The Sin of Omission

by: Margaret E. Sangster

It isn't the thing you do, dear,
Its the thing you leave undone
That gives you a bit of a heartache
At setting of the sun.

The tender work forgotten,
The letter you did not write,
The flowers you did not send, dear,
Are your haunting ghosts at night.

The stone you might have lifted
Out of a brother's way;
The bit of heartsome counsel
You were hurried too much to say;

The loving touch of the hand, dear,
The gentle, winning tone
Which you had no time nor thought for
With troubles enough of your own.

Those little acts of kindness
So easily out of mind,
Thoes chances to be angels
Which we poor mortals find
They come in night and silence,
Each sad, reproachful wraith,
When hope is faint and flagging,
And a chill has fallen on faith.

For life is all too short, dear,
And sorrow is all to great,
To suffer our slow compassion
That tarries until too late:
And it isn't the thing you do, dear,
It's the thing you leave undone
Which gives you a bit of heartache
At the setting of the sun.

Wake Up Call

Harnessing the Human Capital of Volunteers

Why despite the heavy demands of family life and work for those who are employed, volunteers still find time to attend meetings; lend helping hand to Filipinos/as in need; and provide assistance in many community activities? On the other hand, it also happens and it is already happening that some organizations regardless of their orientations or focus activities, the number of their active members who are willing to assume responsibilities is rapidly dwindling. What keep volunteers stay and what hold them back from getting more involved?

I came across a book title Human Capital[1]written by Thomas Davenport, principal of TowersPerrin, a consulting firm specializing in Human Resources. I had also the opportunity to attend his lectures in Rotterdam. Davenport points out that in the corporate world many companies claim that their employees are their most important assets. But the metaphor “workers as assets” Davenport argues while it represents a worthy elevation of employees to the status they deserve being people after all, are the chief engine of prosperity of organizations, is outdated and misguided. Assets refer to tangible things such as office equipment, furniture and fixtures, buildings, etc. They are at the ready disposal of the company. They can either be used or abused. A better metaphor, Davenport says, to worker employees should be more free agent owners of investable capital. Their capital is the ability, behavior, effort, and time they contribute to a company.

While reading Human Capital, I transposed my mind to my experiences in working with volunteers and as a volunteer myself. We also call the volunteers as assets of the organizations. There are similarities indeed between the employees as human capital investors as described by Davenport and the volunteers. The latter brings different human drives, energies, talent, treasures, skills, time, and motivations to the organizations as well. The only difference between volunteers and employees is that the former do not receive remunerations and tangible rewards for the services they render. In the absence of tangible rewards, the burning questions remain: What keep the volunteers then stick to their organizations? If they invest time, talent, and treasure, what is their return on investment (ROI)?

Davenport explains that attractive salaries and fringe benefits alone are not enough for the company to find and hire their best people. They must have engagement and commitment. Engagement can be defined in various ways but it is best summed up as a sense of identification with interest in, and enjoyment of the activities associated with the content and results of work. People with high engagement, Davenport describes, are those who care a lot about what they do; they may or may not care about where they do it.

This differ somewhat, says Davenport, from the related notion of people commitment which has more to do with a sense of connection to the organization itself, acceptance of its goals and direction, and a strong need for membership. Commitment arises from an emotional, social, or intellectual bond linking with the organization. Thus, one may be committed but not necessarily engaged. The other believes in the principle of the organization but is not prepared or willing to do or have less time to achieve organizational goals. Thus, commitment is the driver to join the organization, while engagement is the act of transforming ideas and vision into reality.

But what does it take to build engagement and commitment? Davenport says that contributions to reach engagement and commitment are found on the non-traditional reward areas of work environment and learning and development such as:

1) Satisfying and challenging work
2) Developmental assignments to provide learning opportunities
3) Opportunities to advance in various fields
4) Performance feedback and coaching
5) Effective leadership
6) Recognition programs that reflect achievements
7) Variable rewards that meet needs

The right kind of environment and rewards help produce commitment and engagement that in turn, encourage investment of human capital on the part of workers and enhance performance.

Using Davenport’s arguments to migrant work situation, I am wondering if the dwindling interest of volunteers lies on the fact that they are not attended and supported adequately to enhance their human capital. Regretfully, most of us who are engaged in volunteer migrant work do not have adequate skills yet to analyze deeper the human aspect of volunteer work. But serious attempts can be done to use the tool kits developed by Davenport and apply them to our work.

We have to search answers to the following questions:

1) Why there seems to be lack of interest of new members to assume more responsibilities that current leaders are forced to prolong their term of office?
2) Do the members really identify themselves with the goals and objectives of the organization and at the same time are the outflow of diverse ideas and approaches being encouraged? If they do and yet they remain non-engaged, then perhaps organizations do not have the needed organizational environment which motivates members to invest their human capital.
3) Does the organization provide the necessary learning activities and programs to develop its members?
4) Why there are so many committed members – those who accept the goals and direction of the organization – and yet only a handful is engaged? Do they really identify with the goals and objectives of the organizations or they just express the needs of others? What about their own peculiar needs and aspirations?
5) What organizational environmental and development should organizations create to encourage volunteers to invest their human capital?

