Mensahe sa Ika-7 Kongreso ng Migrante International
Ni Prop. Jose Maria Sison
Tagapangulo, International League of Peoples’ Struggle
Disyembre 16, 2014
Ang internasyonal na pamunuan at lahat ng kasaping-organisasyon ng International League of Peoples’ Struggle ay nagpapaabot ng taos pusong pagbati at militanteng pakikiisa sa Migrante International sa ika-7 Kongreso nito. Humahanga kami sa inyong mga tagumpay at hinahangad naming umani pa kayo ng ibayong tagumpay batay sa inyong kasalukuyang lakas at sa inyong paglalagom at pagbabalak sa kongresong ito.
Napakahalaga at napapanahon ang tema ng inyong kongreso: Labanan ang Pangamgalakal at Pangaalipin sa Pilipino sa Ibayong Dagat at sa kanilang Pamilya! Isanib ang Lumalakas na Kilusang Migranteng Pilipino sa Daluyong ng Mamamayan para sa Tunay na Pagbabago!”
Karapat-dapat na magpursigi ang Migrante International sa pagpupukaw, pag-oorganisa at pagpapakilos ng mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino upang labanan ang pang-aapi at pagsasamantala sa kanila at ipagtanggol at isulong ang kanilang mga karapatan at kapakanan at upang itaguyod ang tunay na pagbabago sa Pilipinas at pag-unlad nang sa gayon magkatrabaho sila sa sariling bayan imbes na umalis sa bayan at mapahiwalay sa pamilya.
Dahil sa kawalan ng pag-unlad ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng tunay na reporma sa lupa at pambansang industryalisasyon, sapilitang nagtratrabaho ang milyun-milyong kababayan natin sa ibang bansa. Patakaran ng rehimeng Aquino na pasidhiin at pabilisin ang pangangalakal at pang-aalipin sa Pilipino sa ibayong dagat. Patunay ito ng paglubha ng disempleo at pagbagsak ng kita sa bansa.
Ipinagmamalaki ng rehimen ang lumalaking foreign exchange remittance ng mga migranteng manggagawa. Umaabot na ito sa USD 28 billion at mga 8.7 porsyento ng Gross National Product (GNP). Mas malaki pa kaysa bahagi ng tradisyonal na iniluluwas na produktong agrikultural. Sa pangkalahatan, pangsustento ito sa mga pamilya ng mga migranteng manggagawa ang foreign exchange remittances nila.
Matapos na maipalit sa peso, ang kitang foreign exchange ng mga migrante ay pinakikinabangan ng mga bangko, malaking komprador at korap na opisyal na may mga foreign exchange accounts. Hindi ito ginagamit para sa pagpapaunlad ng ekonomiya kundi para sa pagpapanatili ng sistema ng pagkonsumo na dependiyente sa pag-aangkat ng yaring kalakal, pangungutang at panlulustay at panluluho..
Lantarang nagsisinungaling ang rehimen sa pagsasabi na mabilis ang paglaki ng ekonomiya at mayroon nang “reverse migration” o malakihang pagbabalik ng mga migranteng manggagawa. Ang paglaki naman ng GNP sa ilang taon ay dahil sa tinaguriang “hot money” o portfolio investments na pumapasok sa stock market, bond market at money market at hindi lumilikha ng mga empresa at empleyo kundi kumikita lamang ng tubo sa espekulasyon at madaling umaalis, tulad ng nangyayari na ngayon.
Malaki ang hinuhuthot ng gobyernong reaksyonaryo mula sa mga migranteng manggagawa. Sa pamamagitan ng Administrative Order 31, pinahigpit at pinataas ng rehimeng Aquino ang mga singil sa ilalim ng OWWA, Pag-ibig, Philhealth,
Department of Foreign Affairs, airport at iba pang ahensiya. Ngunit wala o labis na limitado ang mga serbisyo at benepisyo na naibibigay ng gobyerno sa mga kaso ng aksidente, pagkakasakit at pagkamatay at iba pang panganib sa panahong may kontrata o wala nang kontrata ang migranteng manggagawa.
Walang ibinibigay ang gobyerno na proteksyon at pangangalaga sa mga karapatan at kapakanan ng mga migranteng manggagawa. Bale wala sa rehimeng Aquino ang demanda na pagsabihan ang mga gobyernong tumatanggap sa mga migranteng mangggawa na irespeto ang mga karapatan nila. Hindi ipinapatupad ng rehime and Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act (RA 10022,
amended RA 8042), Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 9208) and the Overseas Absentee Voting Act (RA 9189).
Wala o salat ang tulong sa mga kaso ng karahasan, panggagahasa at pagpaslang sa mga migranteng manggagawa, sa paglabag ng mga kontrata at arbitraryong pagpapatalsik at sa mga malakihang paglikas dahil sa gera, gulo, paghihigpit o kalamidad. Sa normal or abnormal na pagtatapos ng mga kontrata sa trabaho, walang maliwanag na komprehensibong plano sa reintegrasyon ng mga balikbayan.
