Presented at Philippine History 101, Summer 2005
Kalayaan Centre, Vancouver, BC
organized by the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance
Part One: In the Name of the Sword and the Cross
Parte Una: En el nombre de la espada us de la cruz
Unang Yugto: Sa pangalan ng espada at krus
“We Spanish suffer a sickness from the heart in which gold is the only cure.”
-Hernan Cortes, Conqueror of Mexico
The conquest of the Americas and the Eastern World cultivated a salacious greed within the monarchs of Europe for gold, spices, raw resources and cheap labour. The gluttonous character of empire aroused Spain to further seize, pillage and colonize fresh and distant lands.
In 1521 Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan raided an unknown archipelago luxuriant with rice terraces and anchored deep within the waters of South East Asia. The people of this curious world were of diverse and varying social, political and economic organizations—yet trade and community was common amongst the tribes and thus, survival in this strange civilization proved to be bona fide and absolute.
However, the lack of organizational unity amongst the indigenous tribes made them susceptible to the divide and conquer tactics of the Spanish conquistadores. By employing the instrumental cross of Christianity, Spanish Masters pacified and “civilized” the entire archipelago. With the loss of the Muslim religion and animism beliefs, it was with relative ease that Miguel Lopez de Lagazpi wielded the mighty sword and other violent means in 1565 to further control the people and establish colonial settlements throughout the Philippines.
For 300 years Spain ruled the Philippines with an iron fist and bounded the economy under feudal conditions. An oppressive class structure flourished under the direction of Spain. Traditional barrio chieftains were effortlessly manipulated with promises of fortune and the Kingdom of Heaven in exchange to subdue and govern the indentured Filipino peasantry who expeditiously became the majority of Philippine society.
In response to the tyranny of the Spaniards and the local Filipino elite, the Filipino people erupted in rebellion. During the period of Spanish Colonialism, 200 sporadic revolts thundered throughout the archipelago in resistance against the tributes, land rent, corvee labour and other unfair practices. In 1896, the Philippines, under the leadership of Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan reclaimed the nation from the Spanish empire and reaffirmed for the Filipino people the splendour of freedom and a national consciousness.
Part Two: The Star Spangled Empire
Pangawalang Yugto: Imperyo ng Kano
“We are a conquering race…we must obey our blood and occupy new markets, and if necessary, new lands….the Philippines are logically our first targets.”
-Senator Albert Beveridge of Indiana, USA, 1898
“We have our markets in Cuba, in Puerto Rico, in the Philippines and we stand in the presence of 800,000,000 people with the Pacific an American Lake…the world is ours.”
-Senator Chauncey M. Depew of New York, USA, 1902
The Eagle Has Landed
The consolidation of the United States through the victories of the American Revolution and the Civil War, coupled with Spain’s eroding empire made the conditions favourable for the United States to emerge as an imperialist force to be reckoned with.
Between 1798-1895, the United States rapidly amalgamated its fortune through the inventions and invasions of Spanish colonies such as Argentina, Nicaragua, Chile and Panama aside from the exploitation of natural resources of its land and the genocide of the Indigenous people.
The very nature of America’s swelling capitalist economy could not be contained within its mainland territory and had to expand beyond the boundaries of the Americas; the Pacific was obviously the next stage in the pursuit of the American Empire. The Philippines, though successful from its revolution against Spain was reeling in its glory—a republic was struggling for its realization. It was this vulnerable period that ripened the country for another invasion.
The White Man’s Burden
The celebrated assets of the Philippines were essential selling points in the re-distribution of the colonies. These prized features included the abundant natural raw resources; the people as a source of cheap labour; a potential market in which American investments and surplus products may enter; and the geographical position of the Philippines (its rests in the nucleus of South East Asia) would make it possible for the possessor of the islands to launch military assaults against neighbouring countries (this theory would be proven during the Vietnam War).
A sought-after commodity, the Philippines became the impetus for the Spanish-American War of 1898, the precursor to the Philippine-American War. The “splendid little war” between the decaying empire and an emerging imperialist player over Latin America and the Pacific stabilized the power of the United States and marked the down fall of Spain. The signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898 officially concluded the end of the “little war” as Spain sold the last of its colonies, the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States for 20 million US dollars.
Just weeks after the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, 25th US President William McKinley released the monumental Benevolent Assimilation Proclamatio” which outlined the justification of US invasion in the Philippines and most importantly, determined how “to repress disturbance and to overcome all obstacles to the bestowal and blessings of good and stable government upon the people of the Philippine Islands under the free flag of the United States.” McKinley further legitimized the impending war as a divine right as “the Philippines [was]…a gift from the Gods…there was nothing left…to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and to uplift and civilize and Christianize them.”
The racist and patronizing ideology of imperialism was best emoted in the publication of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, The White Man’s Burden which “mixed exhortation to empire with sober warnings of the costs involved”. The philosophy of the white man’s burden was celebrated by American imperialists as a pretense and justification for imperialism as an act of virtue for what could be more virtuous than the mightiest empire to “Send forth the best ye breed” to assume the racial responsibilities of a “new-caught sullen people/Half devil and half child”.
On February 4th, 1899, Private William W. Grayson of the Company B, 1st Nebraska Volunteers propelled the first shots at three Filipino civilians, sparking the Philippine-American War. On patrol at his post near Santa Mesa, Private Grayson was ordered “to shoot any Filipino soldier who might try to enter the neutral area which separated the two armies [American and Filipino]”; in a matter of minutes, the lives of three Filipino civilians were obliterated. These casualties not only triggered a Philippine offensive; the Philippine-American War bore a cultural dichotomy that has outlived even the memory itself: the total and complete reconstruction of a dignified nation and the erasure of that dignity from the collective history of the Filipino people.
The Philippine-American War officially raged until July 4th, 1902 when Theodore Roosevelt declared it over and so honoured it as “Filipino-American Friendship Day.” Despite verbal and written cessation of the war, resistance continued as late as 1916 when the last of the Bandoleros and other resistance fighters perished at the hands and guns of American soldiers and member of the Philippine Constabulary.
The end of the first year of the war took the lives of 96,000 Filipinos—yet, history books often footnote the nearly 20 year bloodshed as a “little insurrection”. This “little insurrection” was not only the first big, bloody colonial war staged in Asia; it was the longest running war in United States history to be fought in the Pacific. The Philippine-American War has been considered by many historians as a foreshadowing and dress rehearsal of the Vietnam War as the water cure and other forms of torture were practiced on the Filipino people and perfected on the people of Vietnam fifty years later. By 1916, the war took the lives of 4,200 US soldiers—tragic, yes, but a minor loss compared to the estimated 1.5 million Filipino civilians and resistance fighter who died from massacre, torture, hamletting, village burning, imprisonment, hunger and disease.
A Menace to American Society
The execution of Andres Bonifacio in 1897 by traitors of the Philippine Revolution proved to be ineffective in the attempts to nullify the militancy and rebellion of the Filipino people. His premature death and those of other resistance fighters undoubtedly deepened the commitment of the collective nation to fight against a new oppressor.
This commitment and militancy were to be expressed in the organization of the two uprisings throughout the duration of the Philippine-American War: the Insurrectos, 1897-1902 and the Bandoleros, 1903-1907. In fact “US troops logged 2,800 engagements with Filipino resistance.” So great was the resistance led by unsung heroes by the names of San Miguel, Montalan and Sakay that laws and acts were immediately passed to quell the rebellion as it was a “serious menace to the peace of the Philippine Islands” and criminalize so-called “bandits”.
