COVID Migrant Monitor Report 3 - Advocacy, campaign and lobbying for and with migrants
COVID Migrant Monitor Project Report
Building cooperation and solidarity in the midst of pandemic crisis
[Part 3: Advocacy, campaign and lobbying for and with migrants]
“…for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?”
Matthew 25:35-38
The COVID Migrant Monitor project is an initiative of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) to respond to the situation of migrants in the region during the pandemic. It consists of three major components: 1. Delivery of services immediately needed by migrants including food relief, communication assistance, counselling to navigate changing immigration and labor policies, and referral services; 2. Advocacy and campaigns to counter the invisibility of migrants, influence policies to make them positive to the rights of migrants, and challenge policies and programs that are detrimental to the rights of migrants; and, 3. Information dissemination activities that relay important news to migrants such as country restrictions, policies under the pandemic that impact on migrants, community services available, and advocacy and campaign work on the ground.
APMM collaborated with members of the Interfaith Network for the Rights of Migrants or INFORM and the International Migrants Alliance (IMA), as well as our partner organizations in Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia and Japan, to implement the project.
The APMM, in close coordination with its partners in said countries and interfaith network, reached out to the broadest number of migrants, conducted campaign, advocacy and lobbying, delivered welfare services and assistance, and spoke on various issues that put migrants in a most vulnerable situation.
The COVID Migrant Monitor as a collaborative project helped in strengthening solidarity and partnership among migrants and their families, serving institutions and faith communities in the region. Together with grassroots migrants at the forefront, it provided venues to articulate their issues and show how migrants and their families lost their jobs and source of income, excluded and discriminated. As one foreign domestic worker in Hong Kong said: If not for the APMM and the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-Migrante-Hong Kong) I will not survive the 14-day quarantine. For the entire 14 days of my quarantine, my employer paid for the cheapest quarantine hotel and only gave me 14 packs of cup noodles and 14 bottles of 380ml water.
The cooperation conducted and partnership formed opened new opportunities for continuing advocacy, campaign and lobbying including the upcoming Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) review process. It is hoped that this can be further developed to provide more venues for grassroots migrants to advance their agenda in a post-pandemic situation where migrants, refugees and uprooted people are included, treated justly and humanely.
Close coordination with APMM partners in the targeted countries as well as in other areas in the region helped in the smooth implementation of the project. Getting our partners involved in the planning, monitoring and execution of the different components of the project made them embrace its objectives and ensure its success.
3. Advocacy, campaign and lobbying for and with migrants
The lack of mobility and the exacerbated vulnerability of migrants under COVID-19 pandemic crisis did not hinder the APMM and its partners in Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East from continuing their advocacy, campaign and lobbying for rights and welfare of migrants. Their advocacy, campaign and lobbying whether online or physical meeting in the form of dialogue, meeting, interviews and webinars brought forth the increasing vulnerability of migrants in the region like the intensifying racism, criminalization of undocumented migrants, plight of stranded migrants and migrants in temporary visa, exclusion from government services, neglect and abandonment of migrants and their families, as well as the issue of education trafficking in New Zealand.
Mervin, a returned OFW from Dubai, said: “Once my return in April, my application for DOLE-AKAP financial assistance Program until now is still pending. I have not received any help or support from the government. I am not qualified to apply for SAP (Social Amelioration Program) because I am an OFW. They think I have money. I did not get any DOLE-AKAP, neither from SSS or PhilHealth.”
Such advocacy, campaign and lobbying highlighted the plight of migrants, refugees and their families back home. It pressed government to heed their calls and attend to their needs. It also created a social consciousness to the public which, in turn, increased the number of local groups and individuals who are concerned with the situation of migrants and expressed their support by contributing to relief activities or speaking for the migrants.
Given the lack of support and continued deprivation of migrants, particularly by the Philippine government, the APMM and partners in Hong Kong sent letters and held a dialogue with the Philippine Consulate that helped in facilitating the needed assistance particularly for Filipino domestic workers who lost their job. As one of the residents of Bethune House mentioned in her narrative, “Without the help of Bethune House and of the UNIFIL who rally in Philippine Consulate I will never receive an assistance from the Consulate.”
A campaign on the unfair depiction of migrants as COVID19 carriers was also conducted in HK. APMM, other service organizations and grassroots migrants in HK scored the increased presence of the HK Police and immigration officers in areas where migrants congregate. While ostensibly for the purpose of enforcing social distancing measures, such presence on Sundays was not seen during the rest of the week. Such only reinforces the unfair perception that FDWs are spreading the virus in HK. Such argument has been utilized to restrict FDWs from taking their dayoff.
a. Surveys among migrants in Hong Kong and Thailand. The surveys aimed to understand the situation of migrants in Hong Kong and Thailand. In cooperation with the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, the Mission for Migrants Workers and Action Thailand, the APMM surveyed 1,127 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong and 379 migrants in Thailand.