Ang bisa ng mga dati ninyong pagsisikap sa pag-organisa sa mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino at mga pamilya nila sa Pilipinas ay nakikita sa pagkakaroon ninyo ng 30 chapter sa labas ng bansa at 21 sa loob ng Pilipinas. Umaasa kami na batay sa mga pag-uulat ng mga global coordinator at mga chapter delegation at talakayan ng kongreso maitatakda ninyo ang mga tungkulin at pamamaraan para maiangat sa bago at mas mataas ng antas ang inyong gawain at pakikibaka.
Malaki ang potensyal ng Migrante International sa gawain, pakikibaka at ibayong tagumpay dahil nasa ibayong dagat para magtrabaho ang mga 12 hanggang 15 porsyento (12 hanggang 15 milyon kung isama ang walang dokumento) ng populasyon ng Pilipinas o hindi bababa sa 24 por syento ng labor force na mga 62 milyon. Tantiyang 30 hanggang 40 porsyento ng mga Pilipino ang dependyente sa kita ng mga migranteng manggagawa.
Karamihan sa mga migranteng manggagawa ay kasambahay o tagalinis ng mga bahay at opisina, staff sa mga hotel at restaurant, health workers sa mga ospital, mga caregiver, skilled at unskilled workers sa mga pabrika, construction at engineering projects at crew ng mga barko. Galing sila sa ibat ibang dako ng Pilipinas.
Ang mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino ay nasa higit na 200 bansa at teritoryo sa lahat ng kontinente (Asia, Australia, North America, South America, Africa at Europe). Pinakakonsentrado sila sa United States (3.5 milyon); sa Saudi Arabia (1.8 milyon ); at Canada (639,686). Konsentrado rin sila sa United Arab Emirates, Australia, Qatar, Malaysia, Japan, United Kingdom, Hong Kong at Singapore.
Kapag mabisang masaklaw ninyo ang mga konsentrasyon ng migranteng manggagawa, magkakaroon kayo ng lakas at kasanayan para abutin ang nasa iba pang bansa. Mas madaling maugnayan din ninyo ang mga migranteng manggagawa sa mga barko kung sa mga mayor na daungan makakapagtayo kayo ng mga pwesto na kombinasyon ng opisina, tindahan at tambayan. Mainam din kung sa Pilipinas may organisasyon ng mga pamilya ng mga migranteng manggagawa at kung may lugar ugnayan o tambayan na pinupuntahan ng mga migrante bago umalis o sa pagbalik.
Mataas ang pagtingin namin sa Migrante International at itinuturing naming isa ito sa mga mayor na kasaping-organisasyon ng ILPS. Malaki ang utang na loob ng ILPS sa Migrante International sa tulong nito na maging global ang saklaw ng ILPS at sa pagpaparami ng manggagawa sa batayan ng ILPS . Mapagpasya rin ang inyong organisasyon sa komisyon ng ILPS na may kinalaman sa mga migranteng manggagawa ng ibat ibang di-maunlad na bansa at sa pagbubuo ng International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees.
Mabuhay ang Migrante International!
Mabuhay ang mgamigranteng manggagawa!
Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino! LABANAN ANG PANGANGALAKAL AT PANG-AALIPIN, PALAKASIN ANG MIGRANTE INTERNATIONAL
Mensahe sa Ika-7 Kongreso ng Migrante International
Ni Prop. Jose Maria Sison
Tagapangulo, International League of Peoples’ Struggle
Disyembre 16, 2014
Ang internasyonal na pamunuan at lahat ng kasaping-organisasyon ng International League of Peoples’ Struggle ay nagpapaabot ng taos pusong pagbati at militanteng pakikiisa sa Migrante International sa ika-7 Kongreso nito. Humahanga kami sa inyong mga tagumpay at hinahangad naming umani pa kayo ng ibayong tagumpay batay sa inyong kasalukuyang lakas at sa inyong paglalagom at pagbabalak sa kongresong ito.
Napakahalaga at napapanahon ang tema ng inyong kongreso: Labanan ang Pangamgalakal at Pangaalipin sa Pilipino sa Ibayong Dagat at sa kanilang Pamilya! Isanib ang Lumalakas na Kilusang Migranteng Pilipino sa Daluyong ng Mamamayan para sa Tunay na Pagbabago!”
Karapat-dapat na magpursigi ang Migrante International sa pagpupukaw, pag-oorganisa at pagpapakilos ng mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino upang labanan ang pang-aapi at pagsasamantala sa kanila at ipagtanggol at isulong ang kanilang mga karapatan at kapakanan at upang itaguyod ang tunay na pagbabago sa Pilipinas at pag-unlad nang sa gayon magkatrabaho sila sa sariling bayan imbes na umalis sa bayan at mapahiwalay sa pamilya.