The following laws would warrant the arrest and death to any individual of organized body who would defy and struggle against American tyranny: The Sedition Law of 1901 forbade the advocacy of independence even by peaceful means; The Brigandage Act of 1902 classified all armed resistance as banditry; The Reconcentration Act of 1903 justified hamletting to remove guerilla fighters from society; The Flag Law of 1907 prohibited the display of the national flag and playing the national anthem.
The repercussions of these despotic laws demonized the “true defenders of the national honour” and paved the beginning of American Colonization and the misconstrued image of the Filipino people as imposed by US Imperialism.
Part Three: Singing the Brown Man’s Song
Tatlung Yugto:
In response to the fallout of the Philippine-American War, Mark Twain remarked, “the White Man’s Burden has been sung. Who will sing the Brown Man’s?”
The denial of the Philippine-American and its aftermath devastated generations of Filipinos to be awestruck and dazzled by the blinding stars and stripes of US Imperialism. A mentally so damaging and so subordinate has been encroached on the Filipino psyche that Filipinos, over a 100 years after the break out of the Philippine-American War and spread out in over 168 countries, have been raised and conditioned to accept the atrocities of the past.
However, as history has asserted, Filipinos are a people nurtured in the fields of Revolution. Revolution is a staple element that defines and dignifies the Filipino people. The spirit of Revolution nourishes the humanity and militancy of the Filipino people to further advance the pursuit for liberation.
The uprising against past colonizers and present imperialist forces is testimony of that militancy, and like rice, the taste of Revolution has been passed down to a young Filipino generation who struggle and serve the people beyond the rice fields of the Cordillera, beyond the channels of the Pacific. As overseas Filipinos struggling for our freedom and place in society, we sing the songs of untold heroes edited out in tainted history books and honour our heritage of revolt and resistance.
Showing posts with label Constructive Presentations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Constructive Presentations. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Usual Turmoil: Canada's Racist Past and its Present Manifestation
Presented at the Youth of Colour in Consultation Against Systemic Racism
March 27-28, 2004
BCGEU Building, Burnaby , BC
“It is by challenging historical fact, necessarily, that I begin to experience my freedom.”
-Franz Fanon
Welcome to the Matrix
In the late Fall of 2003, Mao Jomar Lanot, a 17-year old Filipino high school student at Vancouver’s Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School was beaten to death by a group of South-Asian youth during the after hours at his school grounds. Media hype surrounding his beating death zeroed in and sensationalized on the “racism” between the two immigrant groups, irrespective of the harrowing marginalized conditions and poverty both communities had been systemically forced into. This blatant disregard is not surprising for beneath Canada’s stature of equality, opportunity and respect lies a confessional of conquest, colonialism, oppression and systemic racism. Yet, this history of systemic racism has been virtually edited out from history books, erased from the collective minds of Canadians, discussed and condemned solely in pedantic abstracts when the discourse of race, class and gender becomes the academe darling. Thus, thorough investigation and critical analysis of systemic racism as an ideology and as a tool of imperialism becomes more and more imperative in this heightened era of super-exploitation and oppression to enable displaced communities of colour and indigenous populations to steadfastly and militantly eradicate systemic racism down to its core. This can only be done by conscientiously and wholly tracing the origins of systemic racism within the matrix of capitalism.
The White Man’s Burden
“The racist in a culture with racism is therefore normal. He has achieved a perfect harmony of economic relations and ideology.”
-Franz Fanon
Systemic racism as an ideology and as a sophisticated means to divide and oppress people of colour was born and likewise flourished in accordance to the rise of capitalism. Before this time, the systemic oppression of one race over another race was not practiced in an absolute, organized manner; anthropological evidence of the epochs preceding capitalism demonstrates that acts of discrimination and persecution were based on the beliefs of cultural and religious superiority. Throughout the Greek Classical period, defeated tribes were enslaved to the victor during and after tribal wars which were based on cultural differences and supremacy. The Romans duplicated these endeavours, capturing and enslaving the city states and citizens of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and Central Asia just to name a few. Prior to capitalism, the discrimination and abuses that were imposed on the Jewish people was principally grounded on opposing religious beliefs—it was not until the 19th century, 300 years after the birth of capitalism, that Jews were categorically thought of as a race.
As capitalism surged forward and rapidly developed into a more advanced and ultimately profitable economic system in the 16th century, likewise was the cultivation of systemic racism as an ideology to justify the exploitation and plundering of indigenous people and their land.
We identify that Europe is the birthplace of capitalism. The very nature of capitalism is to seek further material and wealth for profit, for money thus Europe’s swelling economy could not be contained in its mainland territories; there was no other way to accumulate prosperity in the likes of silver, gold, spices and labour other than to expand and encroach into other lands and countries. For example, behind the maple leaf and the stars and stripes of what we now know as Canada and the United States dorms a colonial history in which Britain and France so violently conquered the lands of the indigenous people. In South-East Asia, Spain raided thousands of unknown islands, now known as the Philippines, ruled it with and iron fist and bounded its economy under feudal system. The incessant need of the British, French and Spanish empires for minerals, resources and cheap labour altered and displaced the lives and livelihood of indigenous populations.
In this period of colonization and conquest, the initial wealth and riches of capitalist Europe was largely fed by the slave labour from Africa and by the mineral and natural resources of the Americas. This system is known as the triangular trade: 1) Slaves from Africa were shipped over to work in the mines and plantations of the Americas; 2) Raw materials and other natural products from the Americas flowed into Europe; 3) Europe produced manufactured products that were shipped to all the corners of the world. Alongside the unbalanced relationship, was the genocide of the people of the Americas by their European masters.
To guard their assets and their source of wealth, European colonizers justified their insatiable hunger for profit through cultural responsibilities, religious manifest destiny and biological superiority. These justifications are bet emoted in the publication of Rudyard Kipling’s poem appropriately titled, “The White Man’s Burden” in which “mixed exhortation to empire with sober warnings of the costs involved.” The philosophy behind the “White Man’s Burden” has been used widely to assume the racial responsibilities of a “new-caught sullen people/Half devil and half child.” These justifications nullify and alienate people of colour from their experiences with racism, thus detaching people of colour from the marginalization. It is impossible to divorce one from another as both capitalism—the dominant economic and political system—and racism flawlessly compliment, strengthen and sustain each other. 500 years after the advent of capitalism in which it reared systemic racism to perfection, youth of colour continue to experience the acrimonious stigma of racism.
The Usual Turmoil: Systemic Racism as We Understand it Today
“The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found freedom in his promised land. Whatever good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people, a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people.”
-W.E.B. Du Bois
Because capitalism remains to be the dominant economic and political system, systemic racism remains embedded in all Canadian institutions such as immigration, the justice system, the education system, the work place and the media. Systemic racism as we understand it today cannot be simplified to an issue of attitude that can be effortlessly eradicated; it is an organized oppression that marginalizes, silences and divides communities of colour. Unlike personal racism which is blatant and obvious in intentions, systemic racism is deceptive, a chimera that afflicts our society. We cannot see it or necessarily feel it unless we are armed with a sharp comprehension of history and a clear analysis of systemic racism.
The Live-in Caregiver Program is a clear-cut example of the systemic racism pervading the lives of people of colour. Conceived in 1992 by Canada Immigration and Citizenship, the LCP fulfills the labour need for cheap childcare afforded only by middle class and affluent Canadian families. Abandoning its social responsibility for universal childcare, Canada utilizes the LCP to lure highly educated, highly-skilled professional women of the Third World—93% of domestic workers across Canada are Filipino women—to work and live as domestic workers in the homes of well-to-do families for 24 months. As these women remain fettered to the property of the LCP, their education and training are disregarded and devalued. Thus they are deskilled; their potential to become active participants in Canada is wasted, eventually jeopardizing their future and the future of their families. As Canada touts itself as the international champion for human rights, it continues to neglect the needs of the people who are suffering under a program it has created.
