By Walden Bello
Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines representing Akbayan
The migrant worker experience is one that is increasingly typical. Let’s start with myself. I am now back in the Philippines, but I spent nearly 20 years as a political exile in the United States during the Marcos dictatorship. During that time I survived by working as a journalist, teaching, doing research, and taking on odd jobs in different American cities.
Multiple sites, multiple identities
This experience of multiple sites of work during one’s active years is not too different from that of the Palestinian engineer who returns to the West Bank or Gaza after working in Kuwait, Egypt, and the United States. Nor from that of the Mexican peasant who goes to the United States to work in a variety of jobs, returns to tend to his or her farm in Morelos for extended periods, then heads back to Chicago. Nor from that of the Keralan who alternates between tending a small shop back home built with savings from her overseas work and long stints serving as domestic help in the Gulf countries.
With multiple sites of work have come multiple identities. Over the years, in addition to our original identity, we begin to regard our country of work as our home, indeed even with some affection, even when that country is not hospitable to us. And beyond identities forged by nationality and residence, there is the identity of class—that becoming aware of a condition we share with so many others of different nationalities, that sense of being part of an international working class.
Negative and positive realities
But let us not romanticize the lot of the globalized worker. Instability and lack of security is the condition of many. Capitalism in the neoliberal era destroys jobs at home and creates them elsewhere, forcing many into dangerous transborder journeys to find those jobs. Unregulated as it is today, capitalism is marked by periods of expansion and contraction. When contraction arrives, the lot of the migrant becomes a perilous one, as opportunistic politicians scapegoat him or her for the loss of jobs of workers from the dominant culture. This is the situation in the developed countries today, where discrimination, police repression, and deportation have become pervasive. In Europe, this is accompanied by cultural stigmatization, with migrants of Muslim origin being defined as the “Other.”
But let us not be too negative either about our host societies. These are often democratic societies where there are rights and liberties that are institutionalized. Many migrants, of course, are deprived of a number of these rights and liberties, but in many respects, these polities provide a model of what is possible in our societies of origin, where rights and liberties are fragile if not non-existent and political corruption is pervasive. Women from many developing societies find in their host societies a level of respect and a state of formal equality with men that is sorely absent where they came from. Filipina women, for instance, are afforded in Europe and the United States the means to assert their reproductive rights via contraception which benighted forces make it difficult for them to obtain back home. They also have the right to divorce abusive or irresponsible partners, a course of action they are legally deprived of in the Philippines with its medieval code governing marriage.
Crisis of the home economy
But when all is said and done, most migrant workers would probably prefer to stay and work in their countries of origin if they could find the jobs that would provide them with a decent living. This is why it is important for migrant advocates to understand the conditions which have made emigration from developing countries so pervasive over the last three decades.
Conditions of poverty and economic distress push people out of their societies, but these conditions are not natural. They are created. And in scores of developing countries since the late eighties the prime engine expanding poverty and economic distress has been structural adjustment programs pushed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and trade liberalization promoted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).
Promoted under the guise of bringing about efficiency, these programs have destroyed agriculture and industry in country after country. In Mexico, severe cutbacks in state support for agriculture, efforts to roll back agrarian reform, and Nafta-imposed trade liberalization have made agriculture a losing proposition, forcing Mexico’s peasantry, as the saying goes, to transfer en masse to the United States. In the Philippines, structural adjustment has destroyed the country’s industrial base and with it, hundreds of thousands of industrial and manufacturing jobs, while WTO-imposed trade liberalization has made farming unattractive for peasants whose products cannot compete with the subsidized commodities being dumped by the US, Europe, and other countries. For many of these displaced farmers and their children, relocating to the urban metropolis is followed by emigration.
The remittance economy
So massive has been the unraveling of our industrial and agricultural base wrought by neoliberal policies that it is oftentimes only remittances from migrant workers that keep our home economies afloat—something that can be said without exaggeration of the Philippines. Remittances are critical and our migrant workers are to be complimented for their heroic role, but the remittance economy is no substitute for a vibrant domestic economy. Unfortunately, in the Philippines, our policymakers have made remittances a substitute for domestic production.