Dahil sa kawalan ng pag-unlad ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng tunay na reporma sa lupa at pambansang industryalisasyon, sapilitang nagtratrabaho ang milyun-milyong kababayan natin sa ibang bansa. Patakaran ng rehimeng Aquino na pasidhiin at pabilisin ang pangangalakal at pang-aalipin sa Pilipino sa ibayong dagat. Patunay ito ng paglubha ng disempleo at pagbagsak ng kita sa bansa.
Ipinagmamalaki ng rehimen ang lumalaking foreign exchange remittance ng mga migranteng manggagawa. Umaabot na ito sa USD 28 billion at mga 8.7 porsyento ng Gross National Product (GNP). Mas malaki pa kaysa bahagi ng tradisyonal na iniluluwas na produktong agrikultural. Sa pangkalahatan, pangsustento ito sa mga pamilya ng mga migranteng manggagawa ang foreign exchange remittances nila.
Matapos na maipalit sa peso, ang kitang foreign exchange ng mga migrante ay pinakikinabangan ng mga bangko, malaking komprador at korap na opisyal na may mga foreign exchange accounts. Hindi ito ginagamit para sa pagpapaunlad ng ekonomiya kundi para sa pagpapanatili ng sistema ng pagkonsumo na dependiyente sa pag-aangkat ng yaring kalakal, pangungutang at panlulustay at panluluho..
Lantarang nagsisinungaling ang rehimen sa pagsasabi na mabilis ang paglaki ng ekonomiya at mayroon nang “reverse migration” o malakihang pagbabalik ng mga migranteng manggagawa. Ang paglaki naman ng GNP sa ilang taon ay dahil sa tinaguriang “hot money” o portfolio investments na pumapasok sa stock market, bond market at money market at hindi lumilikha ng mga empresa at empleyo kundi kumikita lamang ng tubo sa espekulasyon at madaling umaalis, tulad ng nangyayari na ngayon.
Malaki ang hinuhuthot ng gobyernong reaksyonaryo mula sa mga migranteng manggagawa. Sa pamamagitan ng Administrative Order 31, pinahigpit at pinataas ng rehimeng Aquino ang mga singil sa ilalim ng OWWA, Pag-ibig, Philhealth,
Department of Foreign Affairs, airport at iba pang ahensiya. Ngunit wala o labis na limitado ang mga serbisyo at benepisyo na naibibigay ng gobyerno sa mga kaso ng aksidente, pagkakasakit at pagkamatay at iba pang panganib sa panahong may kontrata o wala nang kontrata ang migranteng manggagawa.
Walang ibinibigay ang gobyerno na proteksyon at pangangalaga sa mga karapatan at kapakanan ng mga migranteng manggagawa. Bale wala sa rehimeng Aquino ang demanda na pagsabihan ang mga gobyernong tumatanggap sa mga migranteng mangggawa na irespeto ang mga karapatan nila. Hindi ipinapatupad ng rehime and Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act (RA 10022,
amended RA 8042), Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 9208) and the Overseas Absentee Voting Act (RA 9189).
Wala o salat ang tulong sa mga kaso ng karahasan, panggagahasa at pagpaslang sa mga migranteng manggagawa, sa paglabag ng mga kontrata at arbitraryong pagpapatalsik at sa mga malakihang paglikas dahil sa gera, gulo, paghihigpit o kalamidad. Sa normal or abnormal na pagtatapos ng mga kontrata sa trabaho, walang maliwanag na komprehensibong plano sa reintegrasyon ng mga balikbayan.
Ang bisa ng mga dati ninyong pagsisikap sa pag-organisa sa mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino at mga pamilya nila sa Pilipinas ay nakikita sa pagkakaroon ninyo ng 30 chapter sa labas ng bansa at 21 sa loob ng Pilipinas. Umaasa kami na batay sa mga pag-uulat ng mga global coordinator at mga chapter delegation at talakayan ng kongreso maitatakda ninyo ang mga tungkulin at pamamaraan para maiangat sa bago at mas mataas ng antas ang inyong gawain at pakikibaka.
Malaki ang potensyal ng Migrante International sa gawain, pakikibaka at ibayong tagumpay dahil nasa ibayong dagat para magtrabaho ang mga 12 hanggang 15 porsyento (12 hanggang 15 milyon kung isama ang walang dokumento) ng populasyon ng Pilipinas o hindi bababa sa 24 por syento ng labor force na mga 62 milyon. Tantiyang 30 hanggang 40 porsyento ng mga Pilipino ang dependyente sa kita ng mga migranteng manggagawa.
Karamihan sa mga migranteng manggagawa ay kasambahay o tagalinis ng mga bahay at opisina, staff sa mga hotel at restaurant, health workers sa mga ospital, mga caregiver, skilled at unskilled workers sa mga pabrika, construction at engineering projects at crew ng mga barko. Galing sila sa ibat ibang dako ng Pilipinas.