Within the education system, the implementation of Multiculturalism programs, although philosophically harmonious and with noble intentions, have proven to be ineffective and stinging in practice when it comes to facilitating understanding and unity amongst diverse communities across Canada. Coupled with this is the lack of time and resources for a student to learn about his/her own history and the contributions their community have made in construction of Canada as a nation and to its economy. Youth of colour are instead overwhelmed with the history and achievements of Europe and European men, or men of European origins such as John A. MacDonald and Alexander Mackenzie. The failure of the educational system to prioritize the histories of people of colour, for example, the history of the First Nations people, has worsened the divide between people of colour and non-people of colour, frustrated immigrant and communities of colour and has often lead to severe acts of racism.
Within the police and justice system, youth of colour are constantly targeted by police or security guards because of the systemically-backed stereotypes of the justice system. Youth of colour are often the victims of racial profiling, with this practice of being racially profiled intensifying amidst the post 9/11 hysteria and Canada’s tightening anti-terrorism legislation and initiatives. In large Eastern Canadian cities such as Toronto and Montreal, the African-Canadian community must contend with the consequences of racial profiling, whereas in Western cities such as Vancouver, Asian youth are often pulled over to be questioned of their whereabouts and activities, or even handcuffed and handled aggressively by police officers. In shopping malls, youth of colour find themselves continually harassed because they are hanging out in a large group. Youth of colour are discouraged and often humiliated in public primarily because they are viewed as threats when they congregate.
Confronting the Critical Moment
By further uncovering the history of people of colour and indigenous populations, we will collectively uncover the development of systemic racism as a tool of globalization to likewise divide and marginalize our communities. Likewise, by sharpening our analysis of the evolution of capitalism, we can best understand that racism, when organized into a multi-faceted and refined order is simply not a matter of words and stares that can be wiped out by an attitude change. This is far too infantile of a solution for a rather complex problem. In addition, when we assert that our economic displacement and maldevelopment is primarily due to the ills and waywardness of capitalism, we can then better assert and articulate with conviction that our collective marginalization as youth and as people of colour is not of our own doing nor our construction.
To quote the writer Milan Kundera:
“Forgetting is a form of death ever present within life…But forgetting is also the great problem of politics. When a big power wants to deprive a small [power] of its national consciousness it uses the method of organized forgetting…A nation which loses awareness of its past gradually loses itself.”
It is imperative that we revisit over and over again the beginnings of the ideology of systemic racism so as to not forget as people of colour our place in history and our responsibility to actively pursue a brighter future. By grasping and internalizing this history, we, as people of colour and concerned allies can better unite, educate, organize and mobilize against systemic racism.
March 27-28, 2004
BCGEU Building, Burnaby , BC
“It is by challenging historical fact, necessarily, that I begin to experience my freedom.”
-Franz Fanon
Welcome to the Matrix
In the late Fall of 2003, Mao Jomar Lanot, a 17-year old Filipino high school student at Vancouver’s Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School was beaten to death by a group of South-Asian youth during the after hours at his school grounds. Media hype surrounding his beating death zeroed in and sensationalized on the “racism” between the two immigrant groups, irrespective of the harrowing marginalized conditions and poverty both communities had been systemically forced into. This blatant disregard is not surprising for beneath Canada’s stature of equality, opportunity and respect lies a confessional of conquest, colonialism, oppression and systemic racism. Yet, this history of systemic racism has been virtually edited out from history books, erased from the collective minds of Canadians, discussed and condemned solely in pedantic abstracts when the discourse of race, class and gender becomes the academe darling. Thus, thorough investigation and critical analysis of systemic racism as an ideology and as a tool of imperialism becomes more and more imperative in this heightened era of super-exploitation and oppression to enable displaced communities of colour and indigenous populations to steadfastly and militantly eradicate systemic racism down to its core. This can only be done by conscientiously and wholly tracing the origins of systemic racism within the matrix of capitalism.
The White Man’s Burden
“The racist in a culture with racism is therefore normal. He has achieved a perfect harmony of economic relations and ideology.”
-Franz Fanon
Systemic racism as an ideology and as a sophisticated means to divide and oppress people of colour was born and likewise flourished in accordance to the rise of capitalism. Before this time, the systemic oppression of one race over another race was not practiced in an absolute, organized manner; anthropological evidence of the epochs preceding capitalism demonstrates that acts of discrimination and persecution were based on the beliefs of cultural and religious superiority. Throughout the Greek Classical period, defeated tribes were enslaved to the victor during and after tribal wars which were based on cultural differences and supremacy. The Romans duplicated these endeavours, capturing and enslaving the city states and citizens of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and Central Asia just to name a few. Prior to capitalism, the discrimination and abuses that were imposed on the Jewish people was principally grounded on opposing religious beliefs—it was not until the 19th century, 300 years after the birth of capitalism, that Jews were categorically thought of as a race.
As capitalism surged forward and rapidly developed into a more advanced and ultimately profitable economic system in the 16th century, likewise was the cultivation of systemic racism as an ideology to justify the exploitation and plundering of indigenous people and their land.
We identify that Europe is the birthplace of capitalism. The very nature of capitalism is to seek further material and wealth for profit, for money thus Europe’s swelling economy could not be contained in its mainland territories; there was no other way to accumulate prosperity in the likes of silver, gold, spices and labour other than to expand and encroach into other lands and countries. For example, behind the maple leaf and the stars and stripes of what we now know as Canada and the United States dorms a colonial history in which Britain and France so violently conquered the lands of the indigenous people. In South-East Asia, Spain raided thousands of unknown islands, now known as the Philippines, ruled it with and iron fist and bounded its economy under feudal system. The incessant need of the British, French and Spanish empires for minerals, resources and cheap labour altered and displaced the lives and livelihood of indigenous populations.
In this period of colonization and conquest, the initial wealth and riches of capitalist Europe was largely fed by the slave labour from Africa and by the mineral and natural resources of the Americas. This system is known as the triangular trade: 1) Slaves from Africa were shipped over to work in the mines and plantations of the Americas; 2) Raw materials and other natural products from the Americas flowed into Europe; 3) Europe produced manufactured products that were shipped to all the corners of the world. Alongside the unbalanced relationship, was the genocide of the people of the Americas by their European masters.
To guard their assets and their source of wealth, European colonizers justified their insatiable hunger for profit through cultural responsibilities, religious manifest destiny and biological superiority. These justifications are bet emoted in the publication of Rudyard Kipling’s poem appropriately titled, “The White Man’s Burden” in which “mixed exhortation to empire with sober warnings of the costs involved.” The philosophy behind the “White Man’s Burden” has been used widely to assume the racial responsibilities of a “new-caught sullen people/Half devil and half child.” These justifications nullify and alienate people of colour from their experiences with racism, thus detaching people of colour from the marginalization. It is impossible to divorce one from another as both capitalism—the dominant economic and political system—and racism flawlessly compliment, strengthen and sustain each other. 500 years after the advent of capitalism in which it reared systemic racism to perfection, youth of colour continue to experience the acrimonious stigma of racism.
The Usual Turmoil: Systemic Racism as We Understand it Today
“The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found freedom in his promised land. Whatever good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people, a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people.”
