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EDITORIAL
Regions Gear Up for Anti-Racism Conference
Combatting Racism Against Migrant Workers
Australian Donounce Their Racist Government
Affirmation Action in the New South Africa: The Politics of Representation, Law and Equity
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Kashmir - Drenched in Women's Tears
Ruth Ellis Continues to Fight Racism
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Editorial
Not Just a Matter of Color
"It's time to forget our differences and celebrate our commonalities," the slick Sydney Olympics ad continues to remind us until after the world's biggest sports and athletics event concluded several weeks ago. To the millions of people who watched the Olympics either live in Sydney or in the privacy of their living rooms in different parts of the globe, this was a message that warmed the heart. Meantime in Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald joyfully described the Olympics as "the Dreamtime figure and the young Australian spirit walking hand-in-hand into the future represents the continuation of the story of Australia into an era of reconciliation."
Are You Proud Being You?
A discussion on racism, prejudice, discrimination and Women
Opening up a discussion on the various aspects of racism and other forms of discrimination on ethnic, religious and linguistic grounds within any society poses several problems.
On the one hand, such a discussion challenges us to confront our own prejudices, and understand where they could be coming from. We also begin to see the connections between personal prejudices and social constructions of 'self' and the 'other' that generate aggression and hostility not only between individuals but also between communities.
On the other hand, this discussion pushes us to try and understand the consequences of racism and other forms of prejudice when they manifest themselves as ideologies (that in turn evolve into the basis of political formations). Our own feelings of attachment to country, language, religion and culture then come into conflict with the public, social and political expressions of this love; often, these are exclusionary and tainted by hatred of all those who do not 'belong' to our country, or speak our language, or worship our gods.
In May 2000, at the Isis office in Manila, we began a conversation about ourselves and our feelings about all the different expressions of identity and identity-based political formations that we were experiencing throughout Asia.
We wanted to become more aware of the issues at stake as we moved into different forms of involvement and activism around the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) which is due to be held in South Africa in 2001. At the same time, it was clear that achieving a more sophisticated understanding of these complex issues would help us in the work we do around women in conflict situations, who are often caught between their identities as individuals and as members of tribes and communities.
A critical area of the discussion on racism, discrimination and prejudice is about the specific ways in which women are affected by racism and other forms of prejudice based on difference. Making the whole process of the WCAR more gender sensitive and expanding the definition and analysis of racism to include all other forms of discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, descent and tribal origin, for example, can be a critical contribution that we can make to the debates and discussions around the WCAR.
Our conversation started off as a discussion about power, and about which groups had power in society.
We took the Philippines as an example, because most of us were from the country. Several spoke about the power of the Catholic church and the homogenising role that it has played in Philippine history. Did being a Catholic then give you some degree of power over those of other religious groups, who were in a very tiny minority? The answer was 'Yes.' A second category of people who were described as being powerful were the landlords, who also had political power and were in controlling positions in the national legislative bodies.
This led to a discussion on the links between political power and economic power, as well as to a discussion on classical Marxist analysis which categorised people on the basis of 'class.'
We spoke about how classifying people according to their economic status and their access to the means of production could at times cloud issues of race and identity. Discussing 'class' as a social category, we focused on how commonality of economic interest was assumed to be the primary factor in constituting a 'class' community. The fact that in many of our societies, it was people of one particular colour, one particular religion, language or ethnic group who had economic power was not considered an important feature in terms of a classical 'class' analysis. According to this framework, women were categorised according to the class to which their menfolk belonged and were not considered to have any independent political status. Thus, women who came from the bourgeoisie were considered to be a part of the bourgeoisie, whereas if they belonged to working class families, they were automatically assumed to be a part of the working class.
It has taken many years for traditional 'class' analysis to expand its understanding of the construction of social difference and of the processes of social stratification. Many feminists and other modern scholars must be credited with introducing the idea of cross-cutting factors such as race, ethnicity and gender into social analysis and developing the understanding that these factors play as critical a role in determining our positioning within society as our economic status.
What is most interesting in the modern discussion about racism and xenophobia is the way it leads us to unpack the category of 'privilege,' and understand that it is not only capital that confers social, economic and political power. This leads us on to a discussion about the role played by 'difference' in privileging certain social groups and categories over others, sharpening our understanding of racism and all other forms of discrimination based on difference. Questions of the social construction of difference and of the elimination of discrimination based on difference are also critical within the human rights framework, because 'equality' is a key principle in human rights.
Deepening our understanding of power and privilege in this way leads us to question 'democracy.'
The traditional model of democracy as most of us know it today is a 'majoritarian' one. According to this system, those who are more in number also wield more power, because every individual is entitled to one vote. Under this scheme, if you have 70 percent Catholics in the Philippines then automatically Catholics have more power. In Sri Lanka it is this system of governance that has led to the Sinhala majority dominating the political arena in the 50 years since the country became independent.
In the context of many uprisings by minority communities within majoritarian systems, it has become clear that this model of democracy, in which being more in number means having more access to political, economic and social power, has failed to create legislative structures that are appropriate to the societies they govern. A majoritarian system creates many institutions and structures that directly and indirectly discriminate against those who don't belong to the majority group.
Discrimination that is based on prejudice therefore creates a situation that confronts us with the challenge of accommodating diversities and differences in our structures of governance.
In the last years, throughout our region we have seen a whole range of experiments with forms of governance. Some countries have tried having two chambers in their legislative bodies; others speak of devolution, decentralisation of power, federalism. All kinds of solutions are being proposed to create a democratic system that is more representative and that does not privilege mere numbers.
Through this privileging of the majority, you see the emergence of the social and cultural basis of xenophobia, or mistrust and hatred of the 'other.' It also leads to an emphasis on assimilation and homogenisation, which could destroy many rich and diverse forms of tradition and cultural expression. The pressure to assimilate and to become like the majority so that you may reap the benefits of that society can also in its turn lead to extreme forms of nationalism and chauvinism, with stress being placed on affirming that one's own language, or religion, for example, is superior to that of the 'other.'