I have been talking with some volunteers to find out how they see themselves as volunteers. The following are some of their answers:

1) Involving with migrant organizations have helped them find their own self-worth and provide opportunities for self-development which they could not get in their home situation.
2) Spending time with co-Filipinos eases the feeling of homesickness.
3) By doing volunteer work, they can make use of their skills and talents to help the overseas Filipinos air out their issues and concerns.
4) Some simply like doing migrant work but have not thought of yet about the deeper meaning of their involvement.
5) It is simply fun to be with compatriots or they have nothing else meaningful to do.
6) Commitment to the cause especially to those who are politically oriented.

I also asked those who are not quite active anymore and those who are contemplating of taking a low profile, how come that they are no longer as active as before. Their answers are:

1) Family demands. There are small and teenage children to attend to.
2) Family and work allow very little time for volunteer work. Volunteer work is stressful and time-consuming.
3) Setting new priorities in life. Plans to study, to find jobs, etc.
4) Other members are no longer active which demotivates leaders t continue with their work knowing that implementation of the activities will lie on their shoulders alone.
5) Internal conflict in the organization and the constant arguments and bickering without reaching constructive solutions that meetings no longer mean anything which members can look forward to with great anticipation.
6) Individual proposals, needs, and ideas are not adequately responded to.
7) Blurred perspectives. Activities are too issue-oriented but less practical actions that produce concrete results are being undertaken.
8) Leadership styles and differences in approaches and methods of work.
9) Poor health. Illness in the family or simply burnt out.
10) Lack or recognition. You try your best and yet what he or she is doing is never good enough. Constant pressures from peers to do more, to do better but for what?
11) Unfounded accusations and criticisms by some people who do not understand their work.
12) Jealousy. Mistrust. Lack of team spirit.
13) Lack of new leaders who will assume responsibilities.
14) Differences in social and political orientations. Values.


There are many more reasons. It seems to me the answers I gathered are reasonable and understandable enough. Nobody says openly though that they are no longer committed to their respective organizations. They still are only reluctant to assume more responsibilities. Instead of accepting the answers as they are, I believe concerned leaders and members must find ways and means to study and explore practicable solutions to the expressed needs and problems.

Davenport offers useful insights on how to find and keep valuable and performing employees. Could we do the same in our migrant work? Perhaps, we need to reinvent volunteer migrant work. Jonas Riddersråle and Kjell Nordström, both teaching at Stockholm School of Economics and author of Funky Business[2], say that “reinvention is not changing what it is but creating what is not. Reinvention entails a series of continuous metamorphosis of this magnitude over time.”

We should put back the pleasant environment in our groups to make members feel at ease and make meetings and implementation of activities events to look forward to whether to plan for the next social activity or to discuss serious migrant issues and concerns. We should bring back the fun and the spirit of camaraderie during meetings for without this pleasant and relaxed ambience people will be discouraged to attend meetings so they can avoid more unpleasant confrontations. Since we rely so much on the goodwill of volunteers, we also have to find out how we can improve the organizational environment in such a way that volunteers could keep their enthusiasm. In the past workshops I attended, it has been expressed several times that leveling of awareness and understanding of goals and objectives are necessary to motivate members. This is true but only a small part of the whole complex process in insuring success of the organization. We need to go beyond than just awareness building. For what use would it be if someone understands the goals and objectives of the organizations and yet the how of doing is weak and confusing? The process becomes the message.

Little has been done too, in providing the volunteers with a road map, a hands-on guide and training on how to manage their respective organizations; on how to plan, implement, monitor, evaluate, and report their agreed objectives and programs; on how to raise funds; improve communications skills; team building, etc. Most workshops always focus on the long-term objectives, ideals, issues, and concerns of overseas Filipinos but less time is being spent on the methods on how to achieve them. Let us face the fact that advocating issues and concerns of the overseas Filipinos is laudable but active leaders and members who are engaged in advocacy and lobby work are generally not the direct beneficiaries of the campaigns in the short term. Poverty alleviation takes place in the Philippines not in the Netherlands. Most volunteers are permanent residents who are quite integrated in the Dutch society and stable enough that is why they have the time to do volunteer work.

It is quite understandable for the volunteers to expect short-term tangible results and at the same time hope to gain new skills and knowledge in the process. Volunteers need a large amount of inspiration to be able to plan for the next short-term activity while they aim for the long-term goals of the organizations. By focusing activities only on the long-term targets which results usually may or may not happen only after a considerable length of time. They have grown tired and burnt out. The flipside of this is the danger if too much concentration is given on immediate and short-term results. Volunteers become eventually myopic and will soon loss sight of the whole perspective of migrant work and the deeper meaning why they are engaged in spontaneous actions and small-scale activities. All activities must reinforce and fit in perfectly into the whole strategy of migrant work like jigsaw puzzles. In short, we must be able to distinguish the trees from the forest. We must have a long-term vision.