-W.E.B. Du Bois
Because capitalism remains to be the dominant economic and political system, systemic racism remains embedded in all Canadian institutions such as immigration, the justice system, the education system, the work place and the media. Systemic racism as we understand it today cannot be simplified to an issue of attitude that can be effortlessly eradicated; it is an organized oppression that marginalizes, silences and divides communities of colour. Unlike personal racism which is blatant and obvious in intentions, systemic racism is deceptive, a chimera that afflicts our society. We cannot see it or necessarily feel it unless we are armed with a sharp comprehension of history and a clear analysis of systemic racism.
The Live-in Caregiver Program is a clear-cut example of the systemic racism pervading the lives of people of colour. Conceived in 1992 by Canada Immigration and Citizenship, the LCP fulfills the labour need for cheap childcare afforded only by middle class and affluent Canadian families. Abandoning its social responsibility for universal childcare, Canada utilizes the LCP to lure highly educated, highly-skilled professional women of the Third World—93% of domestic workers across Canada are Filipino women—to work and live as domestic workers in the homes of well-to-do families for 24 months. As these women remain fettered to the property of the LCP, their education and training are disregarded and devalued. Thus they are deskilled; their potential to become active participants in Canada is wasted, eventually jeopardizing their future and the future of their families. As Canada touts itself as the international champion for human rights, it continues to neglect the needs of the people who are suffering under a program it has created.
Within the education system, the implementation of Multiculturalism programs, although philosophically harmonious and with noble intentions, have proven to be ineffective and stinging in practice when it comes to facilitating understanding and unity amongst diverse communities across Canada. Coupled with this is the lack of time and resources for a student to learn about his/her own history and the contributions their community have made in construction of Canada as a nation and to its economy. Youth of colour are instead overwhelmed with the history and achievements of Europe and European men, or men of European origins such as John A. MacDonald and Alexander Mackenzie. The failure of the educational system to prioritize the histories of people of colour, for example, the history of the First Nations people, has worsened the divide between people of colour and non-people of colour, frustrated immigrant and communities of colour and has often lead to severe acts of racism.
Within the police and justice system, youth of colour are constantly targeted by police or security guards because of the systemically-backed stereotypes of the justice system. Youth of colour are often the victims of racial profiling, with this practice of being racially profiled intensifying amidst the post 9/11 hysteria and Canada’s tightening anti-terrorism legislation and initiatives. In large Eastern Canadian cities such as Toronto and Montreal, the African-Canadian community must contend with the consequences of racial profiling, whereas in Western cities such as Vancouver, Asian youth are often pulled over to be questioned of their whereabouts and activities, or even handcuffed and handled aggressively by police officers. In shopping malls, youth of colour find themselves continually harassed because they are hanging out in a large group. Youth of colour are discouraged and often humiliated in public primarily because they are viewed as threats when they congregate.
Confronting the Critical Moment
By further uncovering the history of people of colour and indigenous populations, we will collectively uncover the development of systemic racism as a tool of globalization to likewise divide and marginalize our communities. Likewise, by sharpening our analysis of the evolution of capitalism, we can best understand that racism, when organized into a multi-faceted and refined order is simply not a matter of words and stares that can be wiped out by an attitude change. This is far too infantile of a solution for a rather complex problem. In addition, when we assert that our economic displacement and maldevelopment is primarily due to the ills and waywardness of capitalism, we can then better assert and articulate with conviction that our collective marginalization as youth and as people of colour is not of our own doing nor our construction.
To quote the writer Milan Kundera:
“Forgetting is a form of death ever present within life…But forgetting is also the great problem of politics. When a big power wants to deprive a small [power] of its national consciousness it uses the method of organized forgetting…A nation which loses awareness of its past gradually loses itself.”
It is imperative that we revisit over and over again the beginnings of the ideology of systemic racism so as to not forget as people of colour our place in history and our responsibility to actively pursue a brighter future. By grasping and internalizing this history, we, as people of colour and concerned allies can better unite, educate, organize and mobilize against systemic racism.
The Young and the Restless: Youth and employment under Imperialism
Presented at the
International League of People’s Struggle: Second International Assembly
“Advance the People’s Solidarity and Struggle for Liberation and Democracy against Imperialist Plunder and War”
November 10-14, 2004, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Workshop 8: Youth on Education and Employment
Presented by Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada / Filipino-Canadian Youth
Alliance
“[As] youth…in the economic field, we seek national industrialization independent of foreign monopolies…We envision a just and prosperous society that is made possible only by the most intense and most effective political struggles of workers and peasants. We do not seek crumbs from the well-laden table of the almighty few but we seek general economic conditions that will not foster class exploitation.”
-Jose Maria Sison
The Uncertain Future
In this present age of imperialism, unquestionably led by the United States and supported by its motley crew aptly coined the “coalition of the willing,” the imperial interests of this despotic super-power seeks to expand its empire across the globe. Even before the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the United States was bent on further monopolizing the economies of the world by employing belligerent unilateral and multilateral political, economic and militaristic measures to achieve imperial hegemony. The creation of the Bretton Woods institutions—The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB)—the pacification of Afghanistan and the present occupation of Iraq are past and present demonstrations of imperial dominion. In the existing realm of imperialist globalization, no one, apart from the minority elite of wealthy nations and periphery countries are spared in the wake of “collateral damage” in the guise of “nation building.” In the economic arena, the three pillars of globalization: liberalization, deregulation and privatization have widened the gap between rich and poor economies, and thus consequently worsened the conditions of workers worldwide, most especially workers of the Third World. The contractualization of labour, repressive labour policies, yellow unions, the lowering of wages and massive unemployment on a global scale are symptomatic of globalization. Youth and students are not only affected by this disorder, but must bear the insecurity of an uncertain future.
The 21st Century Imperium
To better understand the root causes of the global youth unemployment crisis, it is imperative to understand the present imperialist agenda of imperialist nations, in particular, the “American Imperium.”
To reach its target destination of absolute global hegemony, the United States uses its unrivaled military power to realize this goal. The United States, under the pretense of war as directed by the newly re-elected Bush regime, job growth and employment is immediate and abundant. As observed by Jayati Ghosh, Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, on the United States’ war of aggression:
“…the very moves towards war against Iraq are in fact the US government’s way of trying to deal with the economic problem as well…
Wars have been – and remain – a classic way of diverting public attention from domestic problems and issues that governments are unable or unwilling to address effectively. But also, wars have typically been seen as powerful positive stimuli for economies that are suffering from unutilized capacity and unemployment. They create employment, increase aggregate demand because of enhanced public expenditure, and have positive multiplier effects. More recently, defense expenditure has been seen as playing a key role in productivity increases because of its impact on new technologies and their wider application.”
The United States’ gargantuan military-industrial complex is a booming industry as the latest technology is rapidly being produced and re-produced. Included in Washington’s industrial military complex is the manufacturing of military uniforms, boots, hats, accessories as well as the utilization of poorly-paid kitchen, maintenance and medical staff.
Moreover, American engineering and construction companies such as Halliburton (ironically its former CEO is current US Vice President Dick Cheney) and its subsidiary company, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), made a combined US$19.4 billion in sales to operate and clean up oil fields in occupied countries such as Iraq. Aside from the operations in Iraq, KBR signed a combined US$316 billion to build US bases and embassies in Kabul and Afghanistan.
Countries that have been indentified as part of the “coalition of the willing” have been awarded with “preferential treatment” for their unwavering commitment to the US war in Iraq. Since 9/11, the Philippines is the leading Asian country to voice support for the Bush-led war against terrorism. Shortly after destruction of the Twin Towers, the United States presented the Philippines with US$38 million in military aid and increased it to US$114.6 million in 2003. Additionally, Philippine President, Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo committed to provide Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) to aid in the reconstruction of Iraq under the newly-formed Philippine Public-Private Sector Partnership for the Reconstruction and Development in Iraq.