Ang mga migranteng manggagawang Pilipino ay nasa higit na 200 bansa at teritoryo sa lahat ng kontinente (Asia, Australia, North America, South America, Africa at Europe). Pinakakonsentrado sila sa United States (3.5 milyon); sa Saudi Arabia (1.8 milyon ); at Canada (639,686). Konsentrado rin sila sa United Arab Emirates, Australia, Qatar, Malaysia, Japan, United Kingdom, Hong Kong at Singapore.
Kapag mabisang masaklaw ninyo ang mga konsentrasyon ng migranteng manggagawa, magkakaroon kayo ng lakas at kasanayan para abutin ang nasa iba pang bansa. Mas madaling maugnayan din ninyo ang mga migranteng manggagawa sa mga barko kung sa mga mayor na daungan makakapagtayo kayo ng mga pwesto na kombinasyon ng opisina, tindahan at tambayan. Mainam din kung sa Pilipinas may organisasyon ng mga pamilya ng mga migranteng manggagawa at kung may lugar ugnayan o tambayan na pinupuntahan ng mga migrante bago umalis o sa pagbalik.
Mataas ang pagtingin namin sa Migrante International at itinuturing naming isa ito sa mga mayor na kasaping-organisasyon ng ILPS. Malaki ang utang na loob ng ILPS sa Migrante International sa tulong nito na maging global ang saklaw ng ILPS at sa pagpaparami ng manggagawa sa batayan ng ILPS . Mapagpasya rin ang inyong organisasyon sa komisyon ng ILPS na may kinalaman sa mga migranteng manggagawa ng ibat ibang di-maunlad na bansa at sa pagbubuo ng International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees.
Mabuhay ang Migrante International!
Mabuhay ang mgamigranteng manggagawa!
Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino! Haiyan’s first anniversary
One Year of Anguish, Desperation and Abandonment…What does the future hold for Haiyan’s Survivors?
It has been a year ago, on 08 November 2013, since Haiyan struck Eastern Visayas, It was the strongest typhoon on record to ever hit the Philippines.
In the city of Tacloban, almost nothing was left, only destroyed establishments and livelihood, wrecked houses and vehicles, and lifeless bodies, an estimate of 10,000 dead. .
Survivors had to contend with cold and hunger — there was no food, no clean water. Facilities and medicines for the injured was so scarce that a lot more died even after the typhoon. “The Aquino government was very slow to respond, and the survivors were neglected and abandoned!” said by Sister Stella Matutina OSB of RMP and SAMIN, during a human rights forum last May in Rome.
Foreign aid for the Haiyan victims came from international communities, the British public alone gave £25 Million. Were these financial aid really distributed to the rightful recipients?
Philippine Congress has passed a P14.6 B (US$324 Million) supplemental budget for the survivors and the Aquino government has received a pledge of P24.9 B (US$553Million). Where are these funds now?
After one year of promised funds and new homes, the Yolanda survivors have received practically nothing from the Aquino government. Some may be fortunate to rebuild their homes and livelihood, but a great majority are still living in tents and sub-standard temporary shelters. They have no electricity, no sanitation facilities, no running water, and no hope of receiving aid from the Aquino government.
The Yolanda victims needed help a year ago and they still need help and our solidarity now!
On Sunday, November 9, 2014, in Rome, there will be a Tribute for Yolanda victims during the Cultural Night with Inter-ethnic group and Italian friends. This event is organized by the Metropolitan Council (Consiglio Metropolitano), in collaboration with other migrant groups, UMANGAT-Migrante and ICHRP Rome.
Press Statement
November 9, 2014
Buboy Salle
Spokesperson, ICHRP Rome
Cel: +39 329 3289652
Mapping the European Union’s Massive Crackdown on Immigrants
This month saw the largest single-operation crackdown on undocumented immigrants in European Union history. Dubbed “Mos Maiorum” (a Latin phrase referring to the “ancestral custom” of the Roman Empire), the initiative, which ran from October 13 to October 26, saw EU member states join forces to clamp down on illegal immigration and the organized criminal syndicates that facilitate it.
Operations of this kind happen twice a year and are growing in size as the number of migrants in Europe increases. But this was the first time people knew it was going to happen in advance, thanks to some documents from the European Council published by the Statewatch website in July. The documents stated that border guards were to reprimand immigrants and record information relating to ethnicity in a bid to better understand the flow of immigrants into and across Europe—and in order to eventually plug up that flow.
The publication of the documents gave migrant solidarity activists time to develop a tool that enabled people to track the goings-on of law enforcement as they happened. Called Map Mos Maiorum!, the live map, which was created by a group associated with the Berlin-based anti-racism collective Nadir, let people see pictures, read testimonies, and receive updates when Mos Maiorum activity was reported. If the reports are anything to go by, this activity mostly involved cops hassling people getting on public transport to produce their IDs and arresting them if they failed to come up with the goods. As you can imagine, in many cases the police were accused of using racial profiling in the process.