Most of the volunteers are not prepared when they assume their new tasks. They have the commitment but they lack the necessary skills. This poses problems in the future. If the volunteers are properly trained, guided, and prepared adequately for their new tasks and responsibilities, we could at least help them not to commit major failures. We can prevent them from being exposed to criticisms that unless constructively and tactfully resolved, may dampen their spirits that may provoke them to give up volunteer work. If volunteers are adequately prepared, they will learn how to overcome and deal with difficulties while implementing their assigned tasks with less stress and pressure. If they could deal with the immediate tasks and goals with much ease, the more they can sustain their enthusiasm to work for the long terms ones. If all these conditions are met, unnecessary frustrations, dissatisfaction, decrease in self-worth, and “lost-at-sea” feeling which partly attribute to the waning interest of the volunteers to assume more responsibilities can be timely avoided. Above all, by preventing unnecessary conflict, the whole organization and the other members will not suffer.

We are aware that the strong bond that binds the volunteers together could snap out anytime but we cannot really take the blame on anybody else for this. Leaders and members alike who are engaged in migrant work have to start practically from the scratch. We all have to undergo on-the-job training, learn and improve from our failures and successes as we go along. We learn to stand up after we fall and to grapple with complex human interactions and dynamics within the organization. We re-inspire ourselves after committing mistakes and undergoing painful experiences. I am aware every active leader and member who have committed to volunteer work have experienced in one way or the other some moments of doubts whether it is worth carrying on with volunteer work or not. Some have recovered unscathed, unfortunately, some have not.

Volunteer work must provide opportunities for the volunteers to develop themselves, and acquire new knowledge and skills. They help migrant community at the same time they develop themselves. We must break the patron-beneficiary relationship; that one sacrifices for the sake of the other. We should avoid volunteer saying “I spend my time selflessly to serve the migrant community and this is all what I get!” It should be a win-win situation. That is why I believe volunteers must understand first and foremost what return on investment they expect in doing volunteer work considering the diversity of their aspirations and whether they can achieve this by committing and engaging themselves in migrant work. I do believe that volunteers understand it fully well that migrant organizations could not offer tangible or monetary rewards. But there must be a reason that keeps them going. But is it really possible to have ROI in migrant organizations work albeit not in terms of tangible rewards? There must be and they are in various forms, otherwise volunteers will not stick to migrant work. We have find out arduously what they are and try to enhance them.

I wish I have really answers to the questions but I do not have. I myself is in pursuit of the answers of these troubling questions. Sharing experiences and reflections of people involved in migrant work might be of help to come up with a collective solution of the problem and that is the purpose of this article.

Despite its known weaknesses, volunteer work among the Filipino community in the Netherlands has already gone a long way. Volunteers keep the community alive and vibrant. Living and dynamic organizations are those that are capable of gathering and bonding talented, creative people, who are excited and motivated, who trust the organization and are inspired by what they do. Volunteers are people who constantly search for meaning and they have a soul. These tenets must be used as the basis for putting volunteers and their human capital at the center of organizational strategy. However, if the decreasing interest of the leaders and members to invest their human capital persists, migrant organizations in the Netherlands and elsewhere regardless what they do or what they believe in – social, spiritual, cultural, political, charitable, developmental, etc. – will soon face a leadership vacuum and organizational crisis.

If we value volunteers as the backbone and human capital investors of the organizations, we must listen and respond to their needs and aspirations. If no attention will be given to them, volunteer organizations will not last long. I have already seen the rise and fall of many migrant organisations. This is a wake up call.

[1] Human Capital by Thomas Davenport, Jossey-Bass, 1999
[2] Funky Business, Jonas Riddersråle and Kjell Nordström
ft.com/Pearson Education, 2000

2000

Author's Note: Happily, at present migrant organisations in the Netherlands have already many opportunities to attend capacity building training. Dutch development agencies also realized the need to develop the capacities of migrant organisations to ensure success of their initiatives.

July 28, 2007

Empowering Filipino Migrant Volunteers

As Filipinos in the Netherlands, we observe that there are many existing programs sponsored and supported by the Dutch government and civil society. However, perhaps due to lack of understanding, it is difficult for the Filipinos to situate themselves in the overall vision and strategy of the Dutch government’s migrant policy. This lack of understanding is exacerbated by their marginal participation in the migrant policy formulation and discourses.

The many faces of migrants in the Netherlands

The political and economic environment in the Netherlands changes remarkably in the course of time so is the way the Dutch government responds to migrant and migration issues. When the first wave of guest workers arrived in this country forty years ago, the Dutch government did not realize the great impact they would create. At present, the Dutch government has to deal with various complex social problems such as integration, family reunification, and the second generation.

As globalisation and cross-border migration increase, the face of the migrant community in the Netherlands has also changed significantly. When we speak of cultural minorities in the Netherlands now, we can no longer speak of the more dominant minority groups such as the Turks, Moroccans, Antillians, and Surinamers alone. There are Latin American, African, and Asian migrants including 12,000 Filipinos. The migrants maybe have common reason for coming and staying in the Netherlands –whether documented or undocumented - each group has its own distinct issues and concerns. It is, therefore, over-simplistic for the Dutch government to implement a unified approach to the migrants problems. A multicultural community requires a multicultural approach in dealing with migrant issues.

The Filipinos in the Netherlands are aware of the need to deepen their understanding of the Dutch culture and to integrate with the Dutch society. They also see the need to relate and establish solidarity with the other migrant communities in the Netherlands. To achieve this however, vigorous awareness building among the Filipino community is needed.