According to Bulatlat.com:
“…up to 100,000 overseas Filipino migrant workers (OFW’s) would find their jobs in the war-battered Middle East country. Their employment was expected to generate millions of dollar remittances for the deficit-ridden government, among others. OFW’s, now counting almost 10 million in many countries across the globe contribute half of the country’s GDP.”
The deployment of US Troops in various war torn countries necessitates the rise of prostitution for no determinant grounds other than the rest and recreation for soldiers and for the accelerated, albeit unstable economic growth in occupied countries. For example, after the ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1998, as many as 2000 prostitutes reported for duty from Davoa to Zamboanga City. During the hey-day of the US bases, Subic and Clark in the 1980’s, the cities of Angeles and Olongapo in Metro Manila were economically dependent on the striving prostitution industry.
The artificial jump in employment of course fails to address the fact that when there is an accelerated economic growth spurt especially in the midst of financial and political chaos, it is at the expense of poor, working people and their families. As one Latin American general said about the so-called success stories of Mexico and Brazil: “The economy is doing great, but the people in it are not.”
Administering the Quick Fix, Aggravating the Malady
The working people of relatively prosperous economies are generally young workers between the ages of 15-24, and more often than not, they are the sacrificial lambs in times of employment and economic stagnation and chaos.
According to a recent study published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), youth between the ages of 15-24 represent nearly half of the world’s jobless, or make up the 47% of the total 186 million people who were without work in 2003. The report further explains,
“The relative disadvantage of youth is more pronounced in developing countries, where they make up a strikingly higher proportion of the labour force than in industrialized economies…Eighty-five percent of the world’s youth live in developing countries where they are 3.8 times more likely to be unemployed than adults, as compared with 2.3 times in industrialized economies.”
Additionally, the ILO determined that “The report puts the global youth unemployment rate at 14.4 percent in 2004, a 26.8 percent increase of the total number of young unemployed people over the past decade. Youth unemployment rates in 2003 were highest in the Middle East and North Africa (25.6 percent), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (21 per cent), the Transition economies (18.6 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (16.6 per cent), South-East Asia (16.4 per cent), South Asia (13.9 per cent). The Industrialized economies region was the only region where youth unemployment saw a distinct decrease (from 15.4 per cent in 1993 to 13.4 per cent in 2003).”
The ILO reported that poor working youth face “long hours, short-term or informal contracts, low pay and little or no social protection such as social security or other social benefits” and, despite being employed, youth are still unable to remove themselves and their families from poverty, thus young people are “increasingly dependent on their families and are more susceptible to illegal activities.” Youth are often discriminated on the basis of “age, sex and socio-economic background,” and that “Dominant ethnic groups fare better in most countries’ labour markets, and…that, in general, youth from lower income households are more likely to be unemployed.”
In response to the youth unemployment maelstrom, global institutions have provided temporary solutions to stimulate ephemeral employment.
Using the quandary of youth unemployment, the Youth Employment Network (YEN), a United Nations-World Bank love child was conceived to provide, “technical support and policy advice” to struggling countries, but have only distorted the economies of the periphery. In carrying out “targeted and integrated economic policies” to alleviate youth unemployment, the YEN has consolidated “10 leading countries” to champion such development agendas. To the avail of capitalist nations, the championing include: Azerbaijan, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sri Lanka—countries that are Third World, war torn or have been targeted as “rogue” or Terrorist States.
Beneath the charade of development and economic prosperity, lies a tainted confessional of privatization, liberalization, deregulation ventures to further bend Third World countries to the interests of imperialist globalization.
In Senegal, the Senegalese Public Works Programme was created by the World Bank and the African Development Bank to develop short-term employment for youth by privatizing and subcontracting the public works and services industry. By contracting components of the public works facilities, the program managed to create 350,000 short term employment, but only 6000 permanent were generated out of the US$33 million funded project.
Despite this concerted effort, Senegal must still contend to chronic overall unemployment, and since accepting further “financial support” from the “international donor community”, Senegal was coerced into further altering its economy. One such example was the devaluation of the Senegalese franc by 50% in 1994.
However much imperialist institutions try to soften the blow of the explosive rate of youth unemployment, they are quick fixes and merely aggravate the malady. The resolutions provided cannot eliminate the crisis as they do not sever the root cause of the unemployment phenomena. This is due to the fact that they are initiatives within the framework of the imperial brotherhood of the World Bank, IMF, ILO and United Nations whose priority is to propel the economic standing of wealthier countries and in doing so, throws the periphery economies off course.
A Necessary Reminder
“The youth of today are not only the products of the system; they are also the antithesis of that system.”
-Renato Constantino
The global situation of youth employment cannot be divorced from the current worldwide social, economic and political instability caused by the United States’ imperial agenda. Utilizing the threat of terrorism, US imperialism continues to pummel countries struggling for their national liberation for no other reason than for the expansion of its empire and beautifies “collateral damage” by way employment, irrespective of the reality that the majority of youth in occupied countries are unable to work, therefore jeopardizing their right to a life of fulfillment and dignity. Under the confines of monopoly capitalism, unemployment and the erratic nature and quality of employment is a necessary element for the maintenance of this present system. As US imperialism works for the acquisition of global hegemony, it is confronted with the contradictions of its dynamic yet regressive nature; thus employment programs are created for as long as they serve the interest of an elite clique who negate the needs of the society as a whole.
The jobs provided for the army of unemployed youth are oftentimes short-term, intermittent, low-paying and contractual with little or no benefits and protection. For those who are fortunate to find decent work it is for the most part, by nature, alienating and afflicting as the final output of human labour does not dignify nor develop the sense of responsibility towards their fellow people for the advancement and liberation of society, but for the immortality of imperialism.
As youth and students of progressive organizations, our participation here at the Second International Assembly of the International League of People’s Struggle under the over-arching theme of “Advance the People’s Solidarity and Struggle for Liberation and Democracy against Imperialist Plunder and War” is a reflection of the political determination and historical legacy characteristic of youth militancy. Moreover, our engagement is not only a necessary reminder for youth and students to further mobilize against US imperialism but to also dignify society where people young and old “can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting themselves to society.”
International League of People’s Struggle: Second International Assembly
“Advance the People’s Solidarity and Struggle for Liberation and Democracy against Imperialist Plunder and War”
November 10-14, 2004, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Workshop 8: Youth on Education and Employment
Presented by Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada / Filipino-Canadian Youth
Alliance
“[As] youth…in the economic field, we seek national industrialization independent of foreign monopolies…We envision a just and prosperous society that is made possible only by the most intense and most effective political struggles of workers and peasants. We do not seek crumbs from the well-laden table of the almighty few but we seek general economic conditions that will not foster class exploitation.”
-Jose Maria Sison
The Uncertain Future
In this present age of imperialism, unquestionably led by the United States and supported by its motley crew aptly coined the “coalition of the willing,” the imperial interests of this despotic super-power seeks to expand its empire across the globe. Even before the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the United States was bent on further monopolizing the economies of the world by employing belligerent unilateral and multilateral political, economic and militaristic measures to achieve imperial hegemony. The creation of the Bretton Woods institutions—The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB)—the pacification of Afghanistan and the present occupation of Iraq are past and present demonstrations of imperial dominion. In the existing realm of imperialist globalization, no one, apart from the minority elite of wealthy nations and periphery countries are spared in the wake of “collateral damage” in the guise of “nation building.” In the economic arena, the three pillars of globalization: liberalization, deregulation and privatization have widened the gap between rich and poor economies, and thus consequently worsened the conditions of workers worldwide, most especially workers of the Third World. The contractualization of labour, repressive labour policies, yellow unions, the lowering of wages and massive unemployment on a global scale are symptomatic of globalization. Youth and students are not only affected by this disorder, but must bear the insecurity of an uncertain future.