Results of both survey revealed the worsening vulnerability of migrants. In Hong Kong, around 11-14% of foreign domestic workers do not receive masks from their employers. Four out of 10 foreign domestic workers were provided with one facemask per day. With these findings, the research indicated that around 206,000 migrant domestic workers are at risk because of less protection given them.
With their health, and even life, at risk, foreign domestic workers are forced to allot a budget from their meagre salary to buy their own masks and alcohol/sanitizers. Around 138,000 foreign domestic workers experience increase in working hours and workload. This condition has a direct relation to the announcement of the Commission of Labour encouraging employers not to allow their foreign domestic workers to take their day-off, and to the Hong Kong government’s view that foreign domestic workers are virus carriers. Contrary to claims, foreign domestic workers got infected with COVID-19 virus in the course of performing their duties.
While their workload is increased, foreign domestic workers are not provided with necessary protection by their employers like gloves when using high concentrated disinfectants during cleaning which they do at least twice a day.
Meanwhile in Thailand, most of the surveyed Filipino migrants are working in tourism industries. Eighty-eight percent of them said that the lockdown in the country affected their employment and their ability to pay monthly rent, utilities (water, electric etc.), buy their own food, send remittance and even communicate with their families.
Surveyed migrants in Thailand revealed that they were neglected and abandoned by both Thailand and the Philippine governments. They were starving and were in need of PPE’s, employment assistance, temporary shelter, repatriation, medical and health needs. Pressure from their families back home added to the stress of migrants in Thailand that caused one Filipino migrant to commit suicide.
The survey results are being used by the AMCB, Mission for Migrant Workers, International Migrants Alliance (IMA-Hong Kong and Macau) and Action Thailand in their continuing advocacy and campaign. From the survey results, the IMA-Hong Kong and Macau developed a campaign called Fight COVID (COVID, Overwork, Vulnerability, Inequality and Discrimination). The said IMA-HK and Macau campaign paper will be presented by its leaders during a national faith and migrants consultation on November 4 called by APMM.
b. Creating space for solidarity and strengthening support to grassroots migrants. The involvement of faith communities through INFORM (Interfaith Network for the Rights of Migrants) understanding the issues of migrants and their families was not hindered by social distancing. The wearing of face masks made their voices even louder and clearer. As Elizabeth Stone, Interim General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia mentioned in one of the INFORM organized webinar: “The NCCA’s national program for Australian churches through a task force that supports refugees and asylum seekers in terms of advocacy and lobbying noted that the Australian government in the midst of pandemic crisis excluded temporary workers in their economic relief.”
b.1. Webinars. The series of webinars that the INFORM organized in cooperation with the Churches Witnessing with Migrants (CWWM), Global Justice Desk of the United Methodist Church, Middle East Council of Churches, Progressive Islamic Forum (PIF) and the CWWM-Africa brought together leaders of various migrants and faith communities from the region and outside to discuss analyses, responses, issues and concerns about the impact of the pandemic to migrants and their families. The following webinars can be found in the INFORM Facebook page:
1. State of Muslim Communities during Ramadan in time of COVID-19 pandemic
(https://www.facebook.com/140253342672402/videos/964703247283102)
2. Faith Communities Working with Migrants Amidst COVID 19 (https://www.facebook.com/110149257404923/videos/2657386861143797)
3. Faith Communities Standing with Migrants in the Middle East (https://www.facebook.com/110149257404923/videos/4005555172848638)
b.2. Theological reflection and faith response. Aside from the series of webinars that the APMM and INFORM organized, the project also gathered theological reflections and sharing on the response of churches to migrants and refugees affected by the pandemic. The following are the theological reflection and sharing of churches response to the pandemic crisis:
1. Cathy Chang, an international mission co-worker from Presbyterian Church (USA) in partnership with United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and is serving as the Regional Facilitator for Addressing Migration and Human Trafficking. She gave a theological reflection on Reading Ruth, Noami and Boaz in the Context of Forced Migration of Filipinos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtM1CQw8aek).