Common Issues and Concerns of the Filipino Community

There is also a need to stimulate active participation among the Filipinos to enable them to participate actively in the migrant discourses so that they could effectively express their own issues and concerns to relevant government and migrant-related institutions which are in a position to effect some meaningful changes and positive impact on their lives as migrants.

In the course of our migrant work, we realize that we do not only deal with issues and concerns in the Netherlands but also we have to understand the push and pull factors that lead to Philippine migration. We view Philippine migration as a direct result of the inadequacy of the Philippine government to provide sufficient employment and economic security to a large segment of the population.

Measures to guarantee protection to overseas Filipinos and contract workers are not in place. Covenants and international agreements to protect migrant workers are not signed or not being implemented.

Active but neglected Filipino volunteer workers

In order for the Filipino community in the Netherlands to effectively express and respond to their issues and concerns, Filipinos have formed themselves into various organizations that have wide and varied focus of activities. Most of these organizations are self-organized and others are already successful in responding to some immediate needs such as dealing with women trafficking issues, abused women, au pairs, seafarers, second generation, etc. Efforts are also being exerted to provide assistance to new-comers and permanent residents in their integration process in the Dutch society. Some like in the case of Stichting Kapatiran, have embarked on small-scale development programs like assisting local communities in the Philippines in setting up income-generating projects for unemployed urban and rural women, providing educational support to less privileged children, and many others.

Most of these self-organizations do not receive any structural assistance from the government nor from any Dutch institutions. Most, if not all, rely on the volunteers who lack basic training in managing volunteer organizations. These leaders of the community have to bear the brunt of, not only providing their precious time and financial resources to migrant work, but also have to share whatever minimal skills and knowledge they have with their colleagues. The volunteers are aware of their inadequacies that they express the need to undergo capacity building training.

Efforts have already been done by some of the organizations in providing skills training to the core leaders. For instance, Stichting Bayanihan has done a lot of efforts in the field of training their volunteers particularly on how to provide assistance to women in need.

Stichting Kapatiran has already conducted a pilot two-day workshop on self-awareness, value formation, conflict resolution, and understanding what it means to be a volunteer. It appears that many leaders and members value these type of seminars. In addition, they express interest in learning various management skills to be able to run and manage their own self-organization more effectively. There is, therefore, a felt-need to improve, systematize and regularize this sort of capability training program as an important component of the overall strategy of empowering self-organizations.

Stichting Kapatiran believes in the importance of volunteers. Their contribution to the migrant work must be recognized, valued, harnessed, and enhanced. At present, Kapatiran is looking for ways and means on how to respond to these particular needs.

Kapatiran is proposing for the setting up of a management development program for Filipino volunteers where they can undergo tailor-made trainors’ training in the fields of management, leadership, communications and presentation skills, organization, change management, and project management. After the course, participants should be given a certificate that would show they are already qualified trainors. But Kapatiran cannot do this alone. Cooperation and willingness on the part of the Filipino volunteers to undergo such kind of training are needed. And more importantly, we need the support of middle fielders - migrant-related organizations in the Netherlands - which can possibly share their expertise and provide technical support.

The year 2001 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Volunteers. This is an opportune time for the Filipino migrant organizations in the Netherlands and elsewhere to give due recognition of their precious human capital.

Realizing that the Dutch government at present is focusing its resources to assist mainly refugees and political asylum seekers, the Filipino community and most certainly other migrant groups who do not fall under the category of refugees and asylum seekers are feeling more and more disenfranchised and marginalized. If the core leaders of various organizations are provided with the necessary training on how to properly manage their own organizations, we still have a chance to help self-organizations to survive and flourish.

2001

Author's Note: The author was a member of Kapatiran until 2000.

Co-Financing Organizations and Self-Organizations:

First, let me express my deepest appreciation for inviting me to share my thoughts and ideas about the relationship between Dutch co-financing organizations and migrant and refugee self-organizations, specifically about development cooperation. It is not an easy topic. Up until now, this is an unexplored terrain. As far as I know, there are no recorded past experiences on which I can base my presentation since I am not aware if Dutch funding agencies are already supporting small development projects initiated by migrant and refugee organisations in their countries of origin.

Second, I would like to express my appreciation to the organizers of this event for taking a bold step and initiative in providing a forum to discuss a long-overdue concern of many migrant self-organizations.

Migrant self-organizations in the Netherlands have already existed for quite some time. If I may speak about the Filipino community as an example, Filipinos have already had their own organizations for more than twenty years now. Other migrant communities who have been here much longer than the Filipinos have already formed their own groups much earlier. Migrant self-organizations differ in the focus of their activities - there are social/cultural groups, faith-based groups, sports clubs, and associations for social services, for education, for economic concerns or entrepreneurship, and political groups. With these groupings, we can make two main distinctions: those organizations that fulfil the basic social needs of the community to meet together, to re-live their own cultural values and practices by organizing community events where they could wear their own traditional costumes, celebrate their national holidays, and relish their native delicacies. These activities are may be considered “trivial” by some; nevertheless, they help migrants considerably to overcome loneliness and to feel that they are connected with their compatriots. It is a panacea against “homesickness”, a way of expressing and asserting their own identities in an environment where integration into the Dutch society is highly expected from those wishing to become permanent residents or full-fledged citizens of this country.