This is an interesting and disturbing development because being different, or more numerous, need not necessarily mean being superior. The question we should be asking then is HOW the articulation of difference is transformed from being a positive value-diversity to being a negative value-discrimination.
The history of racism and xenophobia in the modern period provides us with insights into how the concepts of discrimination and the right to equality were framed around the middle of the 20th century.
First, there were the issues of slavery and of discrimination against people from Africa, particularly in North America. Many international standards on human rights are based on the principles of anti-racism that were established during this time. Right up to the middle of the 20th century, when one mentioned the word racism, the immediate impression was of a black/white dichotomy. Xenophobia was equally easily defined as the fear of Europeans about 'slant-eyed' people.
World War II and the rise of Fascism in Europe saw the emergence of different myths of racial superiority and inferiority. The Nazi party propagated the myth of Aryan superiority, and conducted terrible biological experiments with women and children in their search for the perfect 'Aryan' person. Theories of 'eugenics' or tampering with the gene pool in a very primitive way in order to 'breed' or reproduce the perfect person were among the most abhorrent to emerge from that period. And yet these ideas were accepted as rational and scientific and actually propagated throughout the Western world. Prohibitions placed on certain categories of people from procreating were very much a part of this ideology. That is why radical women's groups are so opposed to new processes of 'genetic engineering,' and 'genetic modification' that are going on right now.
As we approach the 21st century, we can see the expansion of racialist attitudes to many different typologies. One of the most interesting is the racialist prejudice expressed by some 'White' Europeans against other 'White' Europeans which has come about as a consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the influx of many disadvantaged and poor persons from the former Soviet Union into Western Europe. The basis of discrimination has been transformed, from being one based on visible difference to one based on other differences. This has led to a serious rethinking of issues around racism and hatred of migrants because it is clearly no longer an issue of racial difference or visible difference, but a much more complex set of factors.
This idea of the 'other' as being rich, controlling the economy, controlling trade, is an age-old one when it comes to discrimination and prejudice. Throughout history, whether it is linked to prejudices against Jewish people in Germany, or against Tamils in Sri Lanka, or against Muslims in some parts of India, there is a certain way in which the economic status of a community becomes the basis for justifying their exclusion and marginalisation from mainstream society. And it is through a heightening of this process of exclusion and marginalisation that one can end up in a situation in which ethnic riots and 'cleansing' take place, in which the most brutal treatment is meted out in an indiscriminate manner to members of communities about whom prejudices have been built up. When there is prejudice and hatred then it sadly extends to all the members of a particular community, not only to those of that community who are rich or powerful.
This process of exclusion and marginalisation also leads to a 'coming together' of these excluded and marginalised groups, and to an affirmation of their collective identity. As they perceive their construction as the 'other,' as they become aware of the impact of prejudice and discrimination on their day-to-day lives, the process of identification can move one step forward and become a political expression.
Malaysia is an interesting example, because it is a society that has understood this process of ethnic identity formation in a particular way. As a response, in Malaysia you see a sanctioning of ethnic political parties: The Malays, the Chinese, the Tamils, all have their own political parties. In some other countries in Asia, it is an offense to create political parties that have a particular ethnic or religious affiliation. In such situations, the religious or ethnic groups create powerful political lobbies, and play an influential role without having a political formation as such. For example, in the Philippines, the Catholic church influences politics, so does the Muslim clergy, even though there are no ethnic or religion-based political parties as such. The emerging struggle for self-determination in the country's Muslim provinces is therefore posing a major challenge to existing structures of governance in the Philippines.
As some parts of the Muslim community in the south of the Philippines have taken up arms in support of their demand for a separate state, you can see the growth of prejudice and intolerance against that community. For example, in Manila, there are some slum areas like Quiapo where Muslims are concentrated. Many Muslims from the south of the Philippines have migrated there to escape from the tension of their villages. In the eyes of the other inhabitants of Manila, there is a connection between this migration and the increase of drugs and crime. This kind of stereotyping, of identifying the minority or 'different' community with all the social evils, is a common feature of prejudice and we can see it in every country and society.
A critical way in which we can confront the prejudices that are based on stereotypes is to look at facts and figures. Then it will become clear that only some Chinese in the Philippines are shop-keepers and that there are many poor Chinese who work as labourers and have no capital, let alone a shop, to speak of. If you look at the national economy, at the national capital base, then you will see that it is controlled by the mainstream community. You realise how much of what you are seeing in the stereotypes is in fact not true. If you look at the stake that our states have in the economy, if you look at the stake that the World Bank and the IMF have in our economies, the share that members of the minority communities have is really minimal. But if you look into the social and political impact of a certain part of a minority community being wealthy and gaining social and political power through their wealth, then many other factors of competitiveness and inclusion/exclusion come into play.
One must also consider the role played by our own sense of powerlessness, and impotence in this situation. My poverty, my inability to educate my children, to get a job, the inability of the system to deliver to me what should be my rights as a citizen, my powerlessness to influence the situation so that the state does deliver these benefits to me, lead to resentment which is fuelled by prejudice. In many of our societies, expressions of discrimination and hostility based on race, ethnicity, religion or any other 'difference' is a confusion of stereotypes, prejudice and resentment that has as much to do with our own under-privileged and powerless status as with the privileged status of the 'other.'
These factors play out even within the women's movement, even within groups that have a history of dealing with intolerance and discrimination. When it comes to the issue of power, and what constitutes the basis of power, then we 'slip' all the time. We ourselves are prejudiced, we use language that expresses prejudice, we use colours and symbols that typify prejudice, without sometimes even being aware of the fact that another person or group of persons may find it offensive. Franz Fanon, in his 'Black Face White Mask' for example, wrote about the ways in which this process of internalisation takes place. Although he wrote in a colonial situation, although his experience was in the French colonies of North Africa, much of what he was saying remains valid today.
In order to grapple with the issues of racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination, we need to take a closer and more intimate look at ourselves and our prejudices.
