THE QUESTION OF MIGRATION: DEATHS OF MIGRANTS IN THE SICILIAN CHANNEL

Posteed by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing

Rome, Italy 20 April 2015

This past week, an iestimated 800 migrants died in an incident when a ship carrying around 900 migrants and refugees sunk with only 28 survivors were rescued, and at the moment of writing, only 40 dead bodies were recovered,.

And at once, debates around Europe erupted where everyone point finger to everyone.The arguments are; Mare Nostrum must be carried out to blockade Europe from illegal immigration and possibly terrorists, or to patrol the sea more to soccour the would be immigrnts who fell victims to shipwrecks that inevitably happen.

But all this only serve to throw sands into the eyes of the truth. The real solution lies not in European  seas. It lies in the countries of origin of the unfortunte migrants who are only scaping the miseries in their own countries. Although there are remote possibility that terrorist may have mingled with the refugees, (Libyan IS in this case), not one Libyan has been found with the refugees, in the past, and even with this epecific instance. There in fact exists a very lucrative human trafficking as a result of this approach of total closure of Europe to migration.

One survivor from Banladesh in press interview, declared that the passengers are from Bangladesh (obviously) Somalia, Eritria, Syria, Iraq and Emen all refugees from those war-torned countries.

According to the Italian Parliament President Mrs Boldrini in a TV talk show this morning, let us not lie to our people. Instead of squandering million and billions of Euros in a naval blockage, let us spend it solving the roots of this unprecendented exodus of people by helping in a peaceful solution of wars in Middle East and of hunger and poverty in other countries.

Migration could only be stopped by creation of decent jobs in countries of origins and of helping to find a solution to the wars. Naval blockade of our seas will never solve the problem.

At the moment, Italy is alone in the frontline of this massive invasion of migrants, while governments of other European countries are closing their eyes and frontiers continue to commit the error of closed borders for migrants. It  will only worsen the situation.

Filipinos, though not involved in the  Sicilian Channel tragedies, are very much involved in forced migration of workers. There is also the question of life and death in Philippine migration. It is pure ignorance to say otherwise. The diaspora of Filipino workers cannot be stopped by foolish announcements of economic growth gained by the Filipino State. It never reched the people because it is based in the principles of gaining profits for the weathy and foreign multinational corporations and cartels. The rich only get richier and the poors crushed deeper in poverty. Philippines needs radical upheaval to change this situation. It cannot be ended with the so-called social aids to the poor. Philippine needs jobs with decent salaries that can support a family. And it could be achieved by creation of jobs through industrialization and livelihood by a just  agrarian reforms. Something that the Philippine institution has neglected since the outset of our independence which never was an independence since the country remained in the hands of a foreign power.

The question was thrown onto tha lap of European Union by the Pope. Where is the Christian foundation of Charity, Love for humanity… They men and women like anyone of us ignoring religion and politics. They are human beings created by God.

Broken hearts and broken homes -Stop forced migration of Filipino labor!

By Belarmino Dabalos Saguing

Rome, Italy 15 April 2015

The majority of people thaught that the Filipino migration exists because our nation is a nation of adventurers. This is reflected by a comment by an Embassy official in Rome a few years back: “Talagang mga adbenturero lang ang mga Pinoy kaya nagkalat na sila sa lahat ng sulok ng mundo”. This is a lie. He must be grossly mis-informed or just a plain ignorant of the facts.

Filipino migrant workers exists because they are refugees. They leave the country in search for an alternative means to make their family survive, something the Philippines, under the contemporary condition, is not in condition to offer to a big slice of its population. There is unemployment or underemployment, poverty, and as a result, hunger. So, they, having no better alternative left in the country, has to grit their teeth. The luckier ones who could afford or able to raise the required money leave for abroad. Their number, has reached almost 12 million or around 10 percent of the county’s total population representing more or less 20 percent of the total labor force of the country. They have sent a conservative estimate of remittances amounting around $ 22 billion last year, and, despite the global financial crisis, this remittances are expected to increase this year.

Good for the nation? Perhaps to the State, yes. The BSP has remarked that these remittances sent by the migrant workers is a big factor that saved the Philippines from the total financial collapse suffered by some countries and helped in the development of the country. In fact, our government is one of the biggest proponent of using migration as a tool for development.