The other groups focus their activities on the issues and concerns that migrants, immigrants, and refugees confront in the Netherlands. The leaders and members of these groups are usually actively involved in public discourses and they work very hard to bring about changes that would have a positive impact on them.

They are very much aware of the push and pull factors that brought migrants here in the Netherlands. They are aware that to achieve betterment in the well-being of compatriots in their native lands, positive economic and political changes must take place back “home”. It is not surprising, therefore, that they maintain close ties with various NGOs and groups in their home countries and extend support to various development projects and advocacy programs there.

I presume that many Dutch development organizations are aware of the existence of these self-organizations. But I should add: they may be aware of these self-organizations, but they probably don’t know them enough. Perhaps, they are not aware of the level of expertise and capacity of the self-organizations.

There are many self-organizations which are managed by people who have had wide experience and expertise in the field of development work before coming to the Netherlands. These people keep themselves abreast with what is happening in their own countries. For some, the reason why they are here in the Netherlands was because they were actively involved in development work (human rights, people’s organizations, lobbying against construction of dams, land reform, etc.) which placed them in conflict with repressive regimes of their own countries.

Although they work as volunteers simply means not being paid for the services they render and with very little resources to run their respective organizations, they devote a considerable amount of time, effort and even personal money, not only to strengthen their respective organizations, but also to engage in various types of work to help their countries of origin. They are often asked by Dutch development agencies and other Dutch solidarity groups to give presentations about the situation of their own country like giving testimonials. They do everything — from giving lectures, to presenting cultural programs, and even cooking their own native delicacies for the audience! If you want to find highly committed and engaged people, just look for them among self-organizations. Leaders and members of migrant self-organizations, however, aspire to do more than these. They want to be treated as equals. For instance, they want to be actively involved in the policy-making vis-à-vis development cooperation.

Many migrant self-organizations support community-based projects in their home countries by conducting fund-raising campaigns. For example, aside from initiating workshops and seminars on Filipino migrant concerns, Stichting Kapatiran which was established in 1990 has already collected the amount of dfl. 106,000 for literacy projects, piggery projects, and goat raising for unemployed women, building a community center, supporting earthquake and volcanic eruptions victims, etc. in the Philippines. Not bad for a small organization run and managed by volunteers. Kapatiran received donations from a local American Catholic Church, a church group in Middelburg, Gemeente Gouda, Rabo Bank– Gendringen, friends and families, business companies, schools, etc. We also found a way to avail of funding from Novib’s special fund in the Philippines for projects above dfl. 5,000. We recommended various proposals to Novib Philippine Desk over the past three years and we were surprise to hear from our local partners that they received funding directly from Novib through Asset Philippines. Surely this development is a welcome change. Unfortunately, I am only talking about one funding agency with which Kapatiran happens to have a good working relation.

Kapatiran is now facing a dilemma. Requests from local partners, specially the smaller ones, keep coming in, and we do not know up to what extent the proposal we recommend will be acted upon favorably by Novib. I have already tried recommending some proposals to other funding agencies. Before sending the proposals, I studied several times the project criteria of the funding agencies. Despite having done my homework, I still get answers such as “The project does not fall under our criteria”; “We don’t support projects initiated by organization based in the Netherlands” even if I had made it clear that I sent the proposals on behalf of the local communities in the Philippines and not for Kapatiran; “We only work with our existing partners and our existing funds do not permit us to support this type of project.” Or I simply did not receive any answer at all!!!

But what do you do with small local communities that do not have direct links with and are unknown to Dutch agencies? Should they remain disenfranchised?

Small community-based development projects are sometimes not taken seriously by funding agencies because of the insignificant impact they create. It is not newsworthy. It is not worth mentioning in their annual reports. But if the small community organizations submit a bigger funding request, all the more they do not get financial support because Dutch development agencies doubt their capacity to manage, implement and evaluate their programs, or they simply are not familiar with the project proponents here in the Netherlands. Migrant and refugee organizations are virtually invisible. It is a Catch-22 situation.

I also receive requests from local organizations in the Philippines to follow up the proposals they submitted to the funding agencies, or to make appointments for them when their representatives happen to be in the Netherlands. But I often hesitate to accede to their requests because I am not sure how funding agencies would deal with my queries, especially when I make appointments for different people coming from different organizations. To be specific about it, I am not sure, whether I have the right to do this. How welcome are my initiatives? My impression is that Dutch development agencies do not like to work with go-between. It is a hassle.

It would be interesting if a study to find out the extent of financial assistance sent by migrant organizations to their respective home countries will be conducted. This would help us measure the impact of contributions of migrant communities to development cooperation.

What are the limits and possibilities of cooperation between Dutch development agencies and self-organizations?

The possibilities are many if only Dutch development agencies would start looking seriously for local partners right here in the Netherlands and take efforts to tap their expertise. The leaders and members of self-organizations here are highly motivated and determined enough to see to it that the projects succeed no matter how small for as long as they are given the proper guidance and enough resources. Self-organizations, if properly tapped and motivated, can provide Dutch development agencies excellent support to their various campaigns here in the Netherlands.

