Our non-profit blog was inspired by a Filipina domestic from the Middle East who left her newborn baby – with placenta still attached – at the Bahrain Gulf Air airplane toilet - upon landing in Manila, read her story here http://filipina-nannies-caregivers.blogspot.ca/2013/05/this-blog-was-inspired-by-filipina.htm . Her despair and desperation inspired this blog to gather all possible stories in order to help, to inform and to empower all Filipina nannies, caregivers and maids -- to liberate themselves from abuses of all forms: physical, rape, verbal, exploitation, overtime working without pay.... Send us your stories. Stay anonymous - if you like. (No one can afford to deny this matter anymore). Write in Tagalog, or your dialect, or English, or French, or any language. ALL nannies, caregivers and domestic maids are welcome, send your stories to mangococonutmay1@gmail.com
See our Facebook for Filipina Nannies -- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006253052815
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JOIN AF3IRM Association of Filipinas, Feminists Fighting Imperialism, Re-feudalization, and Marginalization http://www.af3irm.org/home
AF3IRM is a new anti-imperialist, transnational feminist women’s organization, evolving from the organization formerly known as GABNet, and 20 years of women’s organizing, activism, and struggle.
TAKE TO THE STREETS FOR TRANSNATIONAL WOMENS’ INCLUSION IN IMMIGRATION REFORM!FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2013
Jollene Levid , AF3IRM Chairperson
chair@af3irm.org
323-356-4748
May Day Statement 2013
Immigrants’ Rights Are Women’s Rights!
AF3IRM will take to the streets on May Day 2013, the global holiday for the empowerment and unity of working people. We stand with our allies to demonstrate for workers’ rights, union rights for all, and to call for a pro-transnational women’s immigration policy! We demand swift legalization for all people, an end to the deportations and separation of families, and an end to the militarization of the border. We will not accept just any immigration “reform” with cutbacks that only work to appease capitalist institutions and the political right. We assert that anyone who’s good enough to work in the United States is good enough to stay!
AF3IRM marches to declare the need for transnational women’s voices to be included in fixing the broken immigration system. With the introduction of the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill on April 17th, this year’s May Day will be a vital moment to gather in solidarity to fight for respect and equal opportunity for transnational women. The current bill is a product of compromise that is right-leaning and leaves countless immigrants out of the picture. It creates barriers towards a path to citizenship for many undocumented women and their families due to excessive fees, date restrictions and harsh criminal background checks. AF3IRM especially condemns the bill’s intent to funnel billions more to border enforcement. This move will disparately impact communities living along the northern and southern borders who have already endured a consistent onslaught of human and civil rights abuses inflicted by U.S. Border Patrol.
Real reform means protecting the rights of transnational women who make up over fifty percent of America’s undocumented immigrant population. Their futures will be affected by the decisions of eight men in the Senate, known as the Gang of Eight. Just like when right-wing, mostly male politicians spearheaded their recent attack on reproductive rights and attempted to derail the Violence Against Women Act, we must again stand up and fight back!
“Countless women will be adversely affected by the current stipulations of the bill,” says Jollene Levid, AF3IRM National Chairperson. “It proposes to take down essential components of our family-based immigration system.” The current guidelines will end the option for U.S. citizens to sponsor non-citizen siblings and adult married children. Transnational women will especially be affected by these changes, since 70 percent of immigrant women gain permanent residency in the United States through family-based visas. While we commend advocates’ efforts in ending the decades-long backlog that many families have to endure and opening opportunities for LGBT partners to sponsor one another, the bill falls drastically short in protecting a significant population.
We challenge the 10-year wait for legalization, and another three for citizenship that is in the current proposal. Transnational women need a swifter pathway to citizenship, with many of them already here for years raising families and working.
We also challenge long waits for transnational women to gain access to healthcare. The current proposal creates a 13 to 15 year wait for access to affordable health insurance options. This long wait could be a matter of life or death for a hardworking immigrant woman with no access to healthcare.
We challenge the current proposal’s focus on individuals with advanced degrees and specialized skills, while subjecting laborers and guest workers with unfair barriers like stringent documentation requirements and longer waits. This will negatively impact both men and women, but will especially affect transnational women because work they typically do (administrative, factory work, and caretaking) are not respected or considered as professions. The proposal’s disregard for women workers is yet another example of institutional practices that contribute to the feminization of poverty and the gender wage gap (77 cents white women, 64 cents black women, 52 cents Latinas for every white male worker dollar made). We believe in reform that recognizes the contribution of women in the home, the factory, the office and the field.
Transnational women’s voices must be amplified in this International Workers' Day. We say MARCH WITH US! It is time to fight for women’s equality and inclusion in decision-making processes that affect our lives. Join us as we challenge racist, patriarchal, and anti-immigrant forces that continue to exploit transnational working women!
AF3IRM chapters across the country will go out and assert their place in the struggle. AF3IRM NY will be taking part in the May Day rally that will begin at 4:00pm at Union Square and end at City Hall at 7:30pm. AF3IRM LA will be joining the rally that begins at Olympic and Broadway at 12:00pm. Join us as we RISE AND MARCH!
