Two Members from NaFFAA R8 Represent USA at Overseas Filipino Caucus in The Netherlands
The Netherlands Report by Lorna Dietz
[Photos and accompanying links will be added later.]
Last October 27 to November 2, 2007, a week-long set of activities celebrating Overseas Filipinos in Europe took place in the Netherlands — from Rotterdam, to Utrecht, and then to Amsterdam.
This wasn’t a luxury week. Oxfam Novib, through its programme officer, Leila Rispens-Noel, had some funding to bring our group of 20 people to The Netherlands. We are eternally grateful for the organizers who formed a logistics team as a virtual organization. Within a short timeframe, each partnering community-based organization took ownership of bringing in a specific number of conference participants for November 2.
Last October 27 to November 2, I participated in a historic gathering of 20 Filipinos based in Europe, the Philippines, Middle East, and the United States except that I was late and missed out on one of the events because I had to be in Washington DC for the Filipina Women’s Network Summit.
I was excited to find out that Victor Barrios and I were the only participants coming from the United States — although I was aware that members of The core-Overseas Filipinos Worldwide (Core-OFW), a think tank of concerned individuals, migrant organizations, NGOs and other members of social-cause oriented groups based in Philippines, USA and Europe had been invited but unfortunately could not make it. We didn’t know what to expect. Both of us knew some of the organizers on a personal basis but had never worked with them before. All I knew is that I had to bring some clear examples of the work that showed the evolution of many Filipino American community-based organizations. After all, as migrants, Filipino Americans had come a long way since the first contract workers were first hired in the pineapple fields of Hawaii in 1906.
Vic, on the other hand, had his Aide Memoire for The Global Filipino Nation with him, especially since the May conference in the Philippines is just a corner away. This was clearly an opportunity for both of us to listen to the other participants, share our experiences, and find out where the intersecting points came in. Simply stated, our goal was to find our “common ground” so we could collaborate on shared initiatives after our historic meeting.
THE FILIPINO EXPERTS MEETING
Theme: Towards an OFW-Driven Strategic Action Plan to advance the Democratic Governance Culture in the Philippines
Let me share with you that coming into the picture with an agenda “to find common ground” was the spark that created the synergistic relationships among the 20 participants.
THE WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Here’s an idea what our schedule looked like. We were dealing with very serious issues, but like many Filipinos, we knew how to be “grim and determined” and retain an optimistic outlook. 16-hour days were the norm in our semi-boot camp, strategic planning retreat, and dorm lifestyle!
We started off in Rotterdam with a Filipiniana celebration to honor the Filipinos and Filipinas who serve as seafarers. Did you know that there are a quarter of a million Filipino seafarers worldwide and another 250,000 waiting to be hired?
THE SCHEDULE
As told by Grace Cabactulan
The first visitor arrived last October 20 and the last one left last November 5, except Mila Aguilar and Tony Ranque who still have some sideline activities here in the next few weeks.
October 27 - Rotterdam
A lunch was held to welcome the cultural troupe of the Philippine-American-German (PAG) Charity Organization. It was led by officers of Habagat Foundation and BisDak NL coordinators in cooperation with the Filipino Catholic Community of Rotterdam.
October 27, evening
Fiesta Filipiniana 2007 was held at the International Seamen’s Centre Heijplaat. Attended by around 300 people. Many organizations in the region were represented, there were the seafarers and non-Filipino friends. The 40-strong Germany-based PAG cultural troupe showcased a range of Filipino Dances.
October 28 - Rotterdam
The whole Filipino bunch toured the city center of Rotterdam for a day! Later in the afternoon, the PAG took off for Germany with their touring bus while the rest proceeded to Utrecht.
October 29 and 30 - Utrecht
For two days, 20 Filipino leaders talked of their respective organizations‘ initiatives and projects as well as shared insights on their networks and organizational work. Basco Fernandez and Roli Talampas led the sessions. Leila Rispens-Noel, a representative of Oxfam-Novib, was invited to speak on the background of the Global Forum on Migration and Development. Our hosts at COS Utrecht gave us a welcome dinner after our first day’s sessions.