The process of internalisation is so insidious, and our prejudices are so much a part of who we are, that we have to make a conscious effort to insert ourselves into the discussion. A conversation about how racist and fundamentalist and prejudiced other people are can never lead to any fruitful discussion on the subject. What makes Fanon most interesting, and disturbing, is that he constantly challenges his readers about their prejudices and their sense of superiority. In all honesty, all of us know that we 'use' and manipulate features of ourselves that we know will bring us privileges: fair skin, belonging to a particular community or a group or religion, having a certain facility with language, or a certain level of education. We use it sometimes unconsciously, and sometimes consciously. It is only if we acknowledge that we do this, that we can discover how we may not do it.
At the moment, there is extensive research focused on understanding why, throughout human history, looking different, worshipping different gods, eating different foods, behaving differently, has led to some groups being treated badly.
This work is revealing that concepts of racism and xenophobia have changed through history, always with very specific historical, economic and political factors playing a role in initiating these changes. It is also looking not only at material factors such as the economy, political frameworks and social structures, but also at the ways in which the human mind constructs identity and proceeds to include certain categories and exclude others.
Our own experiences as Asians should give us many examples of racism and prejudice, beginning from race to colour, ethnicity, religion, origin and caste. The exclusion and the marginalisation that many of us experience when we travel give us a sense of community as 'Southern' people being discriminated against.This sense of community at times is strong enough to overcome the cultural, linguistic and religious differences that separate us within our own region, and permits us to stand together against the intolerance and prejudice we encounter in the world outside our home countries.
These experiences should make us more sensitive to situations of intolerance and prejudice in our own countries and societies. Sadly, this sometimes is not the case. But unless we begin to ask ourselves questions such as why do we behave differently towards others in our own country and our own community who are not like us, who worship different gods, who have darker complexions or who eat differently, we run the risk of losing the legitimacy and the space in which we can talk about other people's levels of intolerance.
Within the women's movement this is a really critical discussion. For example, in South Asia, there are many conflicts based on religious, ethnic, tribal and caste differences. In those kinds of situations, the prominent challenge for the women and people who work for the women's movement is how to create a friendly and safe space in which it will be possible to talk about tolerance in situations where intolerance and hatred for the other is such a broad-based and mainstream attitude.
Within this framework what is important to remember is that identities also have political agendas, just as much as nation states and nationalisms do.
Once we observe this, as women we become aware that almost all these political agenda are also built on an affirmation of a conservative position on women, a position that pushes them back into their homes, restricts their mobilities and places obstacles to their education and employment. The more militant an identity-based struggle is, the more conservative its position on women, and the more difficult the situation of women in those communities and societies.
On the one hand, in communities 'under siege,' women become symbolically valuable to the community. This is why in situations of 'ethnic cleansing,' the rape of women becomes a critical tool of war. Because of the belief that women are 'bearers of the honour' of their community, raping the women of the enemy becomes a way of dishonoring the community. Thus, women's protection needs to be assured. This can extend into a philosophy that valourises the home and domesticity and seeks to keep women confined to their homes.
On the other hand, as identity assumes a political form, women become a part of militant struggles for liberation and self-determination, as in Sri Lanka. They take up arms and challenge the traditional perception of women in many ways. Yet, as history has shown us so clearly, whether these challenges make any lasting impact on the society and on the culture, or whether once the battle is won or lost these women will retreat to their traditional roles, remains a very crucial issue.
The area of custom, tradition and culture is one that brings to the forefront the tensions and conflicts that women experience when caught up in identity-based politics.
One issue in this arena that has so far played out with a negative impact on women is that of land and inheritance rights for women. Many indigenous communities are matrilineal. Up to today, there are vestiges of that matrilineal character visible in traditions and socio-cultural structures. Within these communities women had a lot of power in the social and cultural arena; political and spiritual matters were regarded as the domain of the male. This led to women being excluded from owning land, which was a critical resource, and from decision-making power. Winning acceptance for the principle of equal rights of women to land and inheritance has been difficult because many indigenous groups feel it will create more splits and dissension within their communities. At moments when they feel vulnerable and under siege they feel it is better not to raise such issues which are potentially divisive.
In situations where a minority community is in some danger of being subsumed or discriminated against by the majority, then women are pushed to choose-and they often choose on the side of the community and decide not to raise 'difficult' issues about equality for women. In our attempts to work with women across cultures and communities, we face a big challenge of understanding these difficult choices and not becoming judgmental, not criticising the women for not being feminist enough.
As societies become more conservative, as communities become more inward-looking and intent on pre-serving their specific identity, as identity becomes the basis for political actions and formations, women become the symbols of the community, the bearers of its honour, the reproducers of the nation.
There are many visible manifestations of this. In the South Asian region, women are being pushed to wear clothes that affirm a specific ethnic or religious identity. Thus, more and more Muslim women are taking to the veil. Your whole body becomes a symbolic marker for your community; as people see you, they can slot you in, she is a Muslim, she is a Tamil, she comes from the highlands and so on. The need of communities under siege to propagate, to become numerically superior is a part of the political rhetoric of today that has an intense impact on the lives of women. In Israel, in India, and in many other places, women are exhorted not to use contraceptives, to have more babies, as a part of their duty to the community.
We should understand that the critical element is that of choices, whether women have the space and the environment in which they can exercise their right of choice. It is those moments and situations in which a woman tries to choose her dress, her career, her future, that the greatest conflicts with the family, community and society arise because she is claiming a space that they are unwilling to give her most of the time. All over the world, women get killed for such a simple thing: for saying I would like to do this. This is one of the most difficult issues in talking about communities under siege because you understand their need to affirm their identity as a community and yet you rebel against the injustices that women within that community suffer.
The reluctance to acknowledge women as equal, independent, autonomous and 'thinking' persons who can and should exercise choice regarding their lives is historical. It is linked to traditional beliefs that women are immature and incapable of rationality. The fear of female sexuality is a key element that underlies society's desire to 'control' women. The idea that women, if granted sexual autonomy, would constitute a danger to society can be found in all our societies.