Two-front war
Thus, to seriously address the problems they confront, migrants and migrant advocates cannot but be involved in a two-front war. On the one hand, we must struggle in our countries of origin to end the conditions of structural adjustment, trade liberalization, and other neoliberal policies that have eroded our industrial and agricultural base and destroyed millions of jobs. We must tell the US government and the European Union that we do not need aid; what we need is for you to stop imposing bilateral trade agreements and economic partnership agreements on us. What our countries demand is a halt to the structural adjustment programs still in effect in scores of countries in Africa and an end to further liberalization of trade under the WTO and bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. Of course, development has many other requirements, but stopping structural adjustment and trade liberalization is a sine qua non, a condition without which other indigenous development initiatives cannot prosper.
When it comes to the other front, in our host countries, the agenda is clear. We must aggressively assert what is the unvarnished truth: that migrants overwhelmingly make a positive contribution to the economy and culture of their host countries. We must frontally oppose state repression of migrants and confront the right-wing populist groups that scapegoat them. We must demand an end to the deportation of undocumented migrants, the rapid legalization and granting of full citizenship rights to those with papers and their children, and the facilitation of the achievement of legal status of those without papers.
Success in solving the dilemmas of migrants will necessitate progress in both these fronts. There is no guarantee of success in our advocacy, but unless we confront the challenges in both fronts, we are sure to fall short of our goals.
Tagline: Speech delivered at the People’s Global Action Conference during the Global Forum for Migration and Development, Athens, Greece, November 1, 2009.
40 Feedbacks on "The migrant condition"
The migrant condition « News about migrants in agriculture in Canada // Nouvelles sur les travailleurs agricoles migrants
[...] active years is not too different from that of the Palestinian engineer who returns to the West Bank or Gaza after working in Kuwait, Egypt, and the United States. Nor from that of the Mexican peasant [...]
Mary
Such a boring discourse. I’m sure those who were present when this was delivered were yawning. You do not have to use such profound words/analysis to sound educated.
iyo karpo
Your speech reveals that you have never been a migrant worker trying to survive in a foreign land.
pogi
Typically commie…
Boring
Boring…
paolo
And most importantly, in the midst of this mindless verbosity, what we need are noncorrupt politicians particularly in the administration. No country in the world will exploit our country if we have patriotic leaders - they say corruption is inevitable but corruption should be comparable to the developed countries. Ika nga bago ka irespeto ng iba kailangan may self respect muna.
RT
I like this article because it emphasizes that the need to address the reasons why there are migrant workers in the first place. There is a need to improve our domestic industry, instead of simply relying on overseas remittances. I have lived in two developed countries over a period of 9 years. I have seen that if the government is doing its job, then we can keep our talents. A corrupt government such as ours continues to drive away our talented professionals. I took a stab at working in the Philippines after finishing my PhD abroad. But eventually, the company which I worked for shut down. Some of the reasons for its closure are our government’s lack of support and the high electricity costs. I left our country and am now working in the US. There are a lot more talented, highly-educated Filipinos who left our country, because they couldn’t find a good opportunity to use their skills well and be compensated for it.
Pinoy Gising
Yan na nga ba sinasabi eh. Magkakalat tayo sa sariling bayan tapos dadayo, mangangapitbahay na para bagang panauhing pandangal. Bakit ba ang mga Hapon, galing din sa hirap, binomba sila nun taas noo ngayon sariling sikap at pagod, Pinoy laging may dahilan. Pinoy gising!
Wag iasa sa iba sariling pagkukulang.
I’m also a Filipino, paying for my own studies abroad. Me, not my parents.
Cyanic
How could you explain bilateral trade to the masses except to incite animosity towards the US and the West?
And that’s always the trend for these activists, find a scapegoat for their woes. Why don’t we try family planning instead, where poverty really takes roots.
Tina Rebucas
Just only at thought - I also like this article, I’ve been living abroad for 14 years but in my heart is always home (Philippines), just the positive side of the road the family also benefits while I am away remitting some money - the microside of helping our love ones who are not lucky to go abroad. Definitely, I will go home back to my my homeland the moment I will retire.