April 25, 2013
Jollene Levid , AF3IRM Chairperson
chair@af3irm.org
323-356-4748
May Day Statement 2013
Immigrants’ Rights Are Women’s Rights!
AF3IRM will take to the streets on May Day 2013, the global holiday for the empowerment and unity of working people. We stand with our allies to demonstrate for workers’ rights, union rights for all, and to call for a pro-transnational women’s immigration policy! We demand swift legalization for all people, an end to the deportations and separation of families, and an end to the militarization of the border. We will not accept just any immigration “reform” with cutbacks that only work to appease capitalist institutions and the political right. We assert that anyone who’s good enough to work in the United States is good enough to stay!
AF3IRM marches to declare the need for transnational women’s voices to be included in fixing the broken immigration system. With the introduction of the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill on April 17th, this year’s May Day will be a vital moment to gather in solidarity to fight for respect and equal opportunity for transnational women. The current bill is a product of compromise that is right-leaning and leaves countless immigrants out of the picture. It creates barriers towards a path to citizenship for many undocumented women and their families due to excessive fees, date restrictions and harsh criminal background checks. AF3IRM especially condemns the bill’s intent to funnel billions more to border enforcement. This move will disparately impact communities living along the northern and southern borders who have already endured a consistent onslaught of human and civil rights abuses inflicted by U.S. Border Patrol.
Real reform means protecting the rights of transnational women who make up over fifty percent of America’s undocumented immigrant population. Their futures will be affected by the decisions of eight men in the Senate, known as the Gang of Eight. Just like when right-wing, mostly male politicians spearheaded their recent attack on reproductive rights and attempted to derail the Violence Against Women Act, we must again stand up and fight back!
“Countless women will be adversely affected by the current stipulations of the bill,” says Jollene Levid, AF3IRM National Chairperson. “It proposes to take down essential components of our family-based immigration system.” The current guidelines will end the option for U.S. citizens to sponsor non-citizen siblings and adult married children. Transnational women will especially be affected by these changes, since 70 percent of immigrant women gain permanent residency in the United States through family-based visas. While we commend advocates’ efforts in ending the decades-long backlog that many families have to endure and opening opportunities for LGBT partners to sponsor one another, the bill falls drastically short in protecting a significant population.
We challenge the 10-year wait for legalization, and another three for citizenship that is in the current proposal. Transnational women need a swifter pathway to citizenship, with many of them already here for years raising families and working.
We also challenge long waits for transnational women to gain access to healthcare. The current proposal creates a 13 to 15 year wait for access to affordable health insurance options. This long wait could be a matter of life or death for a hardworking immigrant woman with no access to healthcare.
We challenge the current proposal’s focus on individuals with advanced degrees and specialized skills, while subjecting laborers and guest workers with unfair barriers like stringent documentation requirements and longer waits. This will negatively impact both men and women, but will especially affect transnational women because work they typically do (administrative, factory work, and caretaking) are not respected or considered as professions. The proposal’s disregard for women workers is yet another example of institutional practices that contribute to the feminization of poverty and the gender wage gap (77 cents white women, 64 cents black women, 52 cents Latinas for every white male worker dollar made). We believe in reform that recognizes the contribution of women in the home, the factory, the office and the field.
Transnational women’s voices must be amplified in this International Workers' Day. We say MARCH WITH US! It is time to fight for women’s equality and inclusion in decision-making processes that affect our lives. Join us as we challenge racist, patriarchal, and anti-immigrant forces that continue to exploit transnational working women!
AF3IRM chapters across the country will go out and assert their place in the struggle. AF3IRM NY will be taking part in the May Day rally that will begin at 4:00pm at Union Square and end at City Hall at 7:30pm. AF3IRM LA will be joining the rally that begins at Olympic and Broadway at 12:00pm. Join us as we RISE AND MARCH!
YES TO PRO-TRANSNATIONAL WOMEN IMMIGRATION POLICY!
YES TO FASTER LEGALIZATION FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT WOMEN!
THE WOMEN UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!
IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS ARE WOMEN'S RIGHTS!
A WOMAN’S PLACE IS AT THE HEAD OF THE STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF HUMANITY!
========================================
Defend Philippine Territory! Join the protest in Vienna on August 13, 2013, read about it here http://filipina-nannies-caregivers.blogspot.ca/2013/05/chinese-invaded-zambales-blow-up.html
The two superpowers United States and China are world bullies and we should not allow a bully to replace another bully.” Read about China and how it is invading Philippine soil http://filipina-nannies-caregivers.blogspot.ca/2013/05/chinese-invaded-zambales-blow-up.html
=====================================
Featured Chapter
Call to Action
Contact: nynj@af3irm.org
By: Joan Ariete
New York City- The third session of this year’s SSOWA welcomed its
participants with a very controversial Madonna video, American Life. The
video shows Madonna on a fashion runway in full combat...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2013
AF3IRM THANKS SUPPORTERS FOR SWIFT ACTION ON RACIST, SEXIST MUSIC
VIDEO; CALLS FOR GREATER VIGOR TO DEFEAT CULTURAL WAR ON WOMEN
Chairperson Jollene Levid said today that because of “the...