Because within the women's movement and within women's experiences the issue of discrimination is so strong, we have a particular responsibility to look at the issue of racism and fundamentalism and what happens to women in that context. Compared to many other organisations, we have a better chance and a better space to do that, because ten or twenty years of feminist practice has taught us many lessons about sensitivity and tolerance and fighting against discrimination.
This article originally appeared in Women in Action (1-2:2000)
Copyright (C) 1998-2001 Isis International-Manila.Permission is hereby granted to use this document for personal use and for training and education activities of women's organizations provided that the article is used in full, the author and publisher are cited, and this copyright statement is produced. Permission is also given to mirror this document on WWW servers.
Regions Gear up for Anti-Racism Conference
Five Ws and One H about the upcoming World Conference Against Racism
Asian minorities suffer the same discrimination in Asia that they face in the West. This was one of the major contentions discussed at the Preparatory Meeting for the Third World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance organised by the United Nations last May.
Combatting Racism Against Migrant Workers
religion, culture, and racial discrimination against Asian migrant workers
Roots of Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia in Asia and the Pacific
Racism in Asia and the Pacific, as in other regions of the world, is ancient and has specific manifestations and meanings. Feelings of superiority based on racial or ethnic characteristics are certainly alive. The modern manifestations of racism in Asia may be easily discerned through varied attitudes displayed by apologists of Western colonialism who coined terms like "white man's burden" referring to colonised people. Or racism may be part of the rise of modern nationalism that sought to counter Western nationalism. But there are other factors involved. Religious beliefs, historical myths and epics, and culture as a whole in many instances combine so that one ethnic group excludes others and deprives them of their human rights.
In Japan, the propagation of the myth of "Japan as one ethnic nation"[1] caused discrimination against four minority groups: the indigenous Ainu, the Koreans, the Okinawans and the Buraku people.
In India, the Brahmin ideology of the Aryans categorised people into specific castes—the Brahmin (mouth of Brahma), rajanya (warriors), Vaisha (traders and agriculturists) and sudra (servants). Each caste served a social function. But there were those who belonged to none of the castes because they were perceived to be subhuman. Dravidian in origin, they were called "outcastes," "untouchables," Harijans or Dalits. They were cursed as subjects and had no rights.[2]
These religio-ethnic value systems and similar others are very much alive, and along with patriarchy, serve as the cultural bases for racism and discrimination against foreigners, especially the weak and unprotected migrant workers now living in the industrialised countries of Asia.
The Development of the Labour Export Market
Until the last decades of the 20th century, hiring of foreign contract workers was minimal in Asia and the Pacific. Two significant international developments led to the growth of migration in the region. First was the oil boom of the mid-1970s, which led to massive investment in infrastructures by the Middle Eastern countries. For this they needed to bring in labourers, initially from their own region and later from Asia. The second development was the booming of the northeast Asian economies fuelled by the then vibrant export economy of Japan. Japanese labour had become expensive in the 1980s, forcing large and medium industries to relocate to south Korea, Taiwan and to some extent Hong Kong and Singapore. Thus, the phenomenon of the Asian tiger economies or the so-called Newly Industrialising Countries or Economies (NICs and NIEs). This boom spread secondly to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Malaysia.
The consecutive years where the NICs posted double-digit growth rates led shortly to shortages in their labour markets. Initially, Singapore and Hong Kong dealt with the crisis by maximising labour participation rates. At first this meant mainly that all the labour-depressed industries were encouraged to hire employable women, but soon enough this left a void that had to be filled by foreign domestic workers.
South Korea and Taiwan on the other hand directly hired foreign workers for manufacturing, fishing and construction, and later in the entertainment sector, hospital services, hotels and restaurants and the like.
The massive inflow of overseas workers into Japan and the newly industrialised countries did not prepare them to carefully consider the human rights aspect of their policy. Only through the action of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), other sections of civil society and the migrant workers themselves have host countries been made aware of the need to protect the latter's rights. But even so, progress has been slow.
As a matter of fact only two countries in Asia—the Philippines and Sri Lanka—have ratified the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
Manifestations of Racism and Discrimination Against Migrant Workers
It was only in the last 12 to 13 years that migrant workers' problems and issues began to receive public attention. And it was only more recently that racism and other forms of discrimination have been seriously discussed.
Labour receiving countries faced the dilemma of remaining competitive in the market while reducing costs of production. On the one hand, the business sector cites the need to cut costs by hiring migrant workers. On the other hand, it recognises that labour importation is a highly charged political issue.[3] In Korea, the Korean Federation of Small and Medium Business (KSFB) determines how many workers are to be imported by factories, and when.[4]
In most of these countries, permanent or temporary residence is encouraged for foreigners whose skills and knowledge are deemed essential to their industrial, technological and educational competitiveness in the world. However, both Japan and Korea refuse to officially accept any "unskilled" workers from overseas. Except for the Nikkei-jen in Japan (migrant workers of Japanese descent mainly coming from Peru and Brazil), "unskilled" migrants can only work in the two countries under the "trainee system" or as undocumented workers.[5]
Harsh working and living conditions are the norm. Many workers report being beaten by work supervisors. Moreover, migrants are engaged in low-end, low-technology industries that expose them to occupational accidents. They are forced to stay in their dormitories to restrict their movements.[6] These conditions force many workers to run away from the factories and become undocumented. In Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan, arrested migrant workers are brutalised in detention. The more well-known cases of physical abuse and violence committed by police and guards against undocumented migrants are reported in Japan and Malaysia.[7]
Malaysia and Thailand are net importers of migrant workers who provide cheap labour in the plantation and construction sectors where local people refuse to work because of low wages and harsh conditions. Migration is facilitated by taikongs (recruitment agencies) in Malaysia who are allowed to operate with less control. The illegal entry of migrant workers often leads to trafficking especially in women who end up in sleazy clubs and entertainment houses. Many more die in the course of accidents in the high seas.