Leonardo Fernandez
I have been living abroad for the last 19 years and time and time again we are always blaming others for our failure. Look your self in the mirror and ask yourself what have you done to improve the condition of your self, your family, your barangay, your city, your province and your country. Stop blaming others because being a politician you are not doing your job to encourage the citizenry to do what is good and what is right for every Filipinos. You are a disgrace and should resign from what ever position you are holding. The main problem with the Philippine is the government that is being tolerated by its citizenry to abuse them and to make them thrash of the world.
kulaspiro
I agree with most of the bloggers here. RT is right. Many Filipinos left the country because they use their brain and not their sentiments. Maybe these thinking migrant workers wakes up to reality and detached themselves temporarily from political dramas and telenovelas back home. Its sad that some no-brainers back home blame us, migrant workers, when we seek opportunites abroad saying we lack patriotism. For me that’s just a lame excuse for these lazy left leaning, self-declared nationalists miltant groups. Since time immemorial, they did nothing for the good of our country except leave their mess in front of the US embassy. Well, they have their own stories and I have mine but that doesnt mean I respect them. Thats why Cyanic is also correct. Many Filipinos blame the western influence as the root problem of the nation. They cannot accept the fact that its not the British, Canadians or most hated Americans who voted for Marcos, Erap, Arroyo and other unpopular public officials. Filipinos elect their public officials based on who they saw on TV everyday, or who has the money and power to manipulate the media. Nowadays, religious leaders, celebrities, even media personalities joined the bandwagon not for pure public service but theres a lot of money in politics and the entertainment industry Sadly, most of these people doesnt even know what governance is all about. In fairness, a few of them are performing well in public office. I just thought that what a Filipino does for himself and for his fellowmen, no matter what corner of the globe he found that opportunity determines his future and the happiness he deserves.
sioc
Prof. Bello has changed so much after he got elected to Congress. Outside of the government he was the paragon of someone who saw nothing but bad with man made institutions. This article is like another one he wrote about asking economists to manage the government. What a sea change in his insights.
I would encourage many of the people on the left to run for office and see how it is really inside. They will see why things are like these with our country and why no system or set of ideas imported from abroad can banish the problems they condemn. But with such insights they stand better chance of passing measures that can address these problems. There is a lot of good things he spoke about.
More power to you Congressman. Please continue to come up with views that are decidedly out of the mainstream but taking the reality that we are in.
V. Sioc
andy
If we have a well-functioning government with competent officials who truly care for the interests and well-being of its citizens, there’s no need for some of our kababayan to seek greener pasture overseas. Unfortunately, however, for those who have dreams for a brighter future for their families and possess the qualifications, our country does not provide the economic atmosphere for realizing such dreams. The only way to achieving it is to find employment abroad.
Jim Czarnecki
I am an American married to a very talented Filipina woman 2 years ago. I constantly encourage her in her work. Does she need to work - no but this is what she wants. In the span of over 2 years she came to America on a finance visa - could not work for 3 months. Now she is an assistant general mgr and Food & Service Director at a large hotel. Everyone seems to like to take hits against Americans but I love my wife and will do all I can to make her successful. We have a beautiful home here in America and also a new home in Baguio City. America was first to offer humitarian aid to the PI after the typhoons. Through our local Phil-Am Society, my wife and I have donated considerable funds for flood relief. I have never seen another country donate any aid to the US when we experience natural disasters. This past week we had very serious flooding on our East Coast. As my Filipina wife reminds me - America offers opportunity that is not available in the PI.
Ben
This is true and much more. Only those who have not experienced being a migrant find this boring or incomprehensible. Its just ironic why this intellectual author insists on communism as a way and means to solve this social illness…it did not and will not work ,its a total failure look at Cuba and North Korea they’re like a pitiful museum, starving, repressive and scratching the earth as per communist principles but their leaders drinking champaigne and living in luxury.
Perry
Rich or poor countries the fundemental pricipal in progress is follow the law. I want to sleep..
eddie
such tired and beaten arguments; we work outside of PI only for one reason - a shot of a future, which has been missing since one starts yearning for it…
Alfredo Montilla
I did not care to read the speech, all I know is that there are many employment agencies here in Toronto owned by Filipinos who took advantage of Filipino nannies. Many, as soon as they get out of the the airport and passed immigration office lost their contract and were left alone. Some were not even picked up at the airport. Because they do not know their rights, they were abused and taken advantage. Many of them take menial jobs that pay far less than the minimum wage.
