(Statement Delivered by Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, at The Manila Conference on the Future of Migration: Global Migration Governance, Human Rights, and Sustainable Global Compact on Migration, August 15, 2018, Conrad Hotel, Pasay City)
Last night, while reading through the text of the Global Compact on Migration, I kept thinking of the song penned by my favorite Beatle, John Lennon.
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world,
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
I am not part of the negotiating team of the Philippines, but I can imagine that it was not easy. Choosing the words, wanting more than this sentence but settling on a different one – and then being able to influence the next line, a paragraph here and the entire document itself.
Thank you, Team Philippines for delivering on your promise to bring the concerns and voices of our migrant workers, civil society, and also the private sector to all the GCM meetings.
Personally, this matters a great deal.
The hardest thing I had to do in my life was to tell the mother of an OFW on death row in Saudi Arabia that her son had just been executed for the crime of murder.
Her son meant the world to her.
Even now, I still remember how her entire body suddenly went stiff upon hearing the news, and then fell to the ground right in front of my eyes.
No matter how and why he died, I am sure that when he left the Philippines it was for a much higher, nobler purpose.
I believe any migrant who intentionally leaves home does so to improve not just his life, but also, and especially, that of his family’s.
No migrant ventured forth to be the more evil “Darth Vader” version of his self or her self.
When I hear the word “migration”, I imagine a vast world with hundreds of millions of invisible psychological, historical and spiritual umbilical cords crisscrossing north to south, east to west, spanning the distance between every migrant’s footprints and his or her place of birth.
They straddle three worlds – where they came from, where they’ve been and where they want to be.
For all eyes on earth to be able to read, reflect on and follow an actual document that captures the world’s perception of migration, is something short of a miracle.
I agree with what our distinguished panel chairman wrote for the prestigious BusinessMirror in a column entitled, “As good as it can get”:
“This Compact is as good as it gets, given the evil times into which migration has come. No, more, this is not just as good as it can get in times so filled with hate, division and envy. This is as good as it will ever get, even in the good times sure to come when the pendulum swings in the opposite direction – when it will seem obvious that we had achieved and gotten the world to accept all that is indeed necessary and imperative to make the migrant experience that humblest of things for which to aspire: a decent one.”
OFW Joanna Demafelis ended up dead in a freezer inside an abandoned apartment in Kuwait for one year before her body was discovered in Kuwait because she was bold enough to search for the decent one.
All she wanted was a decent life, a decent job, a decent employer and a brighter future.
My NGO, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, recently handled a case where the Filipino domestic worker would get punched in the face every time her employers, a young Malaysian couple, fought over the smallest things.
She, too, was in search for decent work, a decent life, and a decent employer.
It has been said that the world found its conscience while deliberating on the Global Compact on Migration. The challenge is on how the world can keep holding on to that conscience, long enough for safe, regular, and orderly migration to become the norm, not the exception.
The Global Compact on Migration has to work because migration can be a pathway to radicalization if it fails.
When you are oppressed in your country and abused in another, the concept of humanity becomes harder to grasp.
This is why racism, rampant discrimination and other forms of intolerance, prejudice and yes, violence against migrants, must be shunned quickly, decisively, and strongly – by a world that believes in common decency and the liberating power of human rights.
Let me quote from the Global Compact itself:
“It is crucial that the challenges and opportunities of international migration unite us, rather than divide us. This Global Compact sets out our common understanding, shared responsibilities and unity of purpose regarding migration, making it work for all.”
Two words: shared responsibilities. I believe that phrase is the one that will make this compact soar.
During the ’70s and ’80s, when my father, the late Blas Ople, was labor minister, he often spoke of how difficult it was to get labor ministers from labor-sending and labor-receiving countries together in one room to discuss matters related to migrant workers’ rights.
Thus, the inclusion of those two simple words: “shared responsibilities” in the GCM, speak volumes about how far our world has come. When practiced bilaterally, regionally, and multi-laterally, that magical phrase “shared responsibilities”, can and will save lives.
How?
- Shared responsibilities in promoting fair and ethical recruitment would eliminate hidden charges that lead a domestic worker into a life of debt bondage. It would mean having one’s passport at all times, and the ability to communicate with the family to minimize the social costs that lead to broken homes and dysfunctional families. It means not tampering with the passports of minors so they can be deployed as “adult” domestic workers when they are not.
- Shared responsibilities in establishing comprehensive and needs-based pre-departure and post-arrival programs for migrant workers would result in their empowerment, safety and protection. Pre-departure orientation seminars are often done a few days before departure, and becomes an exercise in daydreaming while post-arrival orientation programs enable migrant workers to land feet on the ground, with a firmer and clearer understanding of the social and legal norms in their country of work.
- Shared responsibilities in enacting and implementing legislation that penalizes hate crimes targeting migrants would lead to a kinder and more compassionate world, where one matters not because of the color of the skin or the origin of your passport, but by virtue of who you are.
- Shared responsibilities also mean ensuring that the hard earned money of an honest, diligent migrant worker is not eaten up by monopolistic fees charged by foreign banks in destination countries; nor should they become the victims of misguided measures to combat illicit financial flows that would curtail their right to choose the best and most convenient remittance corridor. As of March 2018, 158 accounts of Philippine banks and remittance companies have been closed down by 42 different foreign banks in 17 countries, jacking up the costs of remittance fees to the detriment of our OFWs.
- Shared responsibilities include the dignified and safe return of migrants especially children with access to social protection and services, justice and other forms of assistance.
It is also our shared responsibility to inform migrants about the GCM. They deserve to know that the entire world is thinking of them; that they are not alone. This December, they are being given a gift of a unified world vision on how global migration should be. We, who know, should tell. Because one of the biggest tragedies would be to make the GCM the world’s best kept secret.
On page 34 of the GCM, paragraph 53 states:
“We encourage all Member States to develop, as soon as practicable, ambitious national responses for the implementation of the Global Compact, and to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national level, such as through the voluntary elaboration and use of a national implementation plan.”
Given the level of preparation and resources provided by our very own Department of Foreign Affairs in hosting this Manila Conference, I am hopeful that the same spirit of solidarity will drive it to convene at the soonest possible time, such a national implementation planning workshop.
Yesterday, I listened intently to our friend from Colombia who said they had to shift gears from being a labor-sending country to that of receiving migrants from Venezuela. Given the Philippine government’s massive infusion of capital in infrastructure and social services, it is not that far-fetched to think of a similar shift happening in the Philippines within our lifetimes. For example, the labor department will be holding job fairs overseas to entice our workers to come home.
Like John Lennon, we can choose to imagine that the best is yet to come.
All that is needed is for us to believe not just in the goodness of our neighbors but also in the courage of our own hearts. Thank you.