Victor Barrios focused on The Global Filipino Nation’s initiatives.The Global Filipino Nation: A formal organization that will include overseas Filipinos, their families and other Filipinos who are committed to effective governance in the country.May 8-11, 2008: International Conference in Makati, Philippines to discuss and agree on the time-bound initiatives, legal personality, organization structure, and other elements of the Global Filipino Nation.
I shared the following:
- NaFFAA & The Global Filipino Networking Convention Concept
- Filipino National Historical Society (FANHS)
- FWN’s Crafting the Filipina Image campaign and my spin-off internet news portal and advocacy blog, FilipinaImages.com
- Filipinas Magazine
- Technology & Internet Tools for Effective Communications
- Community and Cultural Centers
- What Overseas Filipino Professionals, such as Teachers, are doing in the United States
October 31 - The Hague
The group visited the Philippine Embassy in The Hauge and held a brief sharing about what transpired in the Experts’ Meeting. Then Ambassador Arguelles took the group for a super lunch at a Chinese restaurant in the middle of the city. More smaller caucuses were held in Utrecht. [Lorna: While Vic Barrios engaged in the economic and political caucuses, I was busy with the Information Technology and socio-cultural caucuses.]
November 1 - FREE DAY 
[Sharing and Worshop in Utrecht]
It was supposed to be a free day so a big group went to Amsterdam in the morning while some smaller groups continued their discussions.
In the afternoon, there was a sharing on Peace and Inter-faith dialogue and a workshop on IT was conducted.
In the evening, a dinner was organized led by Habagat, Damayang Pilipino sa Nederland and BisDak coordinators welcome some guests of the conference and the delegates from Germany. Gov. Oscar Moreno also came in and later, Minister Gary Domingo from Geneva.
Lorna’s Note: Yup, there was supposed to be a free day but my day was spent coaching our Middle East expert, preparing for a book launching, working with the lead writer on how to make our proposal look and feel “sexy” to the funders, and reading about the proposed revisions of the Shari’a code of personal conduct for Muslims in the Philippines.
November 2 - Amsterdam
The conference, “Converging Filipino Diaspora Global Initiatives for Sustainable Development,” was held at the Mozes and Aaron church. More than 100 people attended.
Its general objective: to develop a common agenda towards harnessing the development potentials of migration. Specifically for one, we would like to underline the importance contribution of the Filipino diaspora, highlighting the better use of their remittances, skills and acquired knowledge.
November 3 – We fled “like refugees” and walked a ½ mile to another hostel [Lorna's and Nitnit's description of our scenic walk to another hostel]
There was a short evaluation in the morning of November 3. A number of participants left in the afternoon while some went to the city center. There was a farewell dinner, courtesy of Congressman Mujiv Hataman of AMIN Party List (Anak Mindanao).
THE CAUCUS IN FOCUS
Here are the members of the Overseas Filipino Caucus for Sustainable Development.
Mila Aguilar, Philippines, Sagip Bansa
Doris Alfafara, The Netherlands, Stichting Habagat
Victor S. Barrios, USA, Global Filipinos Coalition
Alex V. Bello, Middle East, OFW-Congress, Riyadh
Grace Cabactulan, The Netherlands, Stichting Habagat
Jack Catarata, Germany, Philippinenbuero, Phil-German Ecumenical Conference, Filipino-German Catholic Community in Speyer
Basco Fernandez, The Netherlands, Damayan
Cristina Liamzon, Italy, Associazione PILIPINAS OFSPES (Overseas Filipinos’ Society for the Promotion of Economic Security)
Filomenita Mongaya Hoegsholm, Denmark, ERCOF Denmark
David Ryan Quimpo, France, IT Specialist
Antonio Ranque, Philippines, ERCOF Philppines
Rolando G. Talampas, Philippines, United Filipino Seafarers, University of the Philippines Manila
Dennis Yaun, Luxembourg, ERCOF Europe
Lorna Lardizabal Dietz, USA, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, Filipina Women’s Network, and Filipinas Magazine
Estrella (Mai) Dizon-Anonuevo, Philippines, Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiatives Inc.
Marcelina (Lina) Gschwend, Germany & Switzerland, Migrant Initiative (Germany) and Tuluyang Pinoy-Switzerland
Sitti Djalia Hataman, Philippines, Pinay …Kilos ( PinK) women’s group - Zamboanga-Basilan-Sulu area
Anny Misa-Hefti , Switzerland, Samahanag Pilipina, Bern
Rohlee De Guzman, The Netherlands, COS Limburg
Jessie Ligan, The Netherlands, Habagat/BisDakNote: ERCOF – Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos
CAUCUS AGREEMENTS
While we were writing our reports for the November 2 conference, we agreed on the following:
- We would immediately form a secretariat after we disbanded.