Restrictions are imposed on the migrant workers' right to organise and to join trade unions. While the modern constitutions of all Asian countries specify the freedom of assembly for all, many migrant workers are not allowed even to assemble except for sports and physical exercise (Saudi Arabia). Moreover, there is some hostility among members of trade unions against migrant workers whom they consider competitors for jobs and a factor for the lowering of local wages. In Japan, migrant workers are allowed to join community unions but these have limited bargaining power in the work place. Singapore prohibits them from organising or simply holding meetings in public places. In Hong Kong, which in many ways is the most liberal in Asia, migrant workers are allowed to organise and register their unions but since most of them are domestic helpers and have individual employers, their effectiveness as a bargaining unit is limited. They may however articulate their common demands to influence public policy relating to conditions of work.
Migrant workers are generally excluded from social and health services in receiving countries. As guest workers, holding a visa for less than one year or being undocumented, migrant workers are not eligible to join the National Health Insurance in Japan. Yet, it is urgent to provide social and health services to migrant workers since they are made to work in so-called 3D (dirty, difficult and dangerous) jobs.[8] Recently, the mass media in Malaysia was full of the alarming news that migrants were infected with Kala-azar or "black fever," a disease common in the Indian subcontinent. The Health Minister then proposed that all foreign workers be made to undergo medical tests at all entry points for HIV infection, hepatitis, tuberculosis, leprosy, sexually transmitted diseases and epilepsy.
Discrimination against women
Most migrant women work in gender specific jobs, i.e., those performed by women in traditional society. These include nursing, caring for children and the elderly, domestic work, sex services and entertainment. As local women join the active labour force, foreign women from poorer countries are imported to take over jobs designed to care for clients in the home, the children, differently abled and the aged. This they must do while entrusting the care of their own children to others in their home countries.
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong were recently subjected to a five percent wage cut while other types of foreign workers were not.[9] In Australia, a foreign domestic worker is paid A$5,000 per year while her local counterpart receives A$15,000. A form of discrimination in Singapore is the law that bars migrant women from fraternising with or marrying local men. Designed to prevent them from staying more permanently, this law discriminates against migrant women and violates their reproductive rights. Moreover, they face immediate deportation if they are confirmed to be pregnant. Here and in Malaysia migrant women are compelled to undergo a pregnancy test every six months.
Foreign migrant entertainers suffer additional discrimination. As holders of six-month visas, they are considered "guest" workers and therefore ineligible for health services and other protection under the Labor Standard Law. The increase in the number of women migrants has resulted in a growing number of marriages and relationships with local men. Stigmatised as "having been picked up from night clubs," foreign wives are often rejected by Japanese families. In cases of divorce, a foreign mother is particularly vulnerable to losing parental rights over her child.[10]
Of the 1.7 million Sri Lankans who work in the Middle East, about 70 percent are women. Around 700,000 do domestic work while the rest are in factories and a few in hospitals. Most of them are subjected to abuse and sexual harassment by employers and the employers' families. Wages are unpaid or delayed. High-caste Indians invoke caste-based practices to justify the oppression of country women working in their homes: it is all part of karma.[11] However, if the worker continues to insist on her rights, employers resort to threatening their families at home, who are, "in any case, heavily indebted to us (employers)."
Discrimination against children
Children of migrant working mothers, of mixed parentage (from mixed marriages and rapes) was something that was never considered by host and sending governments when they embarked on large-scale trade in human labour. After only 15 to 20 years, there has emerged a serious consequence and a compelling reality that governments and societies must reckon with. This is the increase in the number of children of mixed marriages.[12]
In Japan, 1,000 children under four years of age and without nationality were registered officially. Such children are not allowed by law to enter any school. Many local education councils find themselves in a dilemma when a child of mixed parentage is enrolled because they are required to report this to the immigration office. Government policy allows children to be temporarily admitted while waiting for deportation. Undocumented mothers are unwilling to send their children to school for fear that they will be discovered and deported.
Children of Nikkei-jen suffer from bullying in school. The case of a Brazilian-Japanese boy who was murdered by joy riders has been reported in the newspapers. Another boy, constantly bullied and teased by classmates for being half-Japanese, had to quit school. Children of mixed parentage who do enrol find it hard to learn the Japanese language, causing them anxiety and stress. Children of non-nationals who were in need of language education in 1996 numbered 11,000. The number of children abandoned by the Japanese father or the non-Japanese parents in Japan is on the increase.[13]
Children and mothers are stigmatised both in Japan and in the home countries. With most children being born before marriage, there should be legal recognition and/or paternity claim by the Japanese father to enable the child to gain Japanese nationality and to be eligible for social services. Migrant women cannot take Japanese nationality. Children experience discrimination as early as when they are entered in the koseki or Japanese family registry. If the marriage ends in divorce and no paternity claim is made, mother and child face deportation.[14]
The condition of migrant women in the Middle East is another web of discrimination based on gender, culture and ethnicity. Under Shari'ah law, a woman who gets pregnant outside of marriage is guilty of adultery, the penalty for which is death for Muslims and for non-Muslims, a jail term, public lashing and deportation. Even if the man marries her after she conceives, the woman is still punished by lashing. The child is rejected by the family of both parents and ostracised by society. The mother has committed a crime and a sin and should not ask for financial support from the father. Take the case of Kartini, an Indonesian domestic worker, a single mother with children of her own back home. Raped and impregnated by her employer, she was sentenced to death by stoning.
Al Fatijah, a Moro-based NGO in the Philippines, reports more than 50 cases of children with Arab fathers in Mindanao.[15] Even in the home country, they are ostracised and kept away from school and community because of the shame they bring to the family. Addressing the need for socio-psychological support to mothers and their children, particularly in East and West Java is a difficult task for NGOs since many of the families would rather keep their situation away from public scrutiny.
Meanwhile, another difficult situation is created when wives and mothers leave to work abroad. Although most societies in sending countries have extended families, left-behind children who live in urban areas often do not get the care they deserve from the spouse or the extended family. They may become juvenile delinquents and turn to drug abuse. A sense of being better off, loneliness and lack of parental guidance lead many of them into antisocial behaviour.