For more information:
nynj@af3irm.org
By: Joan Ariete
New York City-- There are currently 27 MILLION accounted-for victims of
sex and labor trafficking. Of these victims, 80% are women and girls
trafficked across international borders- mainly...
Media Inquiries:
nynj@af3irm.org
By: Joan Ariete
NEW YORK: “Women were the first property,” a statement that has been
strongly manifested through various forms, but still shocking to hear in
an organized educational discussion...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2013
Jollene Levid
chair@AF3IRM.org
323-356-4748
LOS ANGELES— New developments in the legal battle for freedom-seeker
Grace Grande have sparked more hope and resolve for Stand With Grace
campaign supporters....
For Immediate Release
Jollene Levid, AF3IRM National Chair
chair@af3irm.org
323-356-4748
AF3IRM Joins Protests Nationwide, Demand Justice for Trayvon!
Shocked and outraged, members of the transnational women’s organization AF3IRM...
Contact: nynj@af3irm.org
By: Joan Ariete
New York City- The third session of this year’s SSOWA welcomed its participants with a very controversial Madonna video, American Life. The video shows Madonna on a fashion runway in full combat uniform, with images of war victims -mainly children- interposed between scenes. The video served as a stimulus to get the participants to express their views and insights about militarism.
Drawing on the women’s perspective, militarism took on a purely masculine image. It is a must-have and an effective tool to gain power and sovereignty over a group of individuals who are deemed inferior. Militarism doesn’t necessarily outline measures that assure the safety of the powerless women and children that get caught in between the conflicts perpetuated.
Oftentimes, the general imagery of any war and conflict is always the face of a weeping woman, an injured child. The violence against women that is pervasive in everyday life is magnified and acted out blatantly when there is an ongoing war or conflict.
On August 3 in Chelsea, facilitators Gebar Abreha, Olivia Canlas and Helen Guzman further walked the students through a very comprehensive discussion on militarism’s impact on women.
Rape is a significant tool of war. Going back to the idea of women being properties, various instances of rape are carried out for the sole purpose of terrorizing husbands or male relatives. Rape is also used for ethnic cleansing. The military controls women’s reproductive capacity, directs their bodies to achieve one goal- eliminate the inferior race.
Comfort women were thousands of women from the Philippines, China, among others, who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII. It was part of the program to “energize” the Japanese soldiers. The Battle for Bangladesh independence in the 1970s, was the backdrop for a massive, sweeping case of rape caused by political conflict-- 200,000 women victimized.
“Women and children comprise 80% of the world’s displaced persons by war and conflict,” the discussion went on. The statistics are overwhelming. In Guatemala, the result of 30 years of civil war, its male-dominated culture, and the reluctance of the police to provide help, put women’s lives at risk every day. The Guatemala Human Rights Commission estimated that over 700 women were killed in 2008 alone. The medical organization Doctors Without Borders reported that 10, 000 women are getting abused and sexually assaulted every year.
The session also touched on how the US military used women’s rights as a post 9/11 propaganda to push forward the invasion of Afghanistan. How it was the United States’ moral duty to free burqa-clad Afghani women, how their restrictive garments practically symbolized their lives. How the picture of US soldier Jessica Lynch, surviving a supposed ambush in Iraq, was used to justify that the US needed to stay in Iraq and fix it.
Even the police force evokes a feeling of excessive militarism. The stop-and-frisk program of the NYPD, has created a major uproar as it usually targets men and women of color. A SSOWA participant expressed a general fear and mistrust of cops.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service’s (INS) use of racial profiling to weed out the undocumented has taken a more militarized approach. This process is integrated into the local police force. The INS partners with local sheriffs to perform raids of homes, workplaces, and any other place. It is interesting to point out that these raids and arrests are funded heavily, much more than the other aspects of the department—work visa processing, asylum and refugee visa processing. Immigrant women of color are generally targeted in this case.
The session ended with the participants getting grouped into smaller groups, wherein they shared their views and their own definition of militarism, stemming from the images they took mental note of from the video and the facilitators’ materials. These smaller groups churned out unique insights—that the general American public has been desensitized to violence not happening on American soil; that there’s an undeniable culture of selfishness because the public is not educated on the effects of this increasing militarism; that the fatigue fashion is one proof that young people don’t understand the impact of this ‘masculinist’ culture in our everyday lives.
In the end, the ongoing systematic victimization of the helpless by all these severely militarized societies—the women and the children they rear—is not such a unique idea anymore, but a constant nightmare that must be quelled immediately.
By: Joan Ariete
New York City- The third session of this year’s SSOWA welcomed its participants with a very controversial Madonna video, American Life. The video shows Madonna on a fashion runway in full combat uniform, with images of war victims -mainly children- interposed between scenes. The video served as a stimulus to get the participants to express their views and insights about militarism.