Barb Hess
Loved this post!
VJ Oz
“Unfortunately, in the Philippines, OUR policymakers have made remittances a substitute for domestic production.”
Aint you a “policymaker” too as you are a member of Congress? I hate it went people dont owe it up for any shortcomings the institution he or she is a part of.
You should at least stop whining and be part of the solution. You are a member of congress, where are your policies on migration, domestic production, and social equality? I dont hear the name Walden Bello anywhere near proposed law on these matters.
Chatru
too many words has been said very well!
too many blogs are written in display!
but do you think it will change the way our policymakers do!
Filipinos are morbid to follow the law because the lawmakers do not understand it precisely!
Perry
Typical commie, boring, brown eyes, brown little brothers, in what these wing nuts are saying , remotely true.
Yes these lawmakers do not understand themselves what their one sided view law will apply.
mark
We have our chance to clean the institution that have been corrupted for so long. Make your congressmen accountable. Look at what they did at Congress and judge them through your votes on May 2010… If they we’re blind during the impeachment complaints, kick them out.
If they we’re blind during the disasters, kick them out. ..
If they go abroad on taxpayers money and have an unacceptable lifestyle, kick them out…
Clean the Congress and the Senate on 2010!
Hound
I agree with a lot of people who posted their comments on this article, it’s time for us to take responsibility of our own destiny as a nation. We’ve blamed the influence of the West for our own inadequacies, ignorance and incompetence for far too long, perhaps it’s time we look ourselves in the mirror and owe up to our own faults. While the author has some good points, playing Sisa the helpless victim is such a lame and totally boring excuse. The Filipinos should grow some back bone and some braincells too. The 2010 election is coming, that’s a good place to start.
Raymund
If we want “change”, it should start within ourselves. We keep on blaming our leaders for the corruptions in the government but we forgot to include ourselves.
Reymos
It is a simple reason why that majority of Pinoys decided to leave the Philippines - TO WORK AND EARN MORE TO ALLEVIATE FROM POVERTY! This is the primary objective of every Filipino who sacrificed their jobs back home and able to support the families that are left behind. The author’s decision to be a migrant worker was not the same for the rest of us who risk our financial resources just to be hired abroad!
Im lucky that I got grants from foreign universities to pursue postgraduate studies and hoping that I could share to young Filipinos when I go back home.
I also share the view of others that we dont blame other nations for our suffering now. We have to move on and think invidually for what we can offer to the Filipino communities around the world and convince them to help rebuild our Motherland.
roy
did not find any commie statement there, stupid..anyway, look at china, a commie state..now its one of the biggest economies..you guys totally miss the point, blinded by your bigotry..you did not even read the discourse..why react if you’ve got nothing to add but your backward views and name calling! this is precisely the reason we never progress as a nation..whenever somebody presents a better idea than ours, we always try to deconstruct it..crab mentality o simply yabang..ako lang ang magaling..
Rt
I think the problem about our economy is not on the developed countries like the US and the European Union imposing structural adjustments, trade liberalization, etc. The problem is in our own government’s corrupt practices, which only kept the “aid” provided to the Philippines in the pockets of corrupt government officials. It is too obvious not to see the accumulated wealth these politicians have while working in office. Look at the expensive cars in Manila, who owns them? A lot of them are owned by corrupt government officials. So, the powerless goes off to work under harsh conditions in another country to provide for his/her family, while those in office are out, wining and dining in expensive places.
Peter the Migrant
I’ve been a migrant since 1983 in search of better life for me and my family. My host country is benefited from my skill aside from paying huge taxes which don’t benefit my country of origin.We see India has changed, their migrant workers came back to their country with experience and education from developed countries transforming India into a competing industrialized neophyte. What have we transformed Philippines?
paolo
yeah right! do u think westinghouse would have the gall to overprice and build such an unsafe nuclear power plant as Bataan if the then leader was not corrupt and i mean rotten corrupt? And to this day, we are still paying for the incurred debts and voting for his family. And what about another leader who admits taking cash from illegal gambling and rationalizes this as like robin hood undertakings. And what about the zte scandal. Have we matured as a people to connect all of these corruption to the filipino diaspora - that if the diverted cash would have led to the construction of quality roads, buildings, hospitals, etc. this would have led to more jobs, more foreign investments which our country only receive a pittance because of its dilapited and corrupt structures buildings and otherwise. And then maybe the floods would have been minimized if we have modern weather forecasting, etc. Yet we continue to elect these characters which enhances our almost a failed state image to the rest of the world. And thats the simple explanation minus all the multinational exploitation crap etc. . . .