For their part, Dutch development agencies can assist self-organizations if they “maximize” the visit of their guests from development countries by allowing them to meet their compatriots. These guests are valuable resource persons. If timely informed, self-organizations can always try organizing informal discussions with the guests. The benefits are mutual: the guests will get to know the situation of their compatriots—the migrants, immigrants, and refugees, while self-organizations can ask questions about the activities and programs of the organizations represented by the speakers. Who knows, they can establish future mutual cooperation.

This workshop poses a question for which I sincerely hope we can provide concrete answers today.

If I am allowed to make a few suggestions, I would like to pose the following:

1.) If MFOs are seriously thinking about involving self-organizations in recommending and evaluating projects, they should conduct environmental scanning to find out capable persons from various self-organizations representing the countries where Dutch development agencies actively work with.
2.) Harness this available human capital. Invite these people not only to recommend projects but also to exchange ideas, opinions, and analyses about the latest developments in their home countries. Ask them for their independent opinions on what they think about the activities of NGOs (partner organizations) in their home countries.
3.) Involve them in conducting country evaluation or various campaigns.
4.) Conduct an exploratory meeting with these persons to find out how they mutually help each other.
5.) Conduct orientation training on how Dutch development agencies operate in the countries concerned; explain the project criteria and what the present needs are so that the contact persons of various self-organizations would be guided next time they recommend project proposals to avoid giving false hopes and expectations.
6.) Establish formal relationship, taking these persons (country experts) as equal discussion partners.
7.) Set aside a special fund which self-organizations can avail of to support the development projects in their countries of origin.
8.) Assist self-organizations in their fund-raising campaigns.
9) Provide them with technical assistance and other capacity building activities.

It is about time that the contribution of migrant communities is recognized by the Dutch government and by the governments of their countries of origin. In 1998 alone, overseas Filipinos (those outside the Philippines) sent home a total amount of US$ 7 billion dollars overseas remittances. There is a development potential of migration if funds sent by the migrants are tapped properly and parlayed to countryside development. Dutch development agencies might like to support the conduct of studies to find out how a portion of the overseas remittances could be harnessed to support development projects instead of having government use the remittances for foreign debt repayments, or having commercial banks invest the money to build commercial centers, megamalls, golf courses, and other projects that do not generate employment and economic development particularly in the countryside.

This workshop poses a question that can be answered from two viewpoints: from the Dutch development agencies and from self-organizations. Each side has its own needs but each also has its own reservations and doubts as well. If a positive relationship will be established in the near future, leaders and members of self-organizations will finally consider it as recognition of their many past efforts. With their experience and knowledge of their countries sharpened by their stay in the Netherlands, there is no reason why they cannot become worthy active participants in shaping development cooperation policy.

The bigger challenge confronts Dutch development agencies. Will they invite more cooks to come up with a more delectable, multi-cultural dish, or will we just have to contend with one single “Dutch treat”, the Dutch development agencies' s delight.

This is a tall order but I hope Dutch development agencies and self-organizations will deal with in the near future. I hope one day Dutch development and self-organizations will be able to work together to achieve their common goal: to help the countries they both care for.

Paper presented during the ARC MUNDI Conference, 23 September 2000, The Hague.

Note: In 2003, ICCO, Cordaid, Hivos, Oxfam Novib, Plan Nederland together with NCDO and COS Nederland opened a front office called LINKIS. This a new facility where migrant organisations can apply for funding to support their projects in their countries of origin. Several dialogues and meetings are being conducted to promote cooperation. In 2006, Oxfam Novib finally included migration, remittances and family networks among the innovative themes in its strategic business plan 2007-2010.

July 28, 2007

The Price We Pay for Being Poor

The Filipino-Muslim Sarah Balabagan was sentenced to die by firing squad by an Islamic court in the United Arab Emirates. She came to the Middle East to work as a domestic helper. Two months after she arrived, she was raped at knifepoint. In an act of self-defense she killed her 85-year old abductor by stabbing him 43 times. Sarah is 16 years old. She is just a child!

This tragic event made me ponder what price do we have to pay for being poor? Do poor parents really have no choice but to allow their children to go to unknown countries to work dangerously in order to earn a living? Should the children suffer the brunt by earning money to support their families?

I am not passing judgments on the Filipino parents who send their children to work abroad. I know they have difficult times coping with the daily needs of the families. And yet I can’t help looking back to the time when “going abroad” was not the only answer to solve poverty. The opportunity did not exist then and going abroad was actually only for the rich either to study or to spend holidays. Obviously, time has changed. Going abroad nowadays is just like finding jobs in the cities. I wish deep in my heart that parents no longer allow their children to go abroad or tolerate them if they turn to prostitution just to earn a living. That they will persevere a bit more in protecting their children from harm come what may. I know this is a tall order and a question of life and death. And yet… is there really no other way? Do parents really have no choice?

When I was still child, the only pride my family, my relatives, my friends and lot of neighbors I know back home was to send their children to school and to get their college education. The parents burned their backs or did extra menial jobs so that they can support the studies of their children. If the parents were too poor to send the children to school, the children work as working students just to be able to continue with their studies. During vacation and weekends, the children help in the farm, wash and iron clothes, tend farm animals, fetch water, and gather firewood. Life was simpler then.