2. David Das, General Secretary of National Council of Churches in Bangladesh shared about the NCCB’s response to the issues of migration and trafficking in the country. (https://www.facebook.com/110149257404923/videos/3258458237544883)
Advocacy video: Together with various leaders of faith communities the APMM and INFORM produced a video advocacy entitled: Migrants’ Prayer: Migrant and Faith Communities for Justice, Human Rights and Solidarity. Its aim is to gather support for migrants, refugees and uprooted people in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The video is posted in the APMM YouTube channel and website, as well as in Facebook pages of Interfaith Network for the Rights of Migrants, APMM and COVID Migrant Monitor. It can be viewed through this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCaZFWZP76M
These initiatives contributed a lot in showing solidarity and strengthening faith communities’ support to grassroots movement of migrants. Through the webinars, INFORM was able to connect to other churches and ecumenical organizations in the region. It helped in developing relations and setting-up national consultations between faith and migrants and possible bilateral cooperation between APMM. Moreover, the APMM through its program on Faith Partnership and Solidarity (FPS), and INFORM are developing its plan of engagement on the Global Compact on Migration process review as its contribution to advocacy for migrants.
All these webinars, theological reflections and videos provided spaces for grassroots migrants and leaders of faith communities to share their voices, concerns and demands, solidarity and ways forward in a post-pandemic situation. As Eni Lestari, chairperson of International Migrants Alliance mentioned, “Migrants and refugees have always been in crisis even before the pandemic outbreak. They are forced by impoverishment and unemployment, war and violence, disaster and climate change, to find work overseas and be subsequently separated from their families. The COVID-19 crisis exacerbated the crisis and exposed the vulnerability of migrants and refugees due to government policies that exclude them from social and economic relief while suffering from jobs loss, virus infection, crackdowns, violation of human rights, and other forms of abuse and exploitation.”
c. Dialogues and meetings at the national level. Dialogues and meetings with governments at the national level were vital parts of the whole advocacy, lobbying and campaign under the COVID Migrant Monitor project. Through these, governments were prompted to respond to specific issues raised by migrants. Whether online or face-to-face meetings, these happened in the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and UAE.
The Philippine government was prompted to respond to issues of stranded migrants inside and outside of the country as raised by Migrante International. An advocacy video on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic was released by Migrante International and can be accessed through this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBut4-5-8HU].
Meanwhile in Indonesia, Kabar Bumi raised the issue of undocumented migrants from Malaysia. The same with Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea organizations who highlighted the situation of migrants and their families and the worsening condition and discrimination against undocumented migrants in the country. APMM partners in Australia was able to bring to government attention their exclusionary policy that deprived migrants under temporary/ student visa of relief and assistance.
In Hong Kong, the AMCB prompted the Hong Kong government to respond to issue of quarantine, the need for shelter for those who are terminated etc. Though governments responses still reek with discrimination, exclusion, scapegoating, neglect, abandonment and lack of concern to the plight of migrants; still, through national dialogue, advocacy and lobbying the governments were made to respond.
d. Engagement in official meetings. The APMM helped coordinate with approved participants of the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) to join the virtual APFSD; coordinated and assisted in the preparation of the selected 36 representatives from the CSOs to speak in the various panels of the virtual APFSD; assisted in the finalizationof the speech by the Youth CSO for the formal opening of the APFSD; co-lead the communications engagement during the virtual APFSD as well as previous virtual meetings led in relation to the APFSD; and, participated in the debrief of the APRCEM on the virtual APFSD and contributed our reflections and recommendations for the improvement of the virtual APFSD.
Series of virtual dialogue and conference on GCM as part of APMM’s engagement to GCM process review are scheduled this October.
e. Interviews on the situation of migrants. Aside from the webinars, dialogues and meetings, the APMM also conducted interviews with leaders of various migrant organizations, service institutions and advocates to highlight the situation of migrants and their families in Bangladesh, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong. Such interviews gave concrete pictures and first-hand information on the realities of migrants amidst the adverse effects of the pandemic to their lives, livelihood and health. The said interviews are the following:
1. Pervez Siddiqui: Bangladeshi migrants during COVID-19 (http://apmigrants.org/index.php/wwh-4/statements/208-interview-with-pervez-bangladeshi-migrants-during-covid-19)
2. Nick Sarmiento of ACTION-Thailand (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPH7K2RGXHQ)
Seema Punwani of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN42vEH4g3s
4. Jane Brock on migrant workers in Australia
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAIUVYbtafQ
5. Mandeep Bela, spokesperson of Union Network of Migrants in New Zealand
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiWfY-NYCJU
6. Cynthia Tellez, General Manager of Mission for Migrant Workers
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eMtmBgrN48
7. Udaya Rai of Migrant’s Trade Union in South Korea
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD9UTPQyN80