- We would locate financial resources for the work that needed to be done.
- We would create a communications and IT network that would continue our synergistic collaborative work.
- We would have at least one proposal ready by December 2007 so that one or a couple of the caucus members could get funding to implement our caucus’s initiatives.
- And, finally, we reiterated to ourselves that we were individuals coming together, not representing our organizations. However, we all committed to communicating to our organizations what we had come up with and facilitate collaboration if there was a fit.
During the late night hours before the November 2 conference, we decided to call our “meeting of minds” the “Overseas Filipino Caucus for Sustainable Development.”
RESULTS OF THE FILIPINO EXPERTS MEETING (The 3-Year Plan)
Please click here to view the PowerPoint presentation of the Filipino Experts Meeting’s report at the November 2 Conference.
As you can see, the Caucus has a lot to do. My time is currently devoted to helping the group with a world-wide media plan and the infrastructure of the secretariat as well as helping out with e-learning lesson plans for Filipino migrants.
SOME OF THE CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
During the conference, we had very good keynote speakers who evoked complimentary and sometimes-passionate responses from the participants.
Drs. Jan Henneman of the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry encouraged the conference participants to play the bridging role that migrants play in relation to their home and host country.
Leila Rispens-Noel, the programme officer from Oxfam-Novib, also highlighted the model role that Filipino migrants play for other diaspora groups, especially those coming from Africa. She called on Filipino leaders to resolve their internal conflicts so that together, we can find better solutions to the ongoing migration and development dilemma.
Philippine Ambassador Romeo Arguelles and Geneva-based Minister Gary Domingo of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations indicated their readiness to closely collaborate with the conference’s convenors, specifically in preparation for the Global Forum on Migration and Development in October, 2008. Mark your calendars for Manila in October of 2008!
Dovelyn Rannveig Aguinas, from the Migration Policy Institute in Washington DC, talked about “Protecting Temporary Workers: Lessons and Cautions from the Philippines.”
She talked about OWWA, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. A government-managed, self-funded international operation with a complex organizational structure.
Bottom-line is that OWWA elicited some passionate responses such as “Yeah, why does it have to be the temporary worker who pays the $25 fee and not the employer?” to “Someone was late by a day in sending in their renewal fee — and one couldn’t get benefits?”
Governor Oscar Moreno, the Provincial Governor of Misamis Oriental, spoke about Migration and Development from the Philippine Government’s perspective.
Before the conference ended, Governor Moreno signed a Memo of Understanding with Habagat Foundation, Damayan Association in the Netherlands, BisDak Network Netherlands, and the newly-formed Overseas Filipino Caucus for Sustainable Development with a “matching peso for peso” funding mechanism for agreed-upon development projects. They just had to brand it, “Uno por Uno, Moreno style.”
NOTE: On November 3, Governor Moreno and Victor Barrios gave some of us a micro-finance lesson as we brainstormed on how we could set up a European-based development fund that could enable small business enterprises to thrive in the rural areas of the Philippines.
WHAT WE LEARNED AT THE CONFERENCE
One of our caucus members, Dodie Quimpo, presented a recap of the conference’s highlights.
1. Economic underdevelopment, as underscored by widespread poverty, joblessness, and heavy dependence on labor export indicates that the push factors for migration continue unabated. At the same time, such underdevelopment has highlighted the needs and opportunities for grassroots economic empowerment.
2. Host countries, specially those faced with aging populations, economic priorities, and political pressures, are adopting more and more restrictive and controlled migration policies, resulting in legal and political précarité, and greater social costs for overseas Filipinos. The most vulnerable are the undocumented, the semi-documented, the alienated younger generations and the Filipinos in countries where there is religious and cultural intolerance.
3. The political climate and peace situation in the Philippines continues to be unstable, not only hindering effective political governance but also continued marginalization of overseas Filipinos from political processes that directly affect them and their families. This, despite recent gains in voting rights and dual citizenship.