Maria Blanca
This international collusion to keep poor countries poor is quite interesting. It’s probably affecting us considering how large our foreign loans eat up in our annual budget pie.
However, I agree that we have to rely on ourselves to fix our problems. We have so much by way of talents and natural resources yet we do so little.
hlg9438
I understand Rep. Bello’s discourse. Please, don’t expect him to champion capitalism. He’s not out of his mind yet. The speech might indeed be boring to us but an energizer to the those in the left. Anyway, what I notice is Pinoy migrants would usually expect host countries to treat them more “mildly” or say “with favor.” Sanay kasi tayo sa pabor. Excuse me, we’re not Ambassadors entering their territory. We’re migrant workers competing with the locals for jobs. What is important is we get equal protection under their laws.
ben tumble
mr bello,
what do you mean we dont need foreign aid? tell that to your fellow politicians. you just want to look good by pretending your nationalist ans patriotic. in reality, you guys fatten yourselves and your families with foreign aids and just recycle it, in and out of your pocket. politicians that even send their children to study in US and european universities to get western education and yet you blame western influence as the culprit. you only say that so you look patriotic. foreign aids should serve its purpose and that is for the needy sectors of the society and not directly to your pocket and to your arrogant relatives. your fellow politicians and their relatives drives around the metro with their flashy cars and hang out in posh clubs and bars at the same time boasting of their connection with greedy and publicity hungry politicians. please dont fool the people that you represent anakbayan, a militant group that hates the west. i dont believe that. all you politicians belongs to the same breed of crooks.
tikyo
hey walden bello,
puro ka naman ka-plastikan eh. galit na galit ka sa globalisasyon, sa western economic policy, at sa iba pang mga deskarte ng mga amerikano pero dun ka naman nag-aral ng PhD in Sociology sa Princeton. ano ba talaga papel mo sa buhay? wala kang iniwan kay Kiko Pangilinan at Mar Roxas na galit sa american imperialism pero pinagmamalaki naman na produkto sila ng ivy league schools sa america. ipokrito ba kayo o ano? kung talagang makabayan ka, sana sa UP ka na lang namalagi at tumira sa bundok tulad ni ka roger (gregorio rosal ng NDF) at maniniwala pa ako sa iyo. eh panay naman ang aral at pagtuturo mo sa US universities eh di wala ring kredibilidad yang pinagsasabi mo. tsk tsk tsk…and labo mo!
james
Yes and if we continue to tolerate and elect these corrupt and inept characters that make up our officials, we should prepare our sons and daughters to be chimays to the rich Indian and Chinese families. Boy, have we fallen! Maybe, we should start preparing to send some to Vietnam and Indonesia as well. That remark of Quezon about our country being run like hell by Filipinos indeed has been realized!
jimmy
All i gotta say is that is is straight up correct shit man ,y would any filipinos leave where thea are rooted from.our rights and liberties are pretty much held by imperialisim bkuz of the economic environment that they impose on us. and our media workin with their media is crating the culture for us that washes our brain not knowing what to belive as filipino migrants
-bangon abc
steph
Each of us has its own views, hear yeah, hear yeah what are we going to do - to achieve that “GENUINE CHANGE” would it be possible “Election 2010″ is fast approaching then “IT’S UP TO YOU/ME” but how we be “SURE” !!!!!!!
Gray
To seek for a greener pasture and to lessen the unemployment rate in our country is not a SIN but rather Beneficial, and besides…the taxes collected from us is a big portion of the country’s PORK BARREL oh sorry…i mean budget.
tikyo
james,
i agree with you and i dont agree with quezon…it was a self fulfilling prophecy and now its happening. sometimes, patriotism and nationalism sucks in your own country
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