If necessary, parents do extra farm work or other menial jobs to provide the necessities of their children: food, clothing, shelter and education. This tie, if the poor have to survive, they either have to work abroad or are forced to go into prostitution.

Sarah Balabagan perhaps did not even finish high school but she is already working miles away from home. I will not delve into the economic and political implications about the reason why she went abroad to work. That is not what I intend to tackle for now. It is easy though to point accusing fingers at the corrupt and inefficient government (this government issues a travel document to a 15 year-old girl with passport stating that she is 28 years old!), to the colonial history of our country, to imperialism, and capitalism. I know the root cause of the problem is quite more complex. What I want to stress now is the breakdown of our family values. Due to extreme poverty, we have to trade our national price and dignity. We escape poverty by going abroad only to be treated like strayed animals by employers. Exporting domestic servants becomes a major business in the Philippines. About 10 million Filipinos are now residing and working abroad.

Unfortunately, we have an incompetent government which reinforces the situation by allowing their own people to work abroad as slaves in order to earn the hard-earned dollars just because it lacks the political will and creativity to protect and provide the needs of the country through its own efforts. Instead, the government uses the hard-earned remittances from the overseas workers to keep the economy afloat.

I grieve for Flor, for Sarah, and for the many other Filipino and Asian migrant workers worldwide who suffer from various abuses, harassments, and other dehumanizing treatment. I grieve for those who went abroad to earn a living, who languish in lonely prisons or met their untimely and tragic death. I grieve to see Filipino traditional values eroding and families disintegrating due to widespread poverty and hopelessness of the people.

I am angry with the government people for failing to do what they are supposed to do. This government lacks the will power to defend the basic human rights of the Filipino migrants. A government which closes its eyes to the miseries of the migrant workers only because the only way to support its economy is to get the hard-earned dollars.

I am angry with the recruitment agencies which not only charge exorbitant fees but also promise false hopes to the poor Filipinos. Above all, I am angry with ourselves for being subservient, docile, and adventurous (Bahala na! Makikipagsapalaran!) making ourselves easy preys for exploitation and oppression. For being too humble and weak to stand up for our rights; for allowing ourselves to be treated like slaves!

What a tragedy. With a burning desire to improve her lot, Flor left her children in the Philippines to find a job in Singapore. Sarah left behind her parents and her innocent childhood for the same reason. They both met the same tragic fate. Flor was hanged to death and Sarah is about to be if the Unite Arab Emirates court remains insensitive to the worldwide protests. Another Filipino youth will be wasted. The Economist reports that on the day Sarah was sentenced to death, more than 1,000 young women left the Philippines to work overseas. How many Flors and Sarahs do we need before we stop all this madness?

And what would happened to Flor and Sarah if they decided to remain in the Philippines?


Author’s note: Sarah Balabagan’s death sentence has been acquitted. She was caned in 20 strokes at a time, over five days during January 30 - February 5 in 1996 and finally returned home on August 1, 1996. She had to pay a sum of US$ 40,000 which was donated by a Filipino businessman to the victim’s family as blood money and to serve a one-year imprisonment.

More on Sarah's Story

1996

Recognizing the Positive Contributions of Migrants

Migrants sent home through official channel a total amount of $160 billion in 2004, exceeding development aid from all sources by 50 percent. Another 50% of the total remittances are estimated to be sent through informal channels. These figures come from the recently-released Global Economic Prospect 2006 Report of the Washington-based World Bank.

Remittances are the money that foreign-born workers send to their relatives and/or communities abroad. The countries receiving the most in recorded remittances in 2004 are India ($21.7 billion), China ($21.3 billion), Mexico ($18.1 billion), France ($12.7 billion), and the Philippines ($11.6 billion).

“Migration is truly a global phenomenon,” says Dilip Ratha, one of the co-authors of the bank report. “Many countries, both developed and developing, both send and receive migrants, and both send and receive remittances.”

The huge and increasing amount of migrant remittances triggered development agencies, governments, and the private sector to raise the discussions of remittances at the national, regional, and international levels.

In 2003, the international conference on Migrant Remittances: Development Impact, Opportunities for the Financial Sector and Future Prospects – convened by the Department of Foreign International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom and the World Bank in London – attracted over 100 participants from 42 countries. They included representatives from banks and non-bank financial institutions, government policy makers, multilateral and bilateral donors, United Nations and other international agencies, non-governmental organizations, academics and consultants.

During the G8 Summit in 2004, it acknowledged the conference’s “Action Plan on Poverty,” which recognized the importance of remittances in playing a key role in private-sector development efforts by enabling families to receive needed capital for education, housing and small business start-ups and expansion, among others.

Remittances –the money migrant workers send home - are often described as “the new form of development aid” and they are “the biggest source of foreign inflows” surpassing foreign direct investments and official development aid.

Experts claim that migrant remittances can fuel economic growth and fight poverty if properly harnessed. However, policy makers focus their attention on how to address the high cost of remittance transfers. Effective and productive management of remittances requires not only cutting costs of remittances but also an enabling environment both in sending and receiving countries but also popular support from migrants and cooperation among stakeholders.