“We wanted to make this visible to people,” explained Alex, a representative from Nadir. “It would be great if we could reach the immigrants themselves with this information, as a kind of warning, but for many reasons this is not possible at the moment. Instead, we wanted those people whose countries were investing in this initiative to know what was going on.”
The operation was started by the Italian Presidency of the EU Council and the Italian Ministry of the Interior, in association with Frontex, the EU agency for border security. Frontex has stressed that it merely served an advisory role in the operation. Nevertheless, its involvement has raised eyebrows; the agency has faced criticism because there’s a perception that it cares more about border enforcement than tackling human trafficking and upholding human rights. Its rescue work is often regarded as being incidental to giving vulnerable migrants a hard time.
Take Frontex’s Operation Archimedes, for example. Carried out in September by Europol with the cooperation of 34 EU member states, its aim as outlined by the authorities was to infiltrate and eradicate organized crime. Yet of the 1,150 arrests made, only 90 were related tohuman trafficking, with the vast majority being dealt to those guilty of and facilitating illegal immigration. This has given rise to the belief that the initiative was in fact an excuse to increase border security, and gather information relating to immigration routes, under the guise of a pan-European anti-trafficking and crime initiative. It is predicted that the number of migrants affected by Mos Maiorum will be at least double that of Archimedes, which only lasted one week.
Alex admitted that the Mos Maiorum map wasn’t complete. “What is shown on the map is still only a small part of the whole picture, because we do not receive reports of all of the controls,” he said. “We don’t have good connections in Eastern Europe, for instance. Language barriers are a problem, and we do not have connections to activist movements in every country.”
Nevertheless, there has been quite a lot of international cooperation, leading to the operation being healthily documented. “People and organizations from all over Europe are helping us,” he said. “There is a very active group in Sweden and many in Italy and also France. These groups documented these controls and regularly contributed to the map. But by far the most common report has been from anonymous individuals. It’s a crowdfunded project, and we receive donations from all over Europe.” In addition, protests against Mos Maiorum were coordinated in Germany, Sweden, and Brussels.
Italy, which kicked off the initiative, bears the brunt of immigration from Tunisia and Libya, with migrants crossing the Mediterranean, where they are commonly held on the island of Lampedusa, whose coasts have witnessed a series of tragedies, most infamously the drowning of 300 Eritrean immigrants in October last year. Frontex has largely failed to curtail this. Fortress Europe is reinforcing its balustrades to an ever-growing number of displaced people in a seemingly unwinnable struggle.
As the number of migrants grows, it seems that the EU is toughening its stance on immigration. The European Commission is already developing an electronic entry/exit system to prevent immigrants from overstaying their visas. Several member states are pushing for this to include the gathering of fingerprints and medical details from non-European passport holders. These details could then be shared with law enforcement agencies. The mass retention of personal data has been criticized by the European Court of Justice, but the Italian government thinks it has already found a way around their legal objections. Mos Maiorum might be the biggest initiative in the EU’s ongoing pushback against undocumented immigrants, but it seems that it could be only a taste of what’s to come.# (photo from website)
http://www.vice.com/read/the-eu-held-its-biggest-ever-anti-immigrant-crackdown-933
By Nathalie Olah
Oct 28 2014
The publication of the documents gave migrant solidarity activists time to develop a tool that enabled people to track the goings-on of law enforcement as they happened. Called Map Mos Maiorum!, the live map, which was created by a group associated with the Berlin-based anti-racism collective Nadir, let people see pictures, read testimonies, and receive updates when Mos Maiorum activity was reported. If the reports are anything to go by, this activity mostly involved cops hassling people getting on public transport to produce their IDs and arresting them if they failed to come up with the goods. As you can imagine, in many cases the police were accused of using racial profiling in the process.
“We wanted to make this visible to people,” explained Alex, a representative from Nadir. “It would be great if we could reach the immigrants themselves with this information, as a kind of warning, but for many reasons this is not possible at the moment. Instead, we wanted those people whose countries were investing in this initiative to know what was going on.”
The operation was started by the Italian Presidency of the EU Council and the Italian Ministry of the Interior, in association with Frontex, the EU agency for border security. Frontex has stressed that it merely served an advisory role in the operation. Nevertheless, its involvement has raised eyebrows; the agency has faced criticism because there’s a perception that it cares more about border enforcement than tackling human trafficking and upholding human rights. Its rescue work is often regarded as being incidental to giving vulnerable migrants a hard time.
Take Frontex’s Operation Archimedes, for example. Carried out in September by Europol with the cooperation of 34 EU member states, its aim as outlined by the authorities was to infiltrate and eradicate organized crime. Yet of the 1,150 arrests made, only 90 were related tohuman trafficking, with the vast majority being dealt to those guilty of and facilitating illegal immigration. This has given rise to the belief that the initiative was in fact an excuse to increase border security, and gather information relating to immigration routes, under the guise of a pan-European anti-trafficking and crime initiative. It is predicted that the number of migrants affected by Mos Maiorum will be at least double that of Archimedes, which only lasted one week.
