Tag: gabriela

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Filipino Women Against Modern Day Slavery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 18, 2017
Reference: Irma Shauf-Bajar, GABRIELA USA National Chairperson, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

Filipino Women Against Modern Day Slavery

The article written by Alex Tizon regarding the story of Eudocia Pulido and her forced migration and exploitation as a modern day slave in the United States highlights the current conditions of Filipino women. Eudocia Pulido’s story cannot be understood outside of the context of the Philippine society and history rooted in U.S. imperialism and neoliberal economic policies that have caused the systemic suffering of many underpaid domestic helpers like Lola.

The Philippines is one of the largest labor exporters in the world with 6,000 Filipinos—60% women—leaving the country every single day to work, because of rampant poverty, joblessness, and landlessness. Lured to apply for positions that do not exist, promised legal status and wages, and instead becoming undocumented, drowning in debt, and isolated in a foreign country — thousands of OFWs end up working in virtual slavery. Recruiters and employment agencies take advantage of their workers, by charging exorbitant fees and loans and threatening their workers with deportation or physical violence to the workers and their families. Living in fear and with no place to go, many OFWs endure the discrimination, abuse, and exploitation in order to survive.

It is important that we do not whitewash the writer’s parents’ and family’s crimes of slavery, imprisonment, and trafficking. Alex Tizon’s account of Eudocia Pulido’s story does not exonerate him from his family’s complicity in the abuse and exploitation of another human being. And we also must recognize this particular experience is not an isolated one, and stems from the Philippines’ feudal patriarchal and imperialist structure. The commodification and exploitation of generations of Filipina women continues to be an inherent effect of the ever worsening conditions–conditions which will persist and generate many more Eudocia’s until comprehensive and fundamental socio-economic and political changes are made to address the root causes of the country’s poverty.

Members of GABRIELA USA continue to take action and call for an end to the exploitative system in the Philippines and denounce the Philippine government for its neglect of its own people within the country and lack of protection of OFWs abroad. In addition, we uplift the voices of Filipino migrant women to tell their own stories. GABRIELA USA seeks to empower migrant women to know and understand their rights, to fight back against oppression and exploitation, and to participate in the movement for national democracy in the Philippines. If you are moved by Lola’s story we encourage you to join a chapter of GABRIELA USA and join the fight against feudal-patriarchy and the systems of power that allow women like Lola to be forced into exploitation.

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Filipinas in the U.S. March on May Day for Protection and Dignity for Immigrants and Workers

For Immediate Release
May 2, 2017
Reference: Irma Shauf-Bajar, National Chairperson, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

On May 1, 2017, GABRIELA USA chapters in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New Jersey and New York City mobilized alongside thousands of immigrants and workers to demand safety, dignity and access to basic rights under an anti-immigrant and anti-worker Trump administration. In light of increasing criminalization of immigrants, through the implementation of Trump’s fascist policies of immigration bans and building border walls, GABRIELA USA insists on upholding humane legislation such as sanctuary laws for undocumented immigrants and protection for immigrants in detention and deportation proceedings. At the same time, the alliance of progressive Filipino women’s organizations also upholds the rights of workers in this country and globally–for a living wage, dignity and respect in the workplace, and access to decent jobs.

Filipinas, both immigrants and children of immigrants, marched side by side with other immigrant communities to underscore the significant contributions of immigrants to the U.S. economy today and historically. With placards, banners, and speeches about modern day colonialism and imperialism, members connect the violence of U.S. war and occupation abroad to the trends of migration to the U.S. Trump is calling for a $58 billion increase for the Defense Department dedicating half to military spending, while cutting his federal budget on housing, education, healthcare, women’s reproductive health, and organizations that provide support for domestic violence survivors. Trump and his administration is exposes themselves in not prioritizing low-income women of color, immigrant women workers, trans and gender nonconforming people and our children who will bear the brunt of the harm of these policies.

Filipinos make up one of the largest Asian American immigrant communities in the U.S.–they also make up a formidable number of migrant workers employed in essential industries like healthcare, domestic work, construction, and education. Filipino women are also victims of human trafficking in these industries. GABRIELA women demand and say no to war because women are the victims of crimes promoted by the U.S. wars abroad and at home including murder, rape, harassment and other sexual abuses, and human trafficking. GABRIELA USA has been at the forefront of demanding justice for Filipino immigrants who have been exploited without recourse from the U.S. and Philippine governments.