But not to the migrant workers’ families. The Filipino migrant workers and their family was not touched by the ‘progress in the development of the country’. They are instead became the sacrificial lamb with their broken hearts and broken homes which is the negative effect of forced separation. The so called economic salvation was paid for by enslavement, rapes and maltreatment of many Ofws in the Middle East and elsewhere, and many broken homes in the country. They have literally paid for it with their blood, sweat and tears, while unscrupulous people covet their funds, turned them into commodities for sale while the government just consider them as ‘tools for development’ and closed their eyes to the sufferings of the Ofws abroad and their family at home.

But what really is needed to stop this bleeding out of our labor force?

It is not simple because the root lies in the negligence of the powers be. Their love for easy profit. the ruling class love of money and power. Instead of the creation of basic industries to give the workers jobs that would give salaries to make them live decently, the powers be considered importation because it creates easier profits for the compradors. Instead of just agrarian reforms, they created sham reforms that favour the big landlords who dominates the politics of the country.

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What the System of Justice should be

By Belarmino Dabalos Saguing

Rome Italy 15 April 2015

The functioning of the country’s institutions, by virtue

of reason, is an agreement by the people who have come together to protect their shared interest: humanity. A system of justice was built and in the local context of the Philippines it is called the “Five pillars of the Criminal Justice System”(composed of the police, prosecution, judiciary, prisons and the community). The reason for its existence is not solely to protect and maintain the institutions; but for individuals who are part of this group of people--by birth, nationality or habitation--that is called the Philippines. 

All the Filipinos who compose this nation are subject to its rules. It is the protection and preservation of the rights of this individual and the group he is part of that is the reason for the existence of the system.

But when the system of justice no longer functions for the protection of each individual, but rather an exclusive small group of people who are part of these institutions; and to protect the institution that they work for, the purpose of its existence has lost its meaning. The institutions may still survive but not for the reason for which they were originally built, but only to protect the interests of the people who are part of the system. Those who protect these systems are the very people who themselves do not feel protected and secured; thus, being part of it gives them protection so they protect its status quo.

Therefore, the neglect and abandonment of the country’s system is felt hard by people who are not within the system, but who were part of the original reason for its creation. But in reality, the system which they once had can no longer protect them unless they are within it. The system thrives not because it satisfies the individual or the group but rather because their physical existence justifies its need. An individual cannot create and subject himself to his own system and be a nation unto himself. ---

The people has the right to change the set up of the system in the situation when it no longer function for the majority of the people. More than just a right, it is even a duty for all Filipinos to rise up and remedy the situation  Justice must never be exclusively for a few. It must be rule fof the majority that must prevail.

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Good paying jobs at home is another unreachable dream

Posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing 

Rome, Italy 13 April 2015

a repost of note by Bill Saguing on 27 Dec. 2011

THE Department of Labor and Employment on Tuesday urged Filipinos working in Syria to come home, saying that there are high-paying jobs awaiting them. She added that the government will assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated from Syria.

“If they remained in the country, we could better protect them. It will also minimize the social cost of being away from their homeland which could be higher in vulnerable occupations like domestic work,” she added.

DOLE Secretary Baldoz enumerated the government programes that could be availed by the returning OFWs.

Under the Balik-Pinay, Balik-Hanap-buhay Program, the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, an attached agency of the DOLE, a P10,000 livelihood/business development assistance is given to returning women workers.

The experience of OFWs who returned from Libia gives a discouraging note: the jobs referred to by the DOLE is hard to have if there is one available or not available at all. Dole explained that they are not placement bureau and the worker has to avail what is there, otherwise one has to wait (or to look somewhere else) . the P10,000 assistance is not even enough to get the preliminary necessities to start a small sarisari store and won't last a few weeks.

It seems that DOLE is doing a leg pull or has gone nuts. Protect the workers when they cannot even guarantee the protection of the rights of the workers in the Philippines who has to vie with each other for a job. Where locallly employed workers is losing whatever right left for them which they are losing one by one due to corruption and contractualization of employers in the Philippines

No!. It appears that Sec. Baldoz is talking out of realities. Promising something that recent history has proven to be unreachavle under the present conditions. The only alternative for returning OFWs is to look for another job abroad.

Good paying jobs in the Philippines is as an unreachable dream. So the diaspora continue.