The 21st Century Imperium
To better understand the root causes of the global youth unemployment crisis, it is imperative to understand the present imperialist agenda of imperialist nations, in particular, the “American Imperium.”
To reach its target destination of absolute global hegemony, the United States uses its unrivaled military power to realize this goal. The United States, under the pretense of war as directed by the newly re-elected Bush regime, job growth and employment is immediate and abundant. As observed by Jayati Ghosh, Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, on the United States’ war of aggression:
“…the very moves towards war against Iraq are in fact the US government’s way of trying to deal with the economic problem as well…
Wars have been – and remain – a classic way of diverting public attention from domestic problems and issues that governments are unable or unwilling to address effectively. But also, wars have typically been seen as powerful positive stimuli for economies that are suffering from unutilized capacity and unemployment. They create employment, increase aggregate demand because of enhanced public expenditure, and have positive multiplier effects. More recently, defense expenditure has been seen as playing a key role in productivity increases because of its impact on new technologies and their wider application.”
The United States’ gargantuan military-industrial complex is a booming industry as the latest technology is rapidly being produced and re-produced. Included in Washington’s industrial military complex is the manufacturing of military uniforms, boots, hats, accessories as well as the utilization of poorly-paid kitchen, maintenance and medical staff.
Moreover, American engineering and construction companies such as Halliburton (ironically its former CEO is current US Vice President Dick Cheney) and its subsidiary company, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), made a combined US$19.4 billion in sales to operate and clean up oil fields in occupied countries such as Iraq. Aside from the operations in Iraq, KBR signed a combined US$316 billion to build US bases and embassies in Kabul and Afghanistan.
Countries that have been indentified as part of the “coalition of the willing” have been awarded with “preferential treatment” for their unwavering commitment to the US war in Iraq. Since 9/11, the Philippines is the leading Asian country to voice support for the Bush-led war against terrorism. Shortly after destruction of the Twin Towers, the United States presented the Philippines with US$38 million in military aid and increased it to US$114.6 million in 2003. Additionally, Philippine President, Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo committed to provide Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) to aid in the reconstruction of Iraq under the newly-formed Philippine Public-Private Sector Partnership for the Reconstruction and Development in Iraq.
According to Bulatlat.com:
“…up to 100,000 overseas Filipino migrant workers (OFW’s) would find their jobs in the war-battered Middle East country. Their employment was expected to generate millions of dollar remittances for the deficit-ridden government, among others. OFW’s, now counting almost 10 million in many countries across the globe contribute half of the country’s GDP.”
The deployment of US Troops in various war torn countries necessitates the rise of prostitution for no determinant grounds other than the rest and recreation for soldiers and for the accelerated, albeit unstable economic growth in occupied countries. For example, after the ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1998, as many as 2000 prostitutes reported for duty from Davoa to Zamboanga City. During the hey-day of the US bases, Subic and Clark in the 1980’s, the cities of Angeles and Olongapo in Metro Manila were economically dependent on the striving prostitution industry.
The artificial jump in employment of course fails to address the fact that when there is an accelerated economic growth spurt especially in the midst of financial and political chaos, it is at the expense of poor, working people and their families. As one Latin American general said about the so-called success stories of Mexico and Brazil: “The economy is doing great, but the people in it are not.”
Administering the Quick Fix, Aggravating the Malady
The working people of relatively prosperous economies are generally young workers between the ages of 15-24, and more often than not, they are the sacrificial lambs in times of employment and economic stagnation and chaos.
According to a recent study published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), youth between the ages of 15-24 represent nearly half of the world’s jobless, or make up the 47% of the total 186 million people who were without work in 2003. The report further explains,
“The relative disadvantage of youth is more pronounced in developing countries, where they make up a strikingly higher proportion of the labour force than in industrialized economies…Eighty-five percent of the world’s youth live in developing countries where they are 3.8 times more likely to be unemployed than adults, as compared with 2.3 times in industrialized economies.”
Additionally, the ILO determined that “The report puts the global youth unemployment rate at 14.4 percent in 2004, a 26.8 percent increase of the total number of young unemployed people over the past decade. Youth unemployment rates in 2003 were highest in the Middle East and North Africa (25.6 percent), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (21 per cent), the Transition economies (18.6 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (16.6 per cent), South-East Asia (16.4 per cent), South Asia (13.9 per cent). The Industrialized economies region was the only region where youth unemployment saw a distinct decrease (from 15.4 per cent in 1993 to 13.4 per cent in 2003).”
The ILO reported that poor working youth face “long hours, short-term or informal contracts, low pay and little or no social protection such as social security or other social benefits” and, despite being employed, youth are still unable to remove themselves and their families from poverty, thus young people are “increasingly dependent on their families and are more susceptible to illegal activities.” Youth are often discriminated on the basis of “age, sex and socio-economic background,” and that “Dominant ethnic groups fare better in most countries’ labour markets, and…that, in general, youth from lower income households are more likely to be unemployed.”
In response to the youth unemployment maelstrom, global institutions have provided temporary solutions to stimulate ephemeral employment.
Using the quandary of youth unemployment, the Youth Employment Network (YEN), a United Nations-World Bank love child was conceived to provide, “technical support and policy advice” to struggling countries, but have only distorted the economies of the periphery. In carrying out “targeted and integrated economic policies” to alleviate youth unemployment, the YEN has consolidated “10 leading countries” to champion such development agendas. To the avail of capitalist nations, the championing include: Azerbaijan, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sri Lanka—countries that are Third World, war torn or have been targeted as “rogue” or Terrorist States.
Beneath the charade of development and economic prosperity, lies a tainted confessional of privatization, liberalization, deregulation ventures to further bend Third World countries to the interests of imperialist globalization.
In Senegal, the Senegalese Public Works Programme was created by the World Bank and the African Development Bank to develop short-term employment for youth by privatizing and subcontracting the public works and services industry. By contracting components of the public works facilities, the program managed to create 350,000 short term employment, but only 6000 permanent were generated out of the US$33 million funded project.
Despite this concerted effort, Senegal must still contend to chronic overall unemployment, and since accepting further “financial support” from the “international donor community”, Senegal was coerced into further altering its economy. One such example was the devaluation of the Senegalese franc by 50% in 1994.
However much imperialist institutions try to soften the blow of the explosive rate of youth unemployment, they are quick fixes and merely aggravate the malady. The resolutions provided cannot eliminate the crisis as they do not sever the root cause of the unemployment phenomena. This is due to the fact that they are initiatives within the framework of the imperial brotherhood of the World Bank, IMF, ILO and United Nations whose priority is to propel the economic standing of wealthier countries and in doing so, throws the periphery economies off course.
A Necessary Reminder
“The youth of today are not only the products of the system; they are also the antithesis of that system.”
-Renato Constantino
The global situation of youth employment cannot be divorced from the current worldwide social, economic and political instability caused by the United States’ imperial agenda. Utilizing the threat of terrorism, US imperialism continues to pummel countries struggling for their national liberation for no other reason than for the expansion of its empire and beautifies “collateral damage” by way employment, irrespective of the reality that the majority of youth in occupied countries are unable to work, therefore jeopardizing their right to a life of fulfillment and dignity. Under the confines of monopoly capitalism, unemployment and the erratic nature and quality of employment is a necessary element for the maintenance of this present system. As US imperialism works for the acquisition of global hegemony, it is confronted with the contradictions of its dynamic yet regressive nature; thus employment programs are created for as long as they serve the interest of an elite clique who negate the needs of the society as a whole.