Women migrants also tell of their daughters being raped and abused by relatives, neighbours and friends. Many Sri Lankan mothers working as domes-tics in the Middle East decide to return home when their girl-children reach the age of puberty in order to be physically present and provide protec-tion against sexual molestation.[16]
Lastly, even in death, migrant workers suffer from the ultimate discri-mination. The country that made use of their labour often cannot find a priest or someone who will administer the last rites for the dead. Many workers who are killed in factories due to accidents are simply cremated because there are no facilities for long-term storage of the bodies. Communicating to the relatives of the deceased through government channels is painfully slow. Thus, some priests and pastors report about the unusual role of performing "some rites" for Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and other non-Christians.
Actions by NGOs and Civil Society
The rapid economic growth of countries in Asia has brought cultural changes to them as well. The presence of foreigners has also been a shock. However, a growing number of people in host societies are trying to cope with the changes. This has brought many opportunities for positive change in their attitudes and perspectives, apart from providing solidarity to the strangers in their midst.
Churches
By many accounts, it was the Catholic and Protestant churches that started responding to the needs of migrant workers in the Asia and the Pacific. In the early 1970s, churches were the natural congregation places of Filipino domestic helpers in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Then they became shelters for migrant workers in distress in Hong Kong and Singapore. This developed into more collaboration between churches. Joint activities of churches were organised in the mid-1980s to respond to the issues on a regional basis.
From Sunday masses and services to pastoral counseling, providing refuge came next, then language classes. In many host countries local churches offer medical, dental and other health services to undocumented workers. They also provide burial services and other types of assistance.
Joint studies and joint actions proceeded apace. Some level of cooperation and coordination has taken place between churches, through the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) and through Joint Committees of Councils of Churches of receiving and sending countries.
More and more church workers and congregations have been involved in joint mass actions, lobby work and advocacy campaigns.
Non-government organisations
Towards the 1980s, support NGOs were being established in receiving and sending countries—Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. Their initial work was to assist migrant workers in distress (unpaid salaries, denial of holiday leaves, sexual harassment). Many NGOs today run a package of programmes and services: case management, counseling, paralegal assistance and shelter for women.
Where policy reform and changes are required to redress grievances and to institute preventive measures, NGOs often take the lead. They are joined by sectors of civil society, e.g. human rights groups, women's organisations, medical professionals and lawyers groups. The latter are very active in policy advocacy and legislative reforms. Some NGOs now specialise according to clientele or service. Following is a list of some of the groups that address migrant women's issues:
Philippines
Kanlungan Center provides mainly case management and crisis intervention. It conducts gender sensitivity education and training as integral to case management and paralegal assistance. The centre maintains a shelter for those women with severe socio-psychological problems.
KAKAMMPI assists left-behind families. It runs preschool nurseries in three communities in Manila, and provides socio-psychological support to families and makes referrals to appropriate government agencies for financial and educational support to children.
Maligaya House and Development Action for Women Network (DAWN) are NGOs involved in tracing Japanese fathers for the recognition, support and nationality status of their children. Maligaya House currently handles more than 400 cases of children in the Philippines who have been abandoned by their fathers while DAWN has handled 120 cases in the last two years. This year, a musical play will be presented by the children for the third time in five prefectures in Japan. Last year, four children were able to meet their fathers through the play.
Unlad Kabayan is a programme that started in 1994. It prepares migrant workers to organise their return and reintegration by mobilising their savings for productive investments in their communities. They are thus able to create jobs for themselves and others.
Coalitions such as AMEND, SILAW (Association of Sea-based and Land-based Workers), NOVA (No to Violence Against Women) and the Philippine Migrant Rights Watch have been working together for the amendment of Republic Act 8042, better known as the Magna Carta for Migrant Workers. The implementation of the labour deregulation provision has been temporarily suspended as a result of NGO and people's organisation (PO) intervention.
Indonesia
There are more than 60 migrant support NGOs all over the Indonesian archipelago, aside from others based in some receiving countries. The Center for Indonesian Migrant Women conducts case management and advocacy.
Pusat Pengembangan Swadaya Wanita (PPSW) assists Indonesian women who have been abused in the Middle East. Through its efforts in community education, children with Arab fathers are now being accepted by the community. The families no longer hide the children but now encourage them to get regular education. PPSW runs programmes especially designed for the children.
The Learning Garden for children of migrant workers was conducted in Lombok-Mataram by the NGO, Terminal 29. It is conducted for children with problems and done after formal school sessions.
Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (Legal Aid Institute) gives free legal assistance especially in cases of abuse committed by recruitment agencies against women migrants. Courageous media reporters played a key role in exposing these abuses especially during the repressive regime.
Recently the Indonesian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong organised their own union, with which the Indonesian Consulate General now conducts regular dialogues. Similar moves have been initiated by Indonesian migrants in other countries.
Malaysia
Tenaganita has been fighting for the rights of migrant workers under severely restrictive laws in Malaysia. Its 1995 fact-finding report revealed that more than 300 migrant workers of various nationalities were being held in seven detention camps in Malaysia and suffering severe physical abuse, malnutrition and disease. Many detainees were being held without charge. The Malaysian government has admitted to 42 deaths in one camp alone. A pregnant Bangladeshi woman was among those detained.
As a result of the report, Irene Fernandez, the director of Tenaganita, was charged with violating the press law. The case is still under litigation.
Local integrated bars and lawyers groups are most active in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. They provide free legal aid and represent migrants in court for free. They have been especially helpful acting as watchdogs during court cases. They have lent legal and other types of support to Fernandez.
Japan
The National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers (NNSMW) is composed of 90 groups (NGOs, shelters, churches, trade unions, lawyers, women, doctors, teachers, social researchers). These provide varied services especially to migrant women and undocumented migrant workers. The NNSMW continuously wages struggles to widen the legal and labour rights of migrant workers and to educate Japanese society.
