA Memerandum Circular 04 issued this year.

The Year in Review
Victories won and challenges to face in the struggle for migrants’ rights and wellbeing
2007 proved to be a productive year for the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM).

Asian migrants gather
for first HK Summit

ORGANIZED BY THE Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB), the first ever Asian Migrant Workers Summit (AMWS) held at the Hong Kong City University in Kowloon Tong on November 25 this year was very fruitful...

Overseas Filipino Workers:
Neglected Heroes, Modern Slaves

AND THE LIST still goes on.
After Flor Contemplacion was hanged in Singapore in 1995, the issue of neglect of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in need of assistance has become one of the cornerstones of the advocacy for the rights and wellbeing of migrant workers...

September 2007

Declaration of the International Conference on Border Control and Empowerment of Immigrant Brides

We, the delegates of the International Conference on Border Control and Empowerment of Immigrant Brides from Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, commit ourselves to unite and work towards the defense of the human rights of immigrant brides and the promotion of their welfare....

August 2007

“Strong” peso weakens Filipino migrant workers

Among overseas Filipino workers, the appreciation of the Philippine peso is not a cause for celebration. Instead, it has been a source of frustration and much worries for the survival of their families.

July 2007

On Global Forum on Migration and Development
Missing the Point on
Forced Migration

On July 9-11, the first Global Forum on Migration and Development was held in Brussels, Belgium.

June 2007

Foreign domestics push for their agenda in Global Forum on Migration and Development
Governments urged to address foreign domestics’ concerns

Sixty-three organizations from 26 countries signed a joint statement to be presented by Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) representative Cynthia Abdon-Tellez during the ‘Civil Society Day’ of the Global Forum on Migration and Development that will take place in Brussels, Belgium from July 9 to 11 this year. The joint statement was initiated by the APMM and its networks in the region...

May 2007

Votes of overseas Filipinos: expression of protest and discontent

IF WE ARE to read the results of the second absentee voting, they indicate, at the very least, a strong sense of opposition of overseas Filipinos to the GMA administration.

February 2007

Slavery in modern times
Confinement of migrant workers in Malaysia, condemnable

THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT, already notorious for the way it treats migrant workers, especially undocumented migrants, is set to implement yet another anti-migrant program...

January 2007

ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers
DECLARATION THAT LACKS NEEDED ACTIONS

INDEED IT IS high time for Southeast Asian countries to deal seriously with the condition of migrant workers and the phenomenon of migration...

December 2006

June-July 2006

May 2006

April 2006

March 2006

APMM evaluates 5-year work for migrant workers
Movement building still at the core of programs

“We dream of a society where families are not broken up by urgent need for survival. We dream and will actively work for a homeland where there is opportunity for everyone to live a decent and humane life.”

January - February 2006

Rallying for rights and democracy
Migrants in the movement against dictatorship and repression

They have every reason to be involved.

November - December 2005

Migrants and the WTO campaign: Lessons and Challenges

THE PEOPLE’S ACTION Week in Hong Kong against the World Trade Organization (WTO) may have come and gone. But for the migrant workers and the migrant’s movement, the experiences gained and the lessons learned have become an integral part of the continuing struggle for migrant’s rights and wellbeing.

September-October 2005

Asian migrants in HK vow to rally thousands in protests against WTO MC6

Globalization and the WTO have forced millions of people to seek employment abroad. The destruction that neoliberal policies have caused to our home countries has pushed us to work in other countries where we are faced with the same grave impacts of globalization and the WTO.

WE ARE EXPLOITED!
Migrants Uprising in Taiwan

It took a riot of 300 Thai workers in Kaohsiung last August 21- 22 for Taiwan to realize that the human and labor conditions of its foreign blue-collar workers are very exploitative.

June- July 2005

It started with a hello and is now expected to end with a resounding goodbye
“OUST GMA!”

MORE AND MORE people are now calling for the resignation or ouster of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. A mere month after the controversial “Hello Garci scandal”, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of GMA last July 24 saw the biggest crowd of protesters so far. The more than 100,000 crowd who converged to declare the “People’s SONA” was an ominous sign of the restlessness of the Filipino people.

