Marriage Migrants at Work (1 of 3)

An online forum to share the victories and challenges of marriage migrants at work was held last July 15, 2023.

The event was facilitated by Agalyn Nagase of KAFIN Migrant Centre or KMC. KMC stands for Kalipunan ng mga Filipinong Nagkakaisa (KAFIN) Migrant Center. KMC was formed in 1998 as a community-based self-help organization for marriage migrant Filipino women. In 2001, it was officially established as a welfare and service organization catering to the needs of Filipino migrants and other nationalities. In January 2022, it officially gained the status of a registered Non-Profit Organization. The only NPO in Japan that is formed and administered by Filipinos. KMC’s program is guided by its vision of a society where migrants are treated as equals and their rights in economic, political, cultural, and spiritual recognized and respected.

Rossana Aguña, the speaker of the online forum is a marriage migrant living in Japan for 33 years. She is the Coordinator of AMW (Aichi Migrant Workers Association). She was awarded Filipino Hero in 2010. Rossana shared inspiring stories of marriage migrant workers’ situation and made the audience consider actions to advocate and campaign for their rights at work.

This event is organized by the Alliance of Marriage of Migrants Organisations for Rights and Empowerment or AMMORE, in partnership with the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants or APMM and AMMORE Japan. This online forum is the first of the 3 sessions AMMORE and APMM are holding to amplify the campaign on the rights of marriage migrants in the Asia-Pacific region. It was attended by a diverse array of participants from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.