Another type of engagement is that of Minatomachi Foreign Migrant Workers' Mutual Aid Scheme for Health (MF-MASH) initiated by the staff of the Minatomachi Medical Center in Kanagawa Prefecture. Specifically intended to serve migrants who are unable to join the public health insurance scheme, it allows members to receive treatment at 30 percent of the actual cost.
MF-MASH and SHARE (Services for Health in Asian and African Regions) work together to provide free medical consultation and counseling for foreign workers. The staff of public hospitals in Kanagawa Prefecture, some eight years ago, took the lead in refusing to follow a government policy not to admit nonmembers of the public health insurance scheme. Today, public hospitals generally uphold the right of anyone to receive medical treatment, and many refuse to report undocumented workers as required by the authorities. Medical NGOs in Japan recently convened the Nationwide Meeting on Guaranteed Medical Care to All Foreigners, and resolved to lobby for the coverage of all migrants by the National Insurance Law and Life Protection Law.
Many migrant workers including undocumented workers have been organised into community unions, e.g. Zentoitsu, who are able to negotiate with individual enterprises. They have successfully pursued money claims and reinstatement of dismissed migrant workers.
More women's associations in Japan are active in fighting for the rights of migrant women.
Korea
The Joint Committee for Migrants in Korea (JCMK), a network of 36 counselling centres and NGOs, began organising migrant workers in Korea along nationality lines in the 1990s. It made representations to government authorities for their legitimate grievances. JCMK members staged hunger strikes and protests and submitted proposals that led to govern-ment's granting undocumented workers compensation and other protec-tion under the Labour Standard Law. At present, the Association of Foreign Workers for Human Rights based in Pusan is fighting a test case in court for retirement pay claim for trainees. The Association works closely with Kanlungan Center, in the Philippines, in protecting the plaintiff's family from harassment by the recruit-ment agency who filed a counter-charge against them.
JCMK now sits as a member in a committee established by the Korean government that is charged with protection of migrant workers' rights. Other lobby issues of JCMK include the legalisation of undocumented workers and abolition of the trainee system.
Thailand
New policies and regulations were adopted after a concerted campaign and dialogue with government officials by the Friends of Women Workers in Asia (FOWIA) and the Friends of Thai in Hong Kong in the early 1990s. As a result, the Thai government has sent Labour Attaches to its missions in countries with a significant number of Thai workers, e.g. Hong Kong and Japan. Moreover, it has set up a women's centre for Thai domestic helpers who have been prematurely terminated by employers.
Australia
In Australia, foreign women, particularly women of colour, are becoming a target of racism. Commu-nity education and actions are responding to this. Vetting of serial sponsorship is now in place to prevent the abuse of mail-order brides.
Australian NGOs and churches are seeking to build a more inclusive culture by getting involved in issues of racism. They are pushing for laws that seek to give equal rights to migrants, and try to educate the community to recognise the need for pluralistic interaction.
More and more restaurants are being opened that respect halal practices. Campaigns are being waged to allow foreign doctors to practice in Australia.
Regional-level actions
The Asian Migrant Centre is a regional NGO based in Hong Kong that started in 1989. It launched pioneering efforts to regionalise the issue of migration and increase responses to migrant workers' problems in various Asian countries. Through internship programmes AMC has facilitated the training of personnel to do migrant support work inThailand, India, Indonesia, Nepal. It has taken the lead in analysing the dynamics of migration in the region, initiated organising work, and published the Asian Migrant Yearbook. Most ambitiously, it launched the strategic response of reintegration. This entails the building of savings associations among migrant workers in the host countries, the placement of their savings in investment packages in their villages and the management of their enterprises to provide alternative investment and alternative jobs at home.
Migrant Forum in Asia is a network of migrant organisations, NGOs, churches, trade unions and other support institutions in the region. It is mainly a regional advocacy group that conducts studies and campaigns to address issues regionally.
Conclusion
Racism and discrimination and other forms of exclusivism in Asia and the Pacific are endemic, the unwelcome fruit of efforts by Asian countries to build dynamic economies able to compete with those in Europe and North America. Easily, the main victims of excessive "nationalism" are the vulnerable migrant workers from the poorer countries. Having no economic power and no political role in society, and having no means to assert themselves, migrant workers, especially women, easily become the main objects of exploitation and oppression.
On the other hand, migrant workers are the embodiment of unequal economic and social relations. As such their struggles are a constant cutting edge in the development of inclusive behaviour in xenophobic Asia. Thanks to these struggles. Multiculturalism is growing in many Asian and Pacific societies.
The movement for the recognition of migrant workers' rights is gaining support. Eventually, even the states must come to recognise these rights by ratifying the United Nations Convention for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
Education to combat racism is best done by highlighting the lives of individual migrant workers. They are both easy objects of racism as well as objects of concern. Education of people against racism should be included in courses in the formal educational curriculum of schools. Respect for human dignity and rights must begin with children as the foundation for building a society where children and adults alike can live in freedom and dignity. In both host and sending countries, new values and practices should be promoted that uphold the dignity and respect of every human person, with no one being inherently superior or inferior to others.
Priority must be given to the economic development of poor countries that are the main sources of migrants. Official and non-government aid should aim to build economically, socially and ecologically sustainable societies in these countries, not only reducing the pressure for out-migration but making overseas labour migration as just one of the options.
Today we must constantly remind ourselves that NGOs are NGOs. With our financial and personnel limitations, we can only do so much: piloting, limited reach, etc. Our hearts are big but our pockets are very small! In the final analysis, it is up to governments to translate NGO initiatives into legislative and administrative measures, and to muster the political will for these to be implemented.
Interviews:
- Alcid, Mary Lou. Kanlungan Center, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000.
- Kim Hyun Suk, Teresa. Galilea Migrant Counselling Center, Joint Committee of Migrants in Korea, Seoul, Korea, 2000.
- Natan, Carla June. Center for Indonesian Migrant Workers, Jakarta, Indonesia, 2000.