Alex admitted that the Mos Maiorum map wasn’t complete. “What is shown on the map is still only a small part of the whole picture, because we do not receive reports of all of the controls,” he said. “We don’t have good connections in Eastern Europe, for instance. Language barriers are a problem, and we do not have connections to activist movements in every country.”
Nevertheless, there has been quite a lot of international cooperation, leading to the operation being healthily documented. “People and organizations from all over Europe are helping us,” he said. “There is a very active group in Sweden and many in Italy and also France. These groups documented these controls and regularly contributed to the map. But by far the most common report has been from anonymous individuals. It’s a crowdfunded project, and we receive donations from all over Europe.” In addition, protests against Mos Maiorum were coordinated in Germany, Sweden, and Brussels.
Italy, which kicked off the initiative, bears the brunt of immigration from Tunisia and Libya, with migrants crossing the Mediterranean, where they are commonly held on the island of Lampedusa, whose coasts have witnessed a series of tragedies, most infamously the drowning of 300 Eritrean immigrants in October last year. Frontex has largely failed to curtail this. Fortress Europe is reinforcing its balustrades to an ever-growing number of displaced people in a seemingly unwinnable struggle.
As the number of migrants grows, it seems that the EU is toughening its stance on immigration. The European Commission is already developing an electronic entry/exit system to prevent immigrants from overstaying their visas. Several member states are pushing for this to include the gathering of fingerprints and medical details from non-European passport holders. These details could then be shared with law enforcement agencies. The mass retention of personal data has been criticized by the European Court of Justice, but the Italian government thinks it has already found a way around their legal objections. Mos Maiorum might be the biggest initiative in the EU’s ongoing pushback against undocumented immigrants, but it seems that it could be only a taste of what’s to come.# (photo from website)
http://www.vice.com/read/the-eu-held-its-biggest-ever-anti-immigrant-crackdown-933
By Nathalie Olah
Oct 28 2014 We condemn EU’s anti-migrant ” Mos Maiorum ” – ILPS
ILPS-Phils Statement
23 October 2014
The ILPS-Philippines joins migrant Filipinos in condemning before the European Union Office in the Philippines the on-going police operations launched by 26 European countries to detect, detain and deport what they brand as “irregular migrants”.
This herding cracked by the whip of the incumbent Italian presidency of the Council of the EU is particularly vile. It coined the operations as “Mos Maiorum” (ancestral custom, way of the elders or social mores of ancient Rome). It harks back to Imperial Rome whose “legal citizens” are only those ruling inside the city walls and living by the sweat of slaves. All others are “barbarians” and deserve to be expelled or conquered by the sword, this time by the Carabinieri and 20,000 troops.
The current immigration problem in Europe comes not from discrimination alone but from the crisis itself of modern imperialism. The most recent influx of European immigrants came from the implosion of the Soviet Union and the Balkanization of Eastern Europe. The current surge of immigrants into Europe, and more particularly Italy, comes mainly from the conflict areas such as Syria and Eritrea – countries whose peoples have fallen prey to imperialist wars of intervention and aggression.
Migrants are not questions of security and criminality. They are a consequence of wars and conflicts, especially in the Middle East and Africa. They grow with the inequalities and underdevelopment under imperialist rule from Latin America to Asia.
According to the United Nations, there are 51 million refugees. In 2013 alone, there were 17 million people fleeing. “Fortress Europe” has not stemmed this stream of human beings even with costly walls.
About two billion Euros were invested in the buffer zone around EU. Frontex received in 2013 as much as 85 million Euros. Europe launched Eurosur, in charge of the European border control, which will receive during the next six years approximately 250 million Euros.
According to research, the amount of cameras and kilometers of fences on the European borders is an over-kill. Tens of thousands of border patrols were hired to be based at the borders, from Bulgaria to Spain. In countries as the UK, Hungary and Austria, refugees are locked up in jails. In Greece, Malta, Poland and Bulgaria, even non-accompanied minor asylum-seekers are locked up.
To solve the “illegal” migrant problem with detect-detain-deport solutions will only repeat and compound the problem. The migrant problem, from outside Europe, and from within Europe itself, must be approached with full respect for refugee and migrants rights.
When Jean-Claude Juncker won the backing of the European Parliament to become the new head of the EU Commission, he promised a complete restructuring of the financial supervision by the “Troika” – the EU, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank. This is a step in the right direction. However, this should not be for their own “democracy” but for more democracy by the direct actions of migrants and the peoples of host nations in Europe.
Migrante International condemns criminalization of undocumented migrants in EU-wide crackdown
October 20, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reference: Sarah Katrina Maramag, Campaign Coordinator, 0921-7417469
Global alliance of overseas Filipinos Migrante International condemns in strongest terms the ongoing crackdowns resulting in the criminalization of undocumented migrants and refugees being implemented by the European Union.