May 2005

Int’l confab tackles foreign brides

The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, the Awakening Foundation, and Graduate School for Social Transformation Studies in coordination with the Alliance for Human Rights Legislators of Immigrants and Migrants organized an international workshop for Asian NGO’s on women immigrants and migrants last May 13-15, at Chien Tan Overseas Youth Activity
Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

March 2005

Stranded seafarers in HK fight for right to service

Duped by illegal recruiters in the Philippines, Pinky Baba and Rocita Villanueva (aka Cita Reyes), the seafarers paid individual placement fees ranging from PhP30,000 to PhP90,000 and were dispatched to Hong Kong in different batches from April to September 2004.

January-February 2005

Crackdown on undocumented migrants in Malaysia meets protest

HONG KONG GROUPS URGED the Malaysian government to respect the rights of undocumented workers.

December 2004

2004 for Migrants: A Year of Strife, Struggles and Triumphs

From issues of excessive fees to stranded workers, from anti-migrant policies to anti-migrant government officials. From campaigns against negative policies to campaigns of hope and struggle for wage increase and against the levy. The first absentee voting.

Plans for an int’l migrants group take shape at ILPS workshop

THE ASIA PACIFIC Mission for Migrants (APMM), Migrante International and the Association of Turkish Workers in Europe (ATIK) held a workshop on Concern on Migrants, Refugees, Homeless and Displaced People (concern 16) of the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS).

October 2004

Indonesia Legal System and Protection for Migrant Workers

Migrant workers are probably the biggest irony in Indonesia today. As a compliment, government officials call them “foreign reserve hero” because of their enormous contribution to the Indonesian economy. Indonesian migrants remit billions of money from all over the world, mainly from neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong and the Middle East. On the other hand, the Indonesian government seems too reluctant to provide appropriate and effective legal protection to those workers.

HK forum exposes impacts of WTO on migrant workers

“THE WORLD TRADE Organization is inherently flawed. Its policies force people to work abroad.” This was stressed by Antonio Tujan, Jr. of IBON Philippines during the Forum on WTO and Migration held in Hong Kong on September 5, 2004.

August 2004

Victims of 3,431 Jailed Overseas Filipino Workers Government Neglect

LAST MONTH, THE Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs reported that 2,856 Filipinos are imprisoned in 56 states with 1,115 languishing in prisons throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A few days after, this figure increased further with the addition of at least 575 more Filipino workers imprisoned in Israel, Kuwait and Bahrain...

June-July 2004

Asian countries crackdown on undocumented migrant workers

At least five Asian countries are either conducting or planning massive crackdowns on undocumented migrant workers. The most severe at the moment is the ongoing crackdown in Japan. Malaysia on the other hand is planning one this year...

May 2004

Migrante Beyond the Ballot Box

Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP) may not have won a single seat in Congress during the last elections, but it certainly did win the hearts and minds of overseas Filipinos worldwide. It topped the Overseas Absentee Voting for party list with 31.532 percent and got the most number of votes for migrant parties...

January-February 2004

Advocacy for undocumented workers goes to Mumbai

THE APMM WORKSHOP at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India was held in 18 January 2004 with forty participants coming from different institutions and migrant groups in Israel, France, US, Canada, Austria, Thailand, Philippines, Nepal, Malaysia and India...

December 2003

Petition for Filipino stranded workers in KSA gains worldwide support

AN INTERNATIONAL SCANDAL FOR the Philippine government but a victory of international solidarity...

October
2003

Regional confab tackles issues of undocumented migrants
Launches anti-ADD (Arrest, Detain, Deport) Campaign

A regional conference on undocumented migrants was held at Bayu Beach Resort, Port Dickson, Malaysia last October 20 to 22, 2003. The conference was organized by the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, TENAGANITA (Women’s Force) based in Malaysia and MIGRANTE International, a global alliance of Filipino migrant organizations...

September 2003

“An affront to women and justice” Rape victim in Dubai, jailed

IN A TRAGIC twist of justice, a woman migrant worker who was raped got the imprisonment sentence...