Migrants’ Assembly: Sorely Being Missed in Headlines

There are two important, parallel events concerning migrants happening in the country from October 28-30. One is the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and the other is the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR). At the GFMD, migrants are the subject and not the center of discussion. At the IAMR, they are the lead and at the center of discussion.

Nevertheless, these two events have far reaching implications on a country such as ours, which is highly dependent on remittances from abroad. It is a wonder why these two events, most especially the IAMR, do not occupy a prominent space in coverages by media.

BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
ANALYSIS
Bulatlat

An estimated 10 percent of the more than 80 million population of the country are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). This figure does not yet include the equally significant number of Filipinos who have migrated abroad. Together, the remittances of these overseas Filipinos is the single biggest factor propping up the economy, with amounts much bigger than the country’s export earnings.

But the stories of overseas Filipinos are not all rosy. There are probably more stories of sacrifices, hardships and sufferings, including incidences of abuse and racial discrimination, than there are stories of Filipinos succeeding in the land of milk and honey and living happily ever after. In fact, a convenor of the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees, who is a migrant himself, would rather call themselves as refugees because they are being forced by poverty to seek employment or to migrate abroad.

There are two important, parallel events concerning migrants happening in the country from October 28-30. One is the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and the other is the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR).

These two events have far reaching implications on a country such as ours, which is highly dependent on remittances from abroad. It is a wonder why these two events, most especially the IAMR, do not occupy a prominent space in coverages by media.

The Global Forum on Migration and Development describes itself as a “voluntary, intergovernmental, non-binding, consultative process”. It has three objectives: 1. to address, in a transparent manner, the multidimensional aspects, opportunities and challenges related to international migration and its interlinkages with development; 2. to bring together government expertise from all regions to enhance dialogue, cooperation and partnership in the areas of migration and development and; 3. to foster practical and action-oriented outcomes at the national, regional and global levels. The Forum’s first meeting was held in Belgium July 9-11, 2007. The GFMD meetings to be held from October 27-28 for civil society and from October 29-20 for official government representatives would be the second.

Share This Post