The EU-wide crackdown called “MOS MAIORUM” has launched massive police operations to hunt down undocumented or irregular migrants and refugees in the region. Operations have started last October 13 and is set to end on October 26. MOS MAIORUM has been approved by the Council of the European Union last July 10, 2014 and is being implemented under Italy’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Overseas Filipino workers and Filipino migrants in Europe have expressed grave concern as more than 20,000 police officers have been deployed in massive operations ranging from increasing checks in airports, stations, trains, main roads and highways to house raids. The main objective of the operations is to actively hunt down undocumented migrants and arrest as many as possible within the time frame of its implementation.
“We call on the European Union to call for a stop this inhumane operation. Under the guise of going after crime and trafficking syndicates, MOS MAIORUM is giving license to EU authorities and police to indiscriminately arrest and violate the rights of irregular migrants, and promote xenophobia and racial discrimination,” said Garry Martinez, Migrante International chairperson.
Martinez said that MOS MAIORUM is in direct violation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. These conventions do not discriminate against undocumented and irregular migrant workers, he said.
“Being undocumented is never reason to be stripped of one’s fundamental human rights. Undocumented migrants and refugees, who inevitably provide solutions to labor shortages or the clamor for cheap labor in host countries, especially in times of economic crisis, should not be marginalized and exploited. They are already less able to assert their claims and are more vulnerable to abuses. MOS MAIORUM will only make them more susceptible to grave abuses and human rights violations.”
Martinez said that while they fully support moves to prevent human trafficking, Migrante believes that MOS MAIORUM will not solve but rather further exacerbate the problem. Instead of arresting irregular migrants and treating them as criminals, their status should be rectified because it makes them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by crime syndicates.
Further, MOS MAIORUM is being implemented at a time when health epidemics, civil wars and conflicts in the Middle East-North Africa region and elsewhere in the world continue. Millions of people are on the run because of these. Such a situation makes it a tool for crime and trafficking syndicates to intensify their activities. Constricting borders and implementing stringent immigration policies will not only cost lives but will also worsen trafficking in persons in the region, Martinez said.
Migrante International supports the international campaign for the de-criminalization and legalization of undocumented migrants and refugees.
According to December 2011 data of the Department of Foreign Affairs, there is an estimated 746,701 Filipinos in Europe, 138,088 are undocumented. ###
Website: http://migranteinternational.org
Office Address: #45 Cambridge St, Cubao, Quezon City
Telefax: 9114910 Stop the criminalization of undocumented migrants! Stop the “Mos Maiorum!” No to creeping fascization in Europe!
We, the undersigned organizations, view with grave concern the plan of the Council of the European Union to launch a Joint Police Operation called Operation “Mos Maiorum” in the EU countries, from October 13-26, 2014.
We are concerned that in the guise of going after organized crime syndicates involved in the traffic of drugs and humans, the operation is used to indiscriminately round up irregular migrants who are merely doing socially necessary work that benefit the countries in Europe. Their irregular status is not of their own fault but the result of erroneous policies stemming from xenophobia and narrow nationalism instigated by extreme right-wing and neo-fascist political parties. Instead of deporting them and treating them as criminals, their irregular status should in fact be immediately rectified because it makes them vulnerable to abuse.
Since 9/11, a climate of fear and intolerance has been created oftentimes encouraged by governments to justify the enactment of draconian laws and measures and make them acceptable to their citizens. The EU Return Directive is one such measure that rides on this climate of fear and intolerance, treats irregular migrants as criminals and leads to the setting up of fortress Europe.
This EU Return Directive has set a dangerous tone that has given rise to a myriad of stringent measures resorted to by EU states that run counter to the letter and spirit of universally recognized conventions on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We, organizations of migrants and advocates for migrants rights, see a dangerous trend of the EU countries turning into police states brandishing absolute powers to search, question, secure personal details, arrest, detain and deport persons without due process.
There are enough effective means available to the states and their agencies to fight against criminal syndicates. Governments must resort to those means that effectively zero in on the target and catches the real criminals. They should not resort to shotgun methods that victimize innocent people. The planned Joint Police Operation “Mos Maiorum” is one such shotgun method.
We remind governments to abide by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, among others.
We call on all concerned citizens, individuals, organizations and institutions to join hands in opposing this measure and for calling for an immediate stop to this dangerous police action against migrants. We call on progressive politicians and political parties to throw their weight behind our call. We call on human rights groups, migrant advocates, anti-racist and anti-fascist organizations to oppose this Operation “Mos Maiorum” and defend the rights of migrants against oppressive laws and measures!