Drawing on the women’s perspective, militarism took on a purely masculine image. It is a must-have and an effective tool to gain power and sovereignty over a group of individuals who are deemed inferior. Militarism doesn’t necessarily outline measures that assure the safety of the powerless women and children that get caught in between the conflicts perpetuated.
Oftentimes, the general imagery of any war and conflict is always the face of a weeping woman, an injured child. The violence against women that is pervasive in everyday life is magnified and acted out blatantly when there is an ongoing war or conflict.
On August 3 in Chelsea, facilitators Gebar Abreha, Olivia Canlas and Helen Guzman further walked the students through a very comprehensive discussion on militarism’s impact on women.
Rape is a significant tool of war. Going back to the idea of women being properties, various instances of rape are carried out for the sole purpose of terrorizing husbands or male relatives. Rape is also used for ethnic cleansing. The military controls women’s reproductive capacity, directs their bodies to achieve one goal- eliminate the inferior race.
Comfort women were thousands of women from the Philippines, China, among others, who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII. It was part of the program to “energize” the Japanese soldiers. The Battle for Bangladesh independence in the 1970s, was the backdrop for a massive, sweeping case of rape caused by political conflict-- 200,000 women victimized.
“Women and children comprise 80% of the world’s displaced persons by war and conflict,” the discussion went on. The statistics are overwhelming. In Guatemala, the result of 30 years of civil war, its male-dominated culture, and the reluctance of the police to provide help, put women’s lives at risk every day. The Guatemala Human Rights Commission estimated that over 700 women were killed in 2008 alone. The medical organization Doctors Without Borders reported that 10, 000 women are getting abused and sexually assaulted every year.
The session also touched on how the US military used women’s rights as a post 9/11 propaganda to push forward the invasion of Afghanistan. How it was the United States’ moral duty to free burqa-clad Afghani women, how their restrictive garments practically symbolized their lives. How the picture of US soldier Jessica Lynch, surviving a supposed ambush in Iraq, was used to justify that the US needed to stay in Iraq and fix it.
Even the police force evokes a feeling of excessive militarism. The stop-and-frisk program of the NYPD, has created a major uproar as it usually targets men and women of color. A SSOWA participant expressed a general fear and mistrust of cops.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service’s (INS) use of racial profiling to weed out the undocumented has taken a more militarized approach. This process is integrated into the local police force. The INS partners with local sheriffs to perform raids of homes, workplaces, and any other place. It is interesting to point out that these raids and arrests are funded heavily, much more than the other aspects of the department—work visa processing, asylum and refugee visa processing. Immigrant women of color are generally targeted in this case.
The session ended with the participants getting grouped into smaller groups, wherein they shared their views and their own definition of militarism, stemming from the images they took mental note of from the video and the facilitators’ materials. These smaller groups churned out unique insights—that the general American public has been desensitized to violence not happening on American soil; that there’s an undeniable culture of selfishness because the public is not educated on the effects of this increasing militarism; that the fatigue fashion is one proof that young people don’t understand the impact of this ‘masculinist’ culture in our everyday lives.
In the end, the ongoing systematic victimization of the helpless by all these severely militarized societies—the women and the children they rear—is not such a unique idea anymore, but a constant nightmare that must be quelled immediately.
ampaigns
|
AF3IRM,
formerly Gabriela Network, announced today a campaign for legislation
to classify the murder of "mail-order-brides" as a hate crime, in
recognition of the racism and sexism embedded in the impunity with which
such homecides are done by husbands/intimate partners.
... |
|
AF3IRM DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR LAYA; CALLS FOR UC STUDENT REGENT JESSE CHENG TO BE REMOVED FROM HIS POST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2011 Jollene Levid, National Chairperson Mona Lisa Navarro, Irvine Coordinator chair@af3irm.org Irvine@af3irm.org 949-412-1122 AF3IRM DEMANDS JUSTICE FOR LAYA; CALLS FOR UC STUDENT REGENT JESSE CHENG TO BE REMOVED FROM HIS POST The Association of Filipinas, Feminists Fighting Imperialism Re-feudalization, & Marginalization (AF3IRM) stands firmly with Laya, a UCLA student, who spoke out against Jesse Cheng, University of... |
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2011 Amanda Martin, AF3IRM National Coordinator 510-502-6522 natcoord@af3irm.org JUSTICE FOR MICHELLE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES TO HOLD LOCAL LAW ENFORECMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR NEGLECT AND REFUSAL TO PRIORITIZE CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN San Francisco Bay Area – Today the Association of Filipinas, Feminists Fighting Imperialism Re-feudalization, & Marginalization (AF3IRM) launches a new campaign and coalition focused on bringing justice to the case of Michelle Le, a 26 year old Vietnamese... |
Our People
|
boston@af3irm.org
The organizing committee
of Boston engages in feminist action on and around the Boston College
campus. In order to get involved with the Boston committee as it
continues to grow, please contact boston@af3irm.org or call 650-291-4465.