Representing Filipinos who are working in low-wage industries and also professional sectors, GABRIELA USA members marched for dignified and respectable working conditions. Nationally, members are waging and supporting campaigns on livable wages, wage theft, and an end to human trafficking and forced migration. GABRIELA USA calls our community, families, and our allies to RISE, RESIST, and UNITE: RISE against fascism, RESIST militarization, and UNITE for self-determination and liberation for all oppressed peoples. With the demand to protect and preserve the dignity of immigrants and workers, mass organizations remain committed to organizing in our communities and among the ranks of working women in order to advance the struggles of workers and all the oppressed. On May Day and everyday, GABRIELA USA stands with immigrant communities and workers whose labor, skills, and contributions advance the U.S. economy, allowing society to run and function daily.

 

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Happy International Working Women’s Day!

For Immediate Release
March 8, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA USA, chair@gabusa.org

Filipino Women in the U.S. Stand in Solidarity and Sisterhood with Women’s Struggles Across the World
GABRIELA-USA’s Statement on the Centennial of International Women’s Day

On March 8, 2011, over ten thousand women in the Philippines took to the streets, in what are the largest International Women’s Day actions organized by GABRIELA, the world-renowned Filipino women’s alliance.  The women demanded relief from the economic crisis in the form of price controls of basic goods, national wage hikes, immediate repatriation and protection for migrant women, comprehensive reproductive health services, education for all, and housing for poor families.  In addition, GABRIELA highlighted their unity with the rest of the Filipino people in calling for fundamental change and national liberation.

Filipino women across the US are participating in activities throughout the week of March 8 to commemorate International Working Women’s Day and expose the dire impacts of the long-term global economic crisis on the lives of Filipinas in the nation and around the world. Filipino women are taking to the streets and are engaging their communities to confront and expose the role of U.S. imperialism in the prolonged crisis of joblessness and increased attacks on women’s rights and livelihood.

In the Philippines, women face an economic crisis of epic proportions as the prices of basic commodities like sugar, rice, and gas continue to increase beyond affordability. Households suffer as utility rates skyrocket, leaving families no choice but to live without electricity or running water. On top of the increased prices of commodities, the Aquino administration also imposes an excessive 12% tax called the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT). With every increase, it is traditionally the women who must carry the burden of managing the household and its shrinking budget.

In the United States, Congress continues to balance the budget on the backs of women and children by proposing cuts to basic services like health care assistance to pregnant women, new mothers and children, education, and reproductive healthcare. Republicans are attempting to pass a budget that cuts nearly $60 billion in federal funding, a move that would do irreparable damage like slash 700,000 jobs through 2011 and strip all funding from Planned Parenthood, the largest women’s health provider in the nation.

As these attacks against women are being committed, both the Aquino and Obama administrations continue to paint a rosy picture that claims that the economic crisis is lifting and that the lives and welfare of Filipinas and other women are not in danger.

GABRIELA USA chapters are participating in activities throughout the nation such as a women’s day rally in Harlem, a mother’s march in Los Angeles, a domestic violence vigil in Seattle, and a forum on women’s issues in San Francisco, to expose the true nature and situation of Filipinas, as well as take action in commemoration of the historic militant women’s movement that continues today. The demands of Filipino women for protection against unfair price hikes and cuts against social services light a fire that fuels women to take to the streets and fight against anti-women and anti-people policies.

“The centennial of International Women’s Day is an important reminder and inspiration for us to continue to struggle for full women’s emancipation, especially as we are confronted with relentless attacks against women’s rights, and the erosion of social services that women and children need more than ever,” stated Raquel Redondiez, Chairwoman of GABRIELA-USA.

On this occasion, we honor the legacy of Gabriela Silang, and all of our grandmothers, sisters, daughters, and especially all the working women who have dared to organize and struggle in defense of their rights and for the advancement of future generations of women.
Join GABRIELA USA in standing in solidarity with our sisters and mothers worldwide struggling against U.S. imperialism’s attacks on our women’s basic rights, our families’ livelihood, and the public social safety net.

MABUHAY ANG KABABAIHAN!
Long Live International Women’s Day!

Photos by Tudla Productions and Luis Liwanag