1 October 2014
Signatories:
(International)
*THE REVEREND CANON BARRY NAYLOR
Urban Canon and Parish Priest
Chaplain to Trinity Hospital
Chairperson, Global Council -International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
Honorary Chairperson of the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – United Kingdom (CHRP-UK)
(Europewide)
*International Migrants Alliance-Europe Chapter
*MIGRANTE Europe
(Asia-Pacific)
*Asia-Pacific Mission for Migrants-Hong Kong
(The Netherlands)
*Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands
*Migrante-Netherlands (Amsterdam)
*Migrante-Netherlands (Den Haag)
*SAMAKA
*Pinay sa Holland
*Stichting LINANGAN (Cultural Network)
*Filipino Parish Netherlands
(United Kingdom)
*SHEILA TILAN
Chair, Kanlungan Filipino Consortium-United Kingdom
*PHOEBE DIMACALI
Chair, Filipino Domestic Workers Association-United Kingdom
(Italy)
*LUZ MIRIAM JARAMILLO
Comitato Immigrati In Italia C.I.I.
Chair, International Migrants Alliance-Europe
Member, International Coordinating Body-IMA
*Umangat-Migrante Rome
*ICHRP-Rome
*Sri Lankan Front for Liberation
*Belarmino Saguing
*Makabayang Atas ng Supremo Andress Bonifacio (MASA) – Rome
*Dr. Carlos Tobar, PRESIDENTE ASO. MISIL
*Martin Carruba, Movimento Democratico per un Mondo Senza Confini
(Belgium)
*Ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa Belgium
(Denmark)
*Migrante-Denmark
*Radio Pinoy 95.5 Fm./95.2 Hybrid Net,Copenhagen,Denmark
(Philippines)
*Migrante International
*MIGRANTE Party List-Philippines
(Austria)
MIGRANTE-Austria
(Greece)
*Greek Forum of Migrants
Since 9/11, a climate of fear and intolerance has been created oftentimes encouraged by governments to justify the enactment of draconian laws and measures and make them acceptable to their citizens. The EU Return Directive is one such measure that rides on this climate of fear and intolerance, treats irregular migrants as criminals and leads to the setting up of fortress Europe.
This EU Return Directive has set a dangerous tone that has given rise to a myriad of stringent measures resorted to by EU states that run counter to the letter and spirit of universally recognized conventions on human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We, organizations of migrants and advocates for migrants rights, see a dangerous trend of the EU countries turning into police states brandishing absolute powers to search, question, secure personal details, arrest, detain and deport persons without due process.
There are enough effective means available to the states and their agencies to fight against criminal syndicates. Governments must resort to those means that effectively zero in on the target and catches the real criminals. They should not resort to shotgun methods that victimize innocent people. The planned Joint Police Operation “Mos Maiorum” is one such shotgun method.
We remind governments to abide by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, among others.
We call on all concerned citizens, individuals, organizations and institutions to join hands in opposing this measure and for calling for an immediate stop to this dangerous police action against migrants. We call on progressive politicians and political parties to throw their weight behind our call. We call on human rights groups, migrant advocates, anti-racist and anti-fascist organizations to oppose this Operation “Mos Maiorum” and defend the rights of migrants against oppressive laws and measures!
1 October 2014
Signatories:
(International)
*THE REVEREND CANON BARRY NAYLOR
Urban Canon and Parish Priest
Chaplain to Trinity Hospital
Chairperson, Global Council -International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
Honorary Chairperson of the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – United Kingdom (CHRP-UK)
(Europewide)
*International Migrants Alliance-Europe Chapter
*MIGRANTE Europe
(Asia-Pacific)
*Asia-Pacific Mission for Migrants-Hong Kong
(The Netherlands)
*Filipino Refugees in the Netherlands
*Migrante-Netherlands (Amsterdam)
*Migrante-Netherlands (Den Haag)
*SAMAKA
*Pinay sa Holland
*Stichting LINANGAN (Cultural Network)
*Filipino Parish Netherlands
(United Kingdom)
*SHEILA TILAN
Chair, Kanlungan Filipino Consortium-United Kingdom
*PHOEBE DIMACALI
Chair, Filipino Domestic Workers Association-United Kingdom
(Italy)
*LUZ MIRIAM JARAMILLO
Comitato Immigrati In Italia C.I.I.
Chair, International Migrants Alliance-Europe
Member, International Coordinating Body-IMA
*Umangat-Migrante Rome
*ICHRP-Rome
*Sri Lankan Front for Liberation
*Belarmino Saguing
*Makabayang Atas ng Supremo Andress Bonifacio (MASA) – Rome
*Dr. Carlos Tobar, PRESIDENTE ASO. MISIL
*Martin Carruba, Movimento Democratico per un Mondo Senza Confini
(Belgium)
*Ugnayan ng mga Pilipino sa Belgium
(Denmark)
*Migrante-Denmark
*Radio Pinoy 95.5 Fm./95.2 Hybrid Net,Copenhagen,Denmark
(Philippines)
*Migrante International
*MIGRANTE Party List-Philippines
(Austria)
MIGRANTE-Austria
(Greece)
*Greek Forum of Migrants