From the Philippines, an estimated 8 million citizens – comprising 10% of the country’s total population – are scattered in 126 countries. They toil under the scorching desert sun or bitterly cold winter. Some of them work in different levels of position and in various sectors: from domestic helpers in Hong Kong to high tech jobs in Silicon Valley, California. According to the World Bank estimates, remittances of Filipino migrants will reach US$ 12 billion in 2005.

Beyond direct help to their families to meet basic needs such as housing, food, health, and education, Filipino migrants also provide assistance and share their expertise and knowledge with their communities back home.

“There are about 12,000 Filipino organizations worldwide, of which around 4,000 are recorded to be engaged in giving back to their homeland or hometown,” wrote Ding Bagasao, chair of the Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos, in one of his e-mail messages.

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas, which mobilizes and monitors donations from Filipinos abroad, has recorded about 1.3 billion pesos worth of donations from overseas Filipinos residing in North America, Oceania and Europe, with about 82% coming from the United States alone. “Donations preponderate to calamities, medical missions, equipment and investments,” Bagasao reports.

In 2003, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas estimates about US$218 million were remitted by Filipinos overseas in the form of gifts and donations that were distinct from the money home sent by migrants to their families. “This is greater than the amount of taxes paid to the government by the top four Philippine corporations in the last four years,” Bagasao claims.

Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information about this gift-giving of hometown associations. Unlike in Mexico, which presently referred the phenomenon to as “Diaspora Philanthropy,” no such things are reported in the Philippines.

“Tales about Diaspora philanthropy also reveals the other face of the international migration phenomenon that sweeps labor-exporting Philippines,” observes Jeremiah Opiniano, executive director of Institute of Migration and Development Issues. “For a country where the tragic angles of migration are prominent, like the hanging of Flor Contemplacion in 1995, ‘good news for the poor’ tales… are hardly told.”

Gift-giving is not exclusive among professional migrants in the United States. As an example, Opiniano cites Pozorrubio, a town in Pangasinan which has over 6,000 people working abroad. “Pozorrubian domestic workers in Hong Kong stage beauty pageants so that they can raise money to ship medical equipment, construct small chapels, and even buy monobloc chairs for fiesta celebrations,” Opiniano told the participants of Diaspora Philanthropy conference in Manila recently.

Another example is the hometown association of the southern California-based Butuan City Charities Foundation (BCCF). With a slogan of "Butuanons Helping Butuanons,” the BCCF conducts fund-raising campaign to finance its various projects in Butuan. The projects are being implemented by its local partner organization, the Butuan City-based Ivory Charities Foundation (ICF). The BCCF’s website reports that it has already “remitted Ph 994,000 to about 245 beneficiaries, 95 percent of whom are women. ICF's reported a 99 percent repayment of loans. ICF's goal is to extend microlending opportunities to the rest of Butuan City's 86 barangays.”

“Migrant Filipinos have begun to make a difference in small towns and cities around the country,” claims Opiniano, a staunch advocate of Filipino Diaspora philanthropy.
“In an era of accelerated globalization, the relationship between Diaspora philanthropy and the economic and social development of many countries is increasingly relevant,” points out Peter F. Geithner, co-editor of Diaspora Philanthropy and Equitable Development in China and India.

However, Manuel Orozco, senior associate of Inter-American Dialogue cautiously warns that “philanthropy provided by the hometown association (HTA) to their community of origin doesn’t always translate into development. And even when it is more consistent and long-term, the provided funds do not necessarily result in the eradication of poverty.”

Orozco conducted pioneering studies on Mexican hometown associations and continues to support the inclusion of migrants in policy-making processes at levels as he sees “migration and remittances have come to symbolize the human face of globalization.”

To maximize the benefits of remittances, Orozco recommends reducing the high cost of remittance transfer, promoting financial literacy, and linking remittance with microfinance. Likewise, hometown associations must work in tandem with international organizations, private sector and governments to increase the worth value of their development projects, and forge strategic trade alliances.

Capturing a share of remittances for development needs transparent and coherent policies, relevant enabling environment, and full recognition and appreciation of the positive contributions of migrants to the development of their countries of origin. -- ###
2006

Stand up and be counted

You count how many peddlers
walk in a dusty pebbled road
under the scorching heat of the sun
arms outstretched
his own fate he could not command.

You count how many paupers
plunge into darkness
amidst daylight and
lose a thousand hopes
a thousand dreams
for even the right to hope
is no longer his own.

You count how many mothers
cry in anguish
in so much pain
for her right to caress her child
could never be the same.

You count how many lilies
open their petals not in springtime
You count how many wild birds
Singing tunes out of rhyme.

You count how many thousand lives
struggle for a piece of bread
in order to survive.
You count how many deaths have been offered
to give meaning to a wretched
meaningless life.

And yet it is when life is full of miseries
of anguish
of pain
of hunger
and of poverty
that each man and woman stands up
to give hope to a morbid sorrow
to give life to a dying promise
to give rhyme to a song and
to be counted.

Women Peacemakers

We women from distant lands
War, injustice