The jobs provided for the army of unemployed youth are oftentimes short-term, intermittent, low-paying and contractual with little or no benefits and protection. For those who are fortunate to find decent work it is for the most part, by nature, alienating and afflicting as the final output of human labour does not dignify nor develop the sense of responsibility towards their fellow people for the advancement and liberation of society, but for the immortality of imperialism.
As youth and students of progressive organizations, our participation here at the Second International Assembly of the International League of People’s Struggle under the over-arching theme of “Advance the People’s Solidarity and Struggle for Liberation and Democracy against Imperialist Plunder and War” is a reflection of the political determination and historical legacy characteristic of youth militancy. Moreover, our engagement is not only a necessary reminder for youth and students to further mobilize against US imperialism but to also dignify society where people young and old “can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting themselves to society.”
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Philippine Women's Centre: Transforming Communities, Transforming Filipinas
*presented at Kabataang Babae Sulong para sa Kinabukasan!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, BC
They are quite different from other Asians like Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean etc...They are more bustier, sexier, darker skin...[a] Race who treats their partner like a king!!!
-"Filipina" from Urban Dictionary
A female from the Philippines. Usually abroad in the U.S. to work as registered nurses. Often they are trophy wives or maids to their husbands, [who] are usually old and Caucasian...who ordered them online....
-"Filipina" from Urban Dictionary
Of Public and Private Property
The socialization of Filipino women is summed up in these two illuminating "definitions". The former illustrating Filipino women as public property in the most humialting manner, the latter illustrating Filipino women as private property in the most submissive manner. While it seems hardly necessary to labour on the racist and sexist dogmas they encroach on Filipino women, nevertheless, they are graphic reminders of how Filipino women are percieved, thus determining how contemporary--and in our context, Western society treats and abuse Filipino women.
These stereotypes and the manipulation of Filipino women's bodies and identities are hardly new developments--young Filipino women have been on the receiving end of violence for the last 500 years: 300 years in the Spanish Convent, 50 years in Hollywood and now languishing in the post-colonial, war on terror era. For young Filipino women in Canada, we have been on the receiving end of exploitation in all its excesses since the first trickle of Filipino migration in the 1960's. However, repression, in all its creative manifestations, creates its own reaction and the formation of the Philippine Women's Centre of BC (PWC) in 1989 is an example of this dialectic. The organization of the PWC necessitates the process towards emancipation of Filipino women for the overall liberation of the Filipino community, thus sharpening the feminist tradition our sisters in the Philippines ignited before the time of Gabriela Silang and continues to be strengthened during the time of gross human rights violations and killings.
Beyond the Wild, Wild West
The early years of the PWC were met with challenges on a theoretial level and in methods of social practice. Western feminism, despite all its struggles and achievements in identifying the gender oppresssion of women, and "freeing" women from captivity from the private sphere, fails to interpret the quadruple oppression of Filipino women. By the end of the 1980's and at the beginning of the 1990's, Filipino women were entering Canada in droves not as landed professionals as previous Filipinas did, but as domestic workers with post-secondary education through the Foreign Domestic Movement (FDM) and since 1992, through the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). The primary struggle of Filipino women was not psychological nor was it about sexual liberation alone. The struggle for Filipino women was and remains to be as women, as workers, as women of colour, as immigrants-- as immigrant women workers of colour.
This quadruple oppression, compounded with the misery of feudal and cultural values imported from the Philippines, aggravated by racism, sexism and extreme individualism perpetuated and championed in Western society set forth the following objectives and program of the PWC:
The sharp analysis of Filipino migration not only looked at the history of migration, but looked toward the future so as to enable the potential and full participation of Filipino women in Canadian society. In doing this, the historical place and role of young Filipino women was integrated, thus further uniting a rather fragmented community.
Throughout the 20 year history of the PWC, hundreds of Filipino women have passed through its doors, from domestic workers to second-generation Filipino-Canadian women. I could go through the entire history, but lack of time and to avoid a long and drawn out historical lecture, I'll provide a sample of the work of the PWC since 1989 in the areas of education, organization, mobilization and economic development.
Education
Projects:
Organizing
Inspired by this example, the current young members of the PWC initiated discussion groups as part of the practicum of the Towards Our Liberation Women's Studies Program earlier this year. Gathering several young women from diverse backgrounds--second generation Canadian born Filipinas, immigrant women, young mother, students, and working professionals, the discussion and focus groups reflected the collective issues young Filipino women face on a daily basis. These issues included the reconciliation of identity crises, racism, sexism, gender oppression, family and generational dynamics, lack of access to education and decent employment. Thus an informal launching of the PWC-Young Women's Committee was initiated, and of the that initiation, the fruition of this conference today. The theme and objectives of this conference, "Kabataang Babae Sulong para sa Kinabukasan! Balik sa Ugat: Kapit Bisig! Magkaisa Kababaihan sa Pagpapalaya ng Bayan!" is a renewal and celebration of the feminist tradition of Filipino women, as this is just the beginning of bigger and more militantly exciting actions and gatherings.
Transforming Communities, Transforming Filipinas
As the PWC continues to be a work-in-progress, ever conscious of raising its standards to empower Filipino women, the community and to support the Philippines' aspiration for national democracy and liberation, Filipino women are also works-in-progress. Being works-in-progress, liberated women march forward, asserting our human rights and roles in society, stripping the shackles of our old selves and forging our freedom in the process of our new, liberated selves. It is difficult at the moment, to envision THE total and complete liberated woman--feminists from Simone de Bouvoire to Congresswoman Liza Maza of the Gabriela Party List in the Philippines defined and continue to define that woman--but we have yet to reach that point of totality. I have no answers, first we women are complex, divided creatures. Second, women will only be liberated in relation to the liberation of society, and that road is long and arduous. Our community and our situation as Filipino women has reached an acute climax where settling for mediocracy and consoling ourselves with the "at least" mantra is no longer acceptable and indeed perilous to the dignity of our community and to ourselves. Studying, analyzing and taking collective action are the tools towards the new woman--and what an awesome ride it's been so far towards emancipation! Together we ARE creating models and leaders in our community we can proudly emulate and succeed.
In the principle of offering best our human qualities towards the redefinition of humanity, I offer this to all the young women participating at this conference and especially to those who are unable attend: If you believe your life is worth living, then you will live it with compassion and conviction and I hope we all live our lives in the best of struggle in the colourful, political language that only liberated women can animate and assert.
And returning to the earlier definitions of the Filipina from Urban Dictionary, I am throwing a definite rebutle more concrete and more fitting to The Filipina that Ninotchka Rosca--feminist, writer, chairwoman of the Purple Rose Campaign and celebrated diva--bestowed to all Filipinas on the wake of the guilty conviction of one American soldier (out of three) who participated in the gang-rape of Nicole, a 22-year old Filipina, in the Philippines in 2006:
What fine daughters of Gabriela Silang they all are, from Nicole down to the 18 year-old still wearing her St. Scholastica Catholic school uniform as she picketed in front of the courthouse. They make us proud to be women, and to be women of Philippine ancestry.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, BC
They are quite different from other Asians like Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean etc...They are more bustier, sexier, darker skin...[a] Race who treats their partner like a king!!!
-"Filipina" from Urban Dictionary
A female from the Philippines. Usually abroad in the U.S. to work as registered nurses. Often they are trophy wives or maids to their husbands, [who] are usually old and Caucasian...who ordered them online....