4. There is a rise in the emergence of grassroots models, movements, and organizations for sustainable economic development. These positive initiatives need to be replicated, upscaled, and assisted for substantial impact on the country and its population. Participation of overseas Filipinos can be channeled and encouraged in such areas as financial literacy programs and through savings and investment mobilization.
5. Participation of migrants in the country’s economic development and political processes requires …
- more sharply and creatively-defined goals and visions based on convergence of interests
- greater and sustained organization of overseas Filipinos and
- more effective bridges in economic, political and cultural spheres
6. For their visions and goals, overseas Filipinos can tap their varied skills and expertise, as well as the Internet and new communications technologies to fully explore rich networking and exchange possibilities that previous generations of migrants never had.
THE BOOK LAUNCHING
Right after the conference, I had the privilege and honor of launching Nitnit Mongaya Hoegsholm’s anthology, “De Olde Worlde: Views of Filipino Migrants in Europe.”
I was able to finish the book launching within 15-20 minutes.
My challenge to the conference participants during this book launching was for them to organize their own European Filipino Historical Society.
There were some things I learned from Nitnit’s book:
• Filipina women make up 70 to 80% of the Filipino migrants to Europe.
• At this time, domestic work is not recognized internationally as “real work” with secure salary levels.
• There are fresh tidbits on Filipino migration to England in the mid-1880’s when Philippine-born seafarers formed a community around Frederick Street in Liverpool, earning for the area the name of “Little Manila of Liverpool.”
• The Philippines provides no less than 23.3% of the world’s seafaring community.
• The term “au pair” in reality are nannies and domestic workers rolled into one, not cultural exchanges.
• One author estimates that of the 50,000 Filipinos (male and female) who work as domestics in France, only 6,000 are registered, with the majority being Female (about 80%).
SOME REALITY CHECKS
Alex Bello, the head of the OFW Congress in Riyadh, explained to me why he has been working in Riyadh for the past 24 years.
He said, “I keep coming back to Saudi Arabia because I love my family and I can save money. I now have a small business in Tacloban which my wife manages. Eventually, I will be able to retire in the Philippines. As long as I follow the rules — or as long as I don’t get caught (Alex was referring to the stringent laws imposed by the religious police) — I’ll be fine.”
Sure, Alex is fine, but every day we were together, he would get a distress call from Riyadh: another worker being abused by her employer seeking his organization’s help.
What a reality check for me!
DOMESTIC SERVICE PROFESSIONALS, THE NEW TITLE FOR “DOMESTIC WORKERS”
The highlight of my trip was a visit to a secret location in Amsterdam where a self-organized group of undocumented Filipino domestic service professionals — the new terminology for Filipino domestic workers, please remember this and write this down — had their weekly e-learning classes from Basco Fernandez.
I was their guest trainer for the day and so I went through the basics of using internet tools for effective communications and collaborative work. Before the morning ended, they had found an easier way to blog their experiences, thoughts, and ideas so that they could send them to their supporters and employers.
I found out that one domestic service professional had 13 clients every week. Wow!
I think the best gift I shared with them was about “your perception is your reality.” I had a long discussion with them about “branding themselves as professionals.”
As undocumented workers, they are focused on finding ways of gaining amnesty.
They must have loved my training program because they generously plied Basco and me with huge McDonald’s burgers, haha!
The collage of baby photos at the living room door of one of these domestic service professionals said it all: “These are my grandchildren. I haven’t met them. And I haven’t been home for 11 years.”
THE SOCIAL COST OF MIGRATION BY MAI ANONUEVO, ATIKHA:
MIGRATION, REMITTANCES, AND DEVELOPMENT BY LEILA RISPENS-NOEL:
PROTECTING TEMPORARY WORKERS BY DOVELYN AGUINAS:
THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE ON MIGRATION, PEACE, AND DEVELOPMENT BY DJALIA TURABIN HATAMAN:
STATUS OF SEAFARERS’ ADVOCACY WORK AND LEVELS OF RESPONSES BY ROLI TALAMPAS:
GENERATING A TRANSFORMATIVE MASS MOVEMENT FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY MILA AGUILAR:
ASSOCIAZONE PILIPINAS OFSPES (Past Programs, Current Programs, and SWOT Analysis), BY TINA LIAMZON, ITALY:
