Professional Documents
Culture Documents
KAKKAMPI fishing
trip sa Vallorbe
Nagsagawa ng isang fishing trip noong Agosto 18
sa Vallorbe ang humigit kumulang na 40 miyembro
ng KAKKAMPI. Mahigit 20 kilong “truite” ang nahuli,
inihaw at inihain sa buong araw na salo-salo at
talakayan.
Sa bandang hapon, namasyal din ang grupo at
bumisita sa mga kweba ng Vallorbe na kung saan
nakita nila ang iba’t-ibang uri ng mga “stalagtites”
at “stalagmites”,
Nang pagbalik sa Geneva sa gabi ay pagod, busog
at tulog sa komportableng aircon na tourist bus ang
mga kontentong “mangingisda”.
KARAPATAN
This article is part of “Trans Euro INTERNATIONAL POLITICS PAVED THE WAY
Express: Filipinas in Europe”, a FOR FRANCE to become another destination for
Filipinos in their desperate quest for jobs. In the
book compiled and edited by Mary
late 1970s and early 1980s military conflicts in
Lou U. Hardillo-Werning. the Middle East forced the temporary transfer
from that region to France of many rich families
who brought with them their Filipino domestic
workers. To escape oppressive working
Mila de Guzman is a free-lance writer based in San conditions, many of these workers have since
Francisco, California. She attended the San Francisco fled from their employers and have started
Media Alliance class on French media in July 1994 in building Filipino communities in Paris and in the
south of France. Thus, Filipinos in France are
Paris. She works as an administrative coordinator at the
slowly sinking their roots in their adopted country.
American Civil Liberties Union of Northern Ironically, the French government is in the midst
California, a civil liberties and civil rights organization. of redefining its immigration policy towards a
more restrictive one.
Rosita M. had experienced beatings from her
employers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She met on
the street of Paris another Filipino domestic
worker who sympathized with her and offered
help. It was in September with the cold weather
just setting in when she decided to escape. Early
one morning, Rosita put on several layers of
clothing and quickly left the apartment pretending
she was going to buy milk for her employer’s
children. I was so terrified because I did not
know French but I was so determined that I was
able to follow the instructions of the Filipina who
befriended me and got to her apartment safely.
Was I glad to reach her place - I could hardly
breathe because of the heavy clot lies I was
wearing, Rosita laughed as she looked back at
her experience. Although she lost one month’s
salary and her other belongings in the process,
she was relieved to have found another chance
working abroad to continue supporting husband
and two children in the Philippines.
Rosita’s story is one of many that helped swell
the number of Filipinos in France. Marina
Quirolgico Pottier, a professor at the National
Kap at ir an par a s a Kar apat an at Kaunlar an
Institute on Oriental Languages and Civilizations,
KARAPATAN
Some Filipinos in Paris have expressed concern could be worked out between the two countries
about the growing violation of the civil liberties of to enable these workers to work legally in France
immigrants. Sally Viegelmann Rousset, a former and be protected by its labor laws. David
member of Filipino migrant groups in Holland, Quimpo, a Paris-based co-ordinator of Filipino
reports that Filipino parents have become afraid migrant organizations in Europe, sees the
to send their children to school because some interdependence between the status of the
schools are now checking the immigration Philippine economy and the needs of women in
papers of parents as a result of the new laws. France. He says, Filipinos will keep coming to
Sister Victoria Joson, a pastoral worker at the France despite the high financial cost of leaving
Philippine Chaplaincy in Paris states that some the country and the uncertainties of the l of being
Filipino women who had applied for marriage undocumented be cause of the demand for
licenses with their French fiancés had ended up household workers in France. Quimpo also says
being handcuffed and brought to detention that Filipino families would pay a minimum of US
centers because of their undocumented status. $6,000 to send a daughter to France so she in
She adds, however, that their release was turn could start sending money to support the
expedited through the mediation of their fiancés. family after paying the loan for her travel to
In view of these disturbing developments, Filipino France. She would earn about 5-8,000 French
community leaders hope that the French francs per month (about US$1,000-1,500) for
government would develop a more just policy working about 50 hours a week. The minimum
towards the undocumented to recognize their wage in the Philippines of US six dollars a day
contributions to the economy. becomes a pittance compared to this salary.
However, working abroad has its price and
Their Contributions Filipino workers in France are not exempted from
Many French women are able to pursue their the emotional and social hardships associated
careers because of Filipino domestic workers, with migrant work.
says Sr. Victoria who is also a member of Worker’s Experiences
Babaylan, a European-wide network of Filipino
women whose goal is to stop violence and People back home think we are in paradise
discrimination against migrant women. Ruben because of our earnings, but household work is
Tobias, vice president of the Philippine National not easy, Delilah D. laments. Weekly, she works
Bank who just completed his Paris assignment, about 54 hours which are distributed in about 10
concurs and says, several French acquaintances different households. Delilah’s work day starts at
have told me that the economy does benefit 8:00 a.m. She commutes by metro between two
when women are freed up from household work to three households each day. Some of her tasks
and child care to practice their professions. He are vacuuming the whole apartment which range
adds that the Philippine economy also benefits from one to four bedroom units, scrubbing the
inasmuch as domestic workers in France send bathroom and kitchen, and washing glass
millions of dollars in remittances every year to windows. Delilah also does the laundry, including
their relatives in the Philippines. Tobias, who is ironing and some times cares for the young
one of the founders of the United Filipino children of her employers. Some of her
Associations, hopes that a bilateral agreement employers can be difficult, constantly attempting
to add to the list more tasks or accusing her
Kap at ir an par a s a Kar apat an at Kaunlar an
unjustly of pilfering. She gets home around
ng M an gg aga w an g Pil ip ino s a Ib ay on g da g at
KAUNLARAN
8:00p.m. exhausted with barely enough time to Philippines and hopes to work either as a
prepare dinner, rest and catch some sleep. bookkeeper or an accountant. However, she
Because her work is considered part-time and recognizes that she would have to go back to
she is undocumented, Delilah gets neither school to gain accreditation to enable her to
vacation nor sick wages. When she was change jobs. With an unemployed husband and
hospitalized and needed surgery she had to pay a child to support, Melinda is not too optimistic
for all hospital expenses, in addition to losing a about fulfilling her ambition in the near future.
month’s salary due to her illness.
Further limiting many domestic worker’s ability to
Marisol B. has worked as a domestic in Paris for learn new skills is their lack of fluency in French.
six years. A college graduate, she is bored with They are too tired to go to classes after working
household work, but she has no choice as she is 50- 54 hours a week. Because they are left
the only one abroad in her family of eight. To alone, they are unable to practice French with
support her parents and send her nephew to their employers. Also, some of these employers
school, Marisol works 50 hours a week but she prefer that their domes tics speak in English so
takes a one month vacation annually to rest and that their children can become bilingual. In
preserve her health. Many domestic workers get addition, the undocumented workers, for fear of
sick because they work seven days a week, possible arrest at any time, hesitate to spend
sometimes 12 hours a day, so they can earn up their hard earned money on tuition fees. It is
to 10,000 French francs (US$2,000) a month, therefore not surprising that a number of workers
Marisol relates. Like other single domestic who have been in France for seven to ten years
workers, she shares a tiny studio apartment with are still not proficient in French.
others to be able to afford Paris’ expensive
rental. Sr. Victoria, whose work at the Philippine
Chaplaincy includes counselling workers,
Rosita M. wishes she had a good paying job in explains that although many women are able to
the Philippines because she does not want to save money through domestic work, very few say
clean bathrooms forever. Although she was glad that they are completely happy because of the
to have escaped from her former employers, she separation from their families and the
now has to take tranquillisers for her nerves uncertainties of being undocumented. Also, they
because of her constant fear of police officers at experience tremendous de-skilling because they
metro stations. She misses terribly her children get no mental stimulation from manual work,
whom she has not seen for five years and hopes Sister Victoria continues. She wonders whether
that the French government would grant amnesty the sacrifices of these workers simply perpetrate
to workers like her so she could visit her family. an artificial lifestyle of comfort for their relatives.
Migrant workers will have to spend the rest of
Melinda B.’s employer was able to legalize her their lives abroad to maintain that standard of
employment via a work permit. While Melinda living, unless their relatives can find jobs to be
works exclusively for one employer, her days are able to sustain themselves, says Sister Victoria.
full with cleaning a huge apartment, caring for
three small children including an infant, cooking,
doing the laundry and ironing. These chores
leave her little time to be with her own child.
Melinda is an accounting graduate in the Kap at ir an par a s a Kar apat an at Kaunlar an
KARAPATAN
Migrant Savings
Values, principles and discipline of saving The habit and discipline of savings
We Filipinos have a poor savings performance A person’s ability to systematically save a definite
because we normally follow this equation in proportion of his/her earnings regardless of the
budgeting our income: amount of the income determines whether this
INCOME — EXPENSES = SAVINGS person will enjoy financial freedom and
independence out of his/her toil.
(surplus—when the expense is less than the
income) Thrift not only builds up fortune but also develops
character. A person who does not learn how to
or worse...
save when he/she earns little will unlikely develop
INCOME — EXPENSES = UTANG the habit of savings when he/she earns more. The
(deficit—when the expense is greater than the habit of saving is not a function of how much one
income) earns but borne out of character and habit.
This equation represents the traditional notion that The habit of savings requires:
savings is surplus — the residual of income and • the postponement of immediate gratification of
expenses. No budgeting guides spending and wants
saving. Upon receipt of income, expenditures are
• generosity in providing for one’s needs (saving
met first and whatever is left is put away as
for the future)
savings. Because the value for savings is
determined by the amount used for expenditures, • keeping one’s thoughts to advancement and
and because income and expenses are rarely of freedom from debt
equal value at a given period, this manner of How to save
spending leads to deficit, not savings. It is easier to commit to saving when it is guided
Savings as “working balance” by a set of goals. Saving also includes budgeting
The concept of savings as working balance the amount that would be saved and determining
implies the following principles: how and where the savings would be stored. This
section deals with these three steps in the savings
• In every household there exists unused money.
process.
Any amount not yet spent is savings.
• Savings is a coping mechanism. It is practiced to
survive periodic income fluctuations.
• Savings precede spending. It is used to ensure
that enough of income earned remain until the
next payday. Thus, the correct equation for
savings:
INCOME - SAVINGS = EXPENSES
In this equation, expected income is budgeted.
Upon receipt of income, savings is put away first,
then whatever is left is used for expenses.
KAKKAMPI Newsletter
Editorial Board
Clarissa Balan-Sycip, Marylou Panpilo-Leyvraz,
Gemma Layco, Belen Conti, Dennis de Guzman
Layout & Design: Dennis de Guzman
Articles, opinions, letters to the editor should be Kap at ir an par a s a Kar apat an at Kaunlar an
sent to kakkampi@hotmail.com
ng M an gg aga w an g Pil ip ino s a Ib ay on g da g at
Magimpok at Mamuhunan ...
Mobilizing savings with a group
Savings in groups, compared to individual savings, can yield the most income with the least cost and
risk. From the table below Group savings is clearly more beneficial and cost-effective than individual
savings. It requires a small outlay on the part of member savers but yields a greater income because
pooled resources not only command higher interest earnings but also generate this high income over a
longer period of time. Moreover, risks and costs are less for member savers because they are shared
with the entire group.
Chez Boubou
BIGGER AMOUNT = BIGGER INCOME
SHARED COST = LOWER COST
POOLED AMOUNT = DISTRIBUTED RISK
- Unlad Kabayan
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