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chicago@af3irm.org
The organizing committee
of Chicago engages in advocacy work for the Purple Rose Campaign Against
the Trafficking of Filipina women and Children, especially labor
trafficking issues. In order to get involved with the Chicago committee
as it continues to grow, please contact chicago@af3irm.org or call 323-356-4748.
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irvine@af3irm.org
The Irvine/OC chapter is
active throughout Orange County and on the University of California,
Irvine campus. The chapter has organized mobilizations against the war
and budget cuts on campus, held educational forums about the Purple Rose
Campaign Against the trafficking of Filipina women and children,
immigrant rights, and the mail-order bride industry. They host cultural
nights in Santa Ana and partner with other Filipino organizations in
Orange County for advocacy. To get involved in the Irvine/Orange County
chapter, please email irvine@af3irm.org or call 949-412-1122.
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losangeles@af3irm.org
The Los Angeles chapter
organizes throughout the County: from the Valley down to Long Beach, and
east into the San Gabriel Valley. Active in the Filipino community, the
LA chapter hosts annual politikal fashion shows to highlight AF3IRM's
campaigns, participates in anti-war and pro-immigrant rallies and
forums, and also has a high school youth unit that fights against
domestic violence and rape. To get involved with the LA chapter, please
contact losangeles@af3irm.org or call 562-746-9216.
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nynj@af3irm.org
The NY/NJ chapter is
composed of a unique group of strong women from diverse backgrounds,
identifying as Guatemalans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Pilipinas, and
Ghanaians. The issues and concerns of the chapter cut across borders, as
they establish common ground based on their shared identification as
women and as members of marginalized communities. NY/NJ leads
educational forums, participates in demonstrations and actions, and will
continue its traditional summertime School for Women. 2011 marks the
first year of their planned annual art exhibition that will feature a
trans-ethnic roster of female artists and writers. The NY/NJ chapter
continually strives to build transnational solidarity with women and to
address the complex needs of ethnic populations in the area. To get
involved with the NY/NJ chapter please contact nynj@af3irm.org or call (212)726-2254.
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riverside@af3irm.org
The Riverside chapter
organizes in the Inland Empire of Southern California, including the
University of California, Riverside campus. It is active against the
budget cuts on the UC campuses, and providing ongoing education and
advocacy for the Purple Rose Campaign against the trafficking of
Filipina women and children. To get involved in the Riverside/Inland
Empire chapter please email riverside@af3irm.org or call 310-913-0375.
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sandiego@af3irm.org
The San Diego chapter
operates in the heart of the Filipino community of San Diego, as well as
on the University of California, San Diego and San Diego State college
campuses. They host "Stop the Traffick Jam" cultural showcases annually,
do immersions wherein they organize prostituted and trafficked women
around the military base, and hold educational forums around the San
Diego communities to raise awareness about the Purple Rose Campaign
Against the Trafficking of Filipina women and Children. San Diego also
participates in pro-immigrant and anti-war mobilizations. To get
involved in the San Diego chapter, please email sandiego@af3irm.org or call 619-274-4302.
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sfbayarea@af3irm.org
The SF/Bay Area chapter, a
founding chapter with over 21 years of history, operates in the hearts
of the Filipino communities scattered throughout the Bay Area in
Northern California. The Bay Area chapter has organized Women's Peace
Days, marched in Reproductive Rights and Anti-War rallies annually, and
has put on productions of Export Quality: Mail Order Bride Monologues.
To get involved with the Bay Area chapter, please contact sfbayarea@af3irm.org or call 510-698-2691.
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Resources
Mariposa Center for Changehttp://www.mariposacenterforchange.org
The Mariposa Center for Change is one of the few comprehensive resource centers for women and children of color in Southern California. Following a transnational feminist perspective and using a transformational empowerment model of practice, we provide not only direct services, but also opportunities to engage in social justice and advocacy work that create change in the local and global community. The Mariposa Center for Change is run by a group of like minded women, many volunteer based, that share a long standing history of expertise and experience of over twenty years of activism for women's rights and more specifically, for immigrant and transnational women's rights.
The Mariposa Center for Change offers a variety of programs, ranging from direct services to social justice and advocacy work.
Band Aid Program
When you and your family are going through a crisis, the Band Aid program is there to offer immedate respite in the form of a 24-hour hotline, crisis counseling, and referral services.
Bridges Program
As the crisis comes to an end and the traditional support groups dwindle, the "Bridges Program" offers help and assistance to women and their families as they rebuild. Groups will focus on areas such as:
* Relationships
* Job Loss
* Transitions
* Parenting
* Loss and Bereavement
* Immigration
* Dating Violence (Women)
* Dating Violence (Girls)
Make your MARC Project (Mariposa Adolescents Re-imagining Communities)
With an emphasis on the power of girls and their potential, the "make your MARC" project recruits girls nationwide to participate in a twelve-week leadership institute. Girls will work with women leaders in a number of areas, including public service, media, and social enterprise. The institute will culminate in a keystone project geared to changing their communities. Once completed, participants will have the opportunity to apply for paid summer internships, furthering their leadership development.
VOICE Project (Voices of Insurgent Community Empowerment)
The VOICE project will bring together community members and writers to begin to gather, record, and publish the insurgent narratives of women. 12 participants will be chose from a competitive application process. More information and applications to follow soon.
Life Literacy Program
Sometimes how well you do is a matter of understanding the rulebook. This program provides workshops on basic "life literacy" skills. This includes: financial literacy, employment rights (benefit and contract negotiations), conflict resolution, and technology/media literacy
Gender Rights Training
1. A "Know Your Rights" campaign composed of original curriculum material developed by grassroots women's activists. The trainings are tailored to organizational and community needs and are available in 2-day; 2-week; and one-month modules.
2. In line with creating change, the POWER Project conducts research, builds the knowledge base, and provides an avenue for women's discourse. The project includes the bi-annual journal, "Transnational Women's Organizing," online quarterly newsletters, and a number of issue based publications. Submissions of manuscripts and/or inquiries should be sent to:
POWERproject@mariposacenterforchange.org
=========================================
4 Nannies flay wealthy woman boss for abuse
Sunday, 26 August 2012 11:12
http://www.filipinoreporter.us/home/filipino-abroad/2028-4-nannies-flay-wealthy-woman-boss-for-abuse.html
Consulate offers to help them get justice
At the Filipino Reporter office, from left, Rebecca Darheim, Aurelia de Guzman, Jean Perera and Minda Lagassy. They want to take legal action against their ex-employer for allegedly subjecting them to abuses. (Filipino Reporter photo)
Four Filipina nannies, two of them naturalized American citizens and two permanent residents, recently went to the Philippine Consulate General in New York to denounce a wealthy Long Island employer they claim made them and other Filipinas work 24 hours without overtime or holiday pay.
They also alleged being subjected to “horrendous verbal and psychological abuses” and “inhumane treatment.”
The four met on Aug. 7 with Consul Bong Cariño, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals unit, at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue and detailed orally and in writing their complaints against a Glen Cove, N.Y. employer and her elderly mother.
They also want to put a stop to sending more Filipina helpers to the alleged abusive home by a Rego Park-based Filipino-owned placement agency.
They claimed all other agencies have already stopped providing workers to that family except for the Filipino agency.
The identities of the employers and the placement agency are withheld pending formal complaints filed against the employers.
Nonetheless, the employer and the agency flatly denied the allegations of the nannies.
The agency even told the Filipino Reporter it will conduct its own investigation to get to the bottom of the nannies’ complaints.
The four Filipinas later visited the Reporter office, where they recounted their plight.
They also said they represent several other complainants, who are afraid to come out because they are undocumented.
Cariño told the Reporter the Consulate is now studying the complaints and “will endorse them to proper entities, including the Department of Labor and social service agencies. We will also assist them should their cases go all the way to the court.”
“We’ve heard and received their complaints and we have given them proper advice,” added Cariño.
“We will also endorse them to an NGO group. The Consulate is helping to actively campaign against errant employers, as well as those placement agencies who continuously place Filipino workers at the hands of these employers.”
The consul assured the nannies that even those without legal papers will get equal help under the same labor standards and procedures.
Cariño said the Labor Department may come into the picture because the employers allegedly did not pay U.S. taxes because the Filipinas were paid off the book, as claimed by the complainants.
“The nannies come and go in that house because of so much abuses,” said Minda Lagassy, 58, a retired government employee who hails from Samar province.
She lived in Maine with her American husband, but moved to Jersey City, N.J. to look for work.
Lagassy stayed with the Long Island employer for two years before quitting.
“I needed the money badly that’s why I stayed for as long as I can,” she said.
“I did the housekeeping, the laundry and even taking care of the kids (with ages 7 and 4).”
“There were times I got deprived of sleep taking care of the kid, but I didn’t get paid for working overtime and yet they would yell at me all the time,” Lagassy shared.
“Parang nababasag lagi ang tenga ko sa kasisigaw sa nila akin eh ang lapit-lapit lang namin sa isa’t isa.”
The last straw came on July 12 when, Lagassy claimed, the employer chewed her out for not liking the grilled cheese prepared by another nanny.
“It’s like they’re always finding an alibi to curse and verbally abuse us,” Lagassy said, “and when I couldn’t take it anymore I answered back and then quit. Until now I couldn’t believe that such abusive people exist. The husband could see all the abuses by his wife and his mother-in-law, but I have no idea why he’s tolerating it. He didn’t do anything to at least try to stop it.”
Jean Perera, 52, a former public school teacher from Bukidnon, said she was paid $150 a day for the two weeks she stayed there, but had to endure all kinds of mistreatment.
“During my interview, the woman asked me about my documents and when I said I’m an American citizen with a U.S. visa, she said ‘that’s weird for a Filipino to have a U.S. passport,’” Perera recalled.
“Then I was told my work hours will be from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., but it never happened,” added Perrera, who temporary lives in Jamaica, N.Y., and whose husband is in the U.S. Navy based in Elk Ridge, Maryland.
“She would always say she paid good money and would insult us to no end. We’re not even allowed to cook because they said Filipino food doesn’t smell good, but they would not provide us decent food except for junk food like burgers that are usually leftovers of the kids. I always had migraines whenever I’m hungry that’s why my health suffered during my stay there.”
Aurelia de Guzman, 72, a midwife from Lingayen, Pangasinan, said she developed ulcers in the five weeks that she worked there.
“They didn’t treat me as a human being,” said de Guzman, who said she was fired for no apparent reason.
“They didn’t allow us to cook or bring our own food, but they wouldn’t provide us healthy food like vegetables which I need for my age.”
“How could we work and function if we’re hungry,” de Guzman added.
Rebecca Darheim, 65, of Glen Cove, said she was always accused by the employer’s mother of stealing whenever she couldn’t find something.
When the kids would make up stories and complain, the grandmother would turn hysterical and curse and villify them.
“They called me stupid, dumb, fool,” she said, “all kinds of words that are hard to stomach.”
In two years as a live-in nanny and housekeeper, Darheim, a native of Guimaras Island, said she was never allowed to use the washing machine or make coffee for herself.
She said she tried to tolerate the abuses because she needed money for her ailing German-American husband, who is undergoing treatment in the Philippines.
“We had to change clothes everyday because we were required to wear a uniform,” Darheim noted.
“They wanted us to be in uniform at all times, but they didn’t provide us uniform or money to buy one so we had to provide for our own uniform.”
The four said the family also loved to throw parties and would require them to work for long hours until at night, but wouldn’t pay them for the extra work.
============================================================
Filipino Nannies: Desired but Unprotected
Friday, March 25, 2011
http://thenannytimebomb.blogspot.ca/2011/03/filipino-nannies-desired-but.html
A Filipino Nanny Sitting in New York's Central Park. (Photo: Cristina Pastor)
Cora*
starts work on Mondays at 8 a.m., washing, drying and folding clothes.
She ends at 7 p.m. after wiping her employer’s dinner table clean. On
the way out of their Upper East Side apartment, she kisses her ward
goodbye, and begins her solitary trek back home to Queens.
Except
for Monday’s added laundry duties, weekdays are pretty much identical
for this Filipino nanny. Cora cleans the two-bedroom apartment, shops
for food, cooks, dresses Mary Kate, 6, and walks the little girl to
school. At a nearby park, she meets up with fellow nannies for some
relaxation and friendly gossip.
She
picks up Mary Kate after a couple of hours, helps her with homework,
and prepares dinner for the family. On days when Mary Kate has piano and
dance lessons, Cora is cut some slack for not cooking dinner. Cora’s
day ends when the family is done with their meal and Mary Kate is nicely
bathed and powdered.
For her 55-hour work week (11 hours a day from Monday to Friday), Cora is paid $600. A total of $2,400 a month.
There’s
more. On weekends, Cora spends her time working for another family,
adding $800 to her monthly take-home income. She couldn’t believe it
when she found out her annual gross of $38K was just slightly lower than
a web copy editor’s entry-level salary, and higher than a nursing
assistant’s. For Cora, all of it is off the books.
Josie
is another Filipino nanny working in Manhattan. She suffered a pay
demotion from $600 to $500 a week after her ward, David, started school.
Her employers told her there’s not much for her to do in the hours the
boy is in school.
“I
was so angry,” Josie said. “I walked out, threatening to quit if they
lowered it any further.” But David, crying, pleaded with his parents not
to let Josie go. Her employers talked her out of leaving.
Josie
and David are very close. At Central Park’s James Michael Levin
Playground, where they hang out after school, this reporter caught them
on a bench – David licking his ice cream cone and Josie wiping every
drip that dribbled down his shirt. “This boy is like a son to me,” she
beamed proudly.
Cora
and Josie, both in their 50s, married and experienced with children,
are a breed of nannies who command a premium in Manhattan. Many
employers believe mature nannies in their 40s or 50s are better
hires than younger ones, who see their jobs as menial and are constantly
looking for more glamorous temp jobs.
Cora
and Josie are dedicated, nurturing and patient, treating their wards as
they would their own children. They teach them to be respectful to
their parents and not to talk back with an attitude. Both are
professionals with college degrees earned in the Philippines, so they
can help with the kids’ homework. But both are also undocumented
immigrants.
While
Cora appears happy in her job, all that could change in four months.
Her employer is due to give birth to Mary Kate’s sister. Cora is not
thrilled about caring for another infant, although she raised Mary Kate
from year one after her mother went back to work in real estate.
The
family has been complaining loudly about financially hard times and
told Cora they can’t raise her salary when she starts caring for a
second child. In fact, they are even dropping hints about cutting it
down to $500 a week, because with real estate sales lagging, the mother
could easily work from home and help with childcare.
Cora
has cause to worry. Undocumented workers have limited legal protection,
and many “can be fired just for asking for a raise or time off,”
according to the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), a national organization that advocates for nannies, caregivers and housekeepers.
On
its website, NDWA states “the lack of legal protection creates steep
barriers to negotiation for a domestic worker, who may be afraid to
negotiate the terms of her employment, for fear she will be fired
without warning.”
Nannies
belonging to agencies may command higher weekly salaries—anywhere from
$650 to $950 a for a 50- to 60-hour work week, depending on the number
of children and household chores to be performed—but Cora and Josie
could care less. They say they are still making much more as nannies in
New York than if they were back in the Philippines teaching (in Josie’s
case) or working in the family’s grocery store (in Cora’s case).
They
feel lucky to have reasonably “good employers,” who are not physically
maltreating them like some other nannies who have made the news.
In fact, when Cora’s husband had to undergo a heart procedure after a
stroke not too long ago, her employers were quick with cash. “I asked
them if I could borrow against my salary, and they agreed,” she
recalled. “They gave me a thousand dollars right away.”
A
religious woman who attends Church every Sunday, Cora said she
appreciates that her employers value her services. But Josie has a
chronic and worsening medical issue, diabetes, which is why she couldn’t
afford to take more than a $100 reduction in weekly pay. Her roommate
is leaving, and unless she can find someone to split the $1,000 rent of
her Queens room, she will not be able to continue working in the U.S.,
she said. That would leave her with only $1,000 for other expenses,
including out-of-pocket fees to her doctor for medical checkups and
medications, which range from $75 to $150 per visit. “I would rather go
home,” she said.
The NDWA has been pressing Albany to codify a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights
that would guarantee the estimated 200,000 domestic workers in New York
State basic benefits: a 40-hour work week; overtime pay; one day off a
week; and advance notice of termination or severance pay. Yet Cora and
Josie do not know anything about the pending legislation and are
doubtful it would apply to undocumented immigrants like them.
“If the law is to have any integrity at all,” said Berna Ellorin, chair of the Filipino grassroots organization Bayan USA,
it should apply to all domestic workers, undocumented or not. In fact,
the Bill of Rights was passed by the New York State Assembly last year,
and was awaiting State Senate approval when Albany’s June 2009 coup disrupted the agenda.
Soon afterwards, the New York Times published an editorial supporting the bill:
“If the Legislature decides to return to its senses and start passing meaningful legislation that improves New Yorkers’ lives, it should include the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. Albany, which has not been able to govern its way out of a paper bag, should at least be able to bestow some fundamental rights and protections on the invisible workers whose labors are a cornerstone of the New York economy.”
Ellorin
agrees. “A Bill of Rights is a big help to all the nannies, caregivers,
and cleaners who are not officially considered ‘labor’,” she said.
“Because labor standards do not apply to them, they are open to abuse.”
===================
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This blog was inspired by a Filipina domestic from the Middle East who abandonned her baby born inside airline toilet upon landing in Manila
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In this blog, we collect all stories about Philippine women
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Caregiver EMPOWERMENT DAY. SISTERHOOD OF CAREGIVERS. Woman, you are the Face of God.Women EMPOWERMENT Day with Beyoncé and Salma Hayek. Women's way is not "fight and flight"
http://filipina-nannies-caregivers.blogspot.ca/2013/05/woman-you-are-face-of-god-women.html
All Filipina nannies, caregivers, domestic maids
arriving in Canada, USA, and everywhere in the world
-- should have an EMPOWERMENT DAY
-- an orientation day, an introduction day
-- wherein they are told their rights and
-- wherein they are trained to defend themselves from all kinds of abuses and exploitation
-- especially fight against - working 24 hours a day - everyday - within 7 days a week.
-- All Filipina maids should keep a DAILY LOG SHEET on how many hours they work and what kind of extra work they do, TO PROVE they are being EXPLOITED after their 7 hours or 8 hours shift - that they work 24 hours everyday, 7 days a week!
SISTERHOOD OF CAREGIVERS
We suggest that all organizations like AAFQ establish a Sisterhood of Caregivers -- wherein a member adopts a NEWCOMER caregiver for a year -- to be her guide and mentor, moral support and prevention -- from becoming a slave.
I am a witness to the suffering of my people. I am a chronicler of truth and a catalyst of change... (from The Scholastican)
arriving in Canada, USA, and everywhere in the world
-- should have an EMPOWERMENT DAY
-- an orientation day, an introduction day
-- wherein they are told their rights and
-- wherein they are trained to defend themselves from all kinds of abuses and exploitation
-- especially fight against - working 24 hours a day - everyday - within 7 days a week.
-- All Filipina maids should keep a DAILY LOG SHEET on how many hours they work and what kind of extra work they do, TO PROVE they are being EXPLOITED after their 7 hours or 8 hours shift - that they work 24 hours everyday, 7 days a week!
SISTERHOOD OF CAREGIVERS
We suggest that all organizations like AAFQ establish a Sisterhood of Caregivers -- wherein a member adopts a NEWCOMER caregiver for a year -- to be her guide and mentor, moral support and prevention -- from becoming a slave.
I am a witness to the suffering of my people. I am a chronicler of truth and a catalyst of change... (from The Scholastican)
USA SLAVERY of Philippines. U.S.TROOPS OUT NOW! True Independence history of the Philippines
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