-"Filipina" from Urban Dictionary
Of Public and Private Property
The socialization of Filipino women is summed up in these two illuminating "definitions". The former illustrating Filipino women as public property in the most humialting manner, the latter illustrating Filipino women as private property in the most submissive manner. While it seems hardly necessary to labour on the racist and sexist dogmas they encroach on Filipino women, nevertheless, they are graphic reminders of how Filipino women are percieved, thus determining how contemporary--and in our context, Western society treats and abuse Filipino women.
These stereotypes and the manipulation of Filipino women's bodies and identities are hardly new developments--young Filipino women have been on the receiving end of violence for the last 500 years: 300 years in the Spanish Convent, 50 years in Hollywood and now languishing in the post-colonial, war on terror era. For young Filipino women in Canada, we have been on the receiving end of exploitation in all its excesses since the first trickle of Filipino migration in the 1960's. However, repression, in all its creative manifestations, creates its own reaction and the formation of the Philippine Women's Centre of BC (PWC) in 1989 is an example of this dialectic. The organization of the PWC necessitates the process towards emancipation of Filipino women for the overall liberation of the Filipino community, thus sharpening the feminist tradition our sisters in the Philippines ignited before the time of Gabriela Silang and continues to be strengthened during the time of gross human rights violations and killings.
Beyond the Wild, Wild West
The early years of the PWC were met with challenges on a theoretial level and in methods of social practice. Western feminism, despite all its struggles and achievements in identifying the gender oppresssion of women, and "freeing" women from captivity from the private sphere, fails to interpret the quadruple oppression of Filipino women. By the end of the 1980's and at the beginning of the 1990's, Filipino women were entering Canada in droves not as landed professionals as previous Filipinas did, but as domestic workers with post-secondary education through the Foreign Domestic Movement (FDM) and since 1992, through the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). The primary struggle of Filipino women was not psychological nor was it about sexual liberation alone. The struggle for Filipino women was and remains to be as women, as workers, as women of colour, as immigrants-- as immigrant women workers of colour.
This quadruple oppression, compounded with the misery of feudal and cultural values imported from the Philippines, aggravated by racism, sexism and extreme individualism perpetuated and championed in Western society set forth the following objectives and program of the PWC:
- To promote awareness of Philippine women of their common interests, issues and the problems as women of an ethinic minority of Canada;
- To help foster feminist values, emphasizing them from the perspective and experiences of Philippine women;
- To encourage the inter-cultural understanding among women from other ethnic communities;
- To dessiminate information about the Philippine community and about events in the Philippines;
- To establish links with other groups which share the same common interests as the PWC;
- To coordinate or work with agencies, associations, groups and individuals for the purpose of achieving its objectives.
The sharp analysis of Filipino migration not only looked at the history of migration, but looked toward the future so as to enable the potential and full participation of Filipino women in Canadian society. In doing this, the historical place and role of young Filipino women was integrated, thus further uniting a rather fragmented community.
Throughout the 20 year history of the PWC, hundreds of Filipino women have passed through its doors, from domestic workers to second-generation Filipino-Canadian women. I could go through the entire history, but lack of time and to avoid a long and drawn out historical lecture, I'll provide a sample of the work of the PWC since 1989 in the areas of education, organization, mobilization and economic development.
Education
Projects:
- Housing Needs Assessment of Filipino Domestic Workers
- Trapped: Holding on to the Knife's Edge-Economic Violence against Filipino Migrant/Immigrant Women
- Echoes: Cries fro Freedom, Justice and Equality-Filipino Women Speak
- Canada: The Next Frontier for Filipino-Mail Order Brides
- Centre Update
- Towards our Liberation: Filipino Women's Studies Program
- Computer and design skills training
- Media Training
- Writing workshops
- Towards Filipino Women's Equality: National Consultative Forum/1989-1999 10th Anniversary
- North American Consultative Forum for Women of Philippine Ancestry
Organizing
- Integration and social investigation with the community
- Assisted with the formation of SIKLAB (Overseas Migrant Workrs Organization), Filipino Nurses Support Group (FNSG), Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance/Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada (FCYA/UKPC)
- Assisted with the formation PWC-Quebec, PWC-Ontario, PWC-Manitoba
- Assisted with the formation of Grassroots Women
- Assisted with the formation of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC)
- Scrapping of the LCP
- The Purple Rose Campaign (PRC)
- NO! To APEC Coalition
- Participated in the international campaign for Flor Contemplacion
- Participated in the international campaign for Sarah Balabagan
- Paluwagan (Savings Circle)
- Catering Program, esp. at the annual Under the Volcano Festival for Art and Social Change
- Carwashes, Raffles, Trips to the Philippines Raffle, Garage sales, Fundraising dances
Inspired by this example, the current young members of the PWC initiated discussion groups as part of the practicum of the Towards Our Liberation Women's Studies Program earlier this year. Gathering several young women from diverse backgrounds--second generation Canadian born Filipinas, immigrant women, young mother, students, and working professionals, the discussion and focus groups reflected the collective issues young Filipino women face on a daily basis. These issues included the reconciliation of identity crises, racism, sexism, gender oppression, family and generational dynamics, lack of access to education and decent employment. Thus an informal launching of the PWC-Young Women's Committee was initiated, and of the that initiation, the fruition of this conference today. The theme and objectives of this conference, "Kabataang Babae Sulong para sa Kinabukasan! Balik sa Ugat: Kapit Bisig! Magkaisa Kababaihan sa Pagpapalaya ng Bayan!" is a renewal and celebration of the feminist tradition of Filipino women, as this is just the beginning of bigger and more militantly exciting actions and gatherings.
Transforming Communities, Transforming Filipinas
As the PWC continues to be a work-in-progress, ever conscious of raising its standards to empower Filipino women, the community and to support the Philippines' aspiration for national democracy and liberation, Filipino women are also works-in-progress. Being works-in-progress, liberated women march forward, asserting our human rights and roles in society, stripping the shackles of our old selves and forging our freedom in the process of our new, liberated selves. It is difficult at the moment, to envision THE total and complete liberated woman--feminists from Simone de Bouvoire to Congresswoman Liza Maza of the Gabriela Party List in the Philippines defined and continue to define that woman--but we have yet to reach that point of totality. I have no answers, first we women are complex, divided creatures. Second, women will only be liberated in relation to the liberation of society, and that road is long and arduous. Our community and our situation as Filipino women has reached an acute climax where settling for mediocracy and consoling ourselves with the "at least" mantra is no longer acceptable and indeed perilous to the dignity of our community and to ourselves. Studying, analyzing and taking collective action are the tools towards the new woman--and what an awesome ride it's been so far towards emancipation! Together we ARE creating models and leaders in our community we can proudly emulate and succeed.
In the principle of offering best our human qualities towards the redefinition of humanity, I offer this to all the young women participating at this conference and especially to those who are unable attend: If you believe your life is worth living, then you will live it with compassion and conviction and I hope we all live our lives in the best of struggle in the colourful, political language that only liberated women can animate and assert.
And returning to the earlier definitions of the Filipina from Urban Dictionary, I am throwing a definite rebutle more concrete and more fitting to The Filipina that Ninotchka Rosca--feminist, writer, chairwoman of the Purple Rose Campaign and celebrated diva--bestowed to all Filipinas on the wake of the guilty conviction of one American soldier (out of three) who participated in the gang-rape of Nicole, a 22-year old Filipina, in the Philippines in 2006:
What fine daughters of Gabriela Silang they all are, from Nicole down to the 18 year-old still wearing her St. Scholastica Catholic school uniform as she picketed in front of the courthouse. They make us proud to be women, and to be women of Philippine ancestry.
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