- Nuqui, Carmelita. Development Assistance for Women Network, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000.
- Ogasawara, Kimiko. National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, Tokyo, Japan, 2000.
- Padrones, Fe. Maligaya House, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000.
- Varona, Rex. Asian Migrant Centre, Hong Kong, 2000.
- Sri Lankan women in urban poor communities in Ratmalana and Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1995.
- Counselling cases of Indonesian, Indian and Thai domestic workers in Hong Kong, 1990-1995.
End Notes:
1 See Prof. Nakajima Tomoko, "A Multi-Cultural Society and Minority Issues," a presentation at the Second International Consultation on Minority Issues and Mission Strategies held in October 1994 in Kyoto, Japan and published by the Christian Conference of Asia, Urban Rural Mission, Hong Kong, 1995.
2 See Felix Sugirtharaj's presentation in the Second International Consultation on Minority Issues and Mission Strategies, Kyoto, Japan. CCA-URM. Hong Kong.
3 The Economic Council, advisory to the Prime Minister, set up a meeting to discuss the government's 10-year economic plan. The newly elected chairperson of Japan Federation of Employers' Association, Mr. Okuda, President of Toyota Motors Corp., stressed the need to import foreign workers to supplement labour shortages in Japan as birth rates are declining.
4 Trainee system—trainees used to be recruited from company affiliates based in labour exporting countries. This practice has been modified and trainees are recruited through placement agencies. Majority work just like regular workers, performing routine work that can hardly be considered as training, e.g. rolling and packing shushi. Trainees receive between US$300-600 monthly allowance while regular but undocumented workers are paid US$800 to 1,500. Trainee visa is from six months to a year. Because of the short contract, many are unable to recoup expenses in recruitment and other fees and are therefore forced to remain as undocumented workers at the end of the contract. Provided there is no outcry from the public, these undocumented workers are tolerated. Otherwise, the states conduct periodic crackdowns on undocumented worker enclaves.
5 Dualism in the treatment of migrants is exemplified by this report from the Japan Times, "Illegal Aliens Who Built Nagano Games Facing Sweep" 8 February 1998, from Asian Migrant Yearbook, 1998: "Desperate for construction workers, subcontractors of the construction companies building the Olympic site hurriedly hired undocumented workers. Upon completion of the project, however, undocumented workers were pursued and arrested. The Nagano Prefecture police arrested or deported 397 foreigners, conducting 13 raids on homes and other locations. Between 70 to 80 percent of the arrested foreigners were women, according to Toshio Gomyo. According to Monica Nagamura of Shinshu Network for Foreigners' Human Rights, the women also contributed indirectly by entertaining officials and staff involved in the event."
6 Migrant support NGOs are swamped with cases of industrial accidents. A Filipina in south Korea locked inside the factory and unable to escape, suffered third degree burns when the factory burned down.
7 Detention centres for migrant workers are built conveniently near the airport. A press release issued by Amnesty International last month expressed concern over the reported serious abuses in the interrogation and deportation of people who are denied entry to Japan. Those denied entry are sent to the Landing Prevention Facility (LPF) at the Narita International Airport. In Malaysia, there are at least seven detention camps for migrant workers. Many of the detainees were arbitrarily arrested and remain without any charge. A Bangladeshi woman was found pregnant inside the camp.
8 Japanese coined the word 3K jobs (Kikei, Kitsui, Kitanai) roughly translated as dirty, difficult and dangerous.
9 Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong are not allowed to change jobs while changing employers is severely restricted. Change of employers is subject to the "two week rule." Moreover, domestic workers are singled out among other migrants in Hong Kong as ineligible for "resident status" after seven years continuous stay.
10 According to the report "Migrant Women in Japan—for Further Advocacy, Makishita and Inaba show how foreign mothers almost cannot establish parental right over her child. "When a husband requests to have parental authority, the mediation committee will examine and compare the parents' economic situation. If the mother is on welfare, there is no possibility for her to be awarded parental right. If she is working, usually in the sex industry, she will be considered unfit parent."
11 According to the Indian women, there is a constant fear of going against the caste prescribed behaviour.
12 The 1999 report of the House for Emergency Love and Peace (HELP), a shelter for migrant women, showed a changing trend in the type of problems of women migrants. When it was first established 12 years ago, 100 percent of women in the shelter were Filipina survivors of trafficking. However, in 1998, only 17 percent were cases of trafficked women, mostly Thais. 44 percent cases of women survivors of domestic violence while 31 percent were homeless women and 8 percent required hospitalization. In a shelter in Tokyo, in 1999, of 120 users, 51 were (Filipino, Thai and Korean) children.
13 Most of the reported cases of abandoned children of foreign mothers were of women who worked in the entertainment industry. They met their husbands or partners in the clubs. This situation is fuelled by the many insecurities of migrant women. They are oftentimes pressured by club owners to go for a dohan, to go out with the men. Others develop a regular relationship with a particular customer and end up getting pregnant. Some women prefer to have regular customers for their own health rather than be forced to have sex with many men. Some other women are rape victims who conceive a child as a result.
Cases of abandonment arise when the mother's visa expires and must return home pregnant with a promise from the father to pursue her spouse's visa. But the process takes a long time and is expensive. Many children lose their Japanese nationality due to delays in the registration process. The men grow tired of waiting or meet other women in the clubs. Consequently, they abandon their original spouse and children.
Many applications for spouse visa in Philippines are denied without any explanation.
14 Factors that contribute to break-up of marriages: low regard for relationship as superficial since the women were formerly entertainers; women do backbreaking work taking care of the home, farm and the elderly in husband's family; culture-value difference, Japanese men prohibit the wives from sending money to their families in home country, so women insist to continue working in the clubs.
15 To reduce the shame on the family, the women are encouraged to marry, usually to their own relatives who are willing to adopt the children, reports Al-Fatijah.
16 This is from interviews conducted with returned migrant women living in the slums in Ratmalana and Colombo in 1995.
About the Author and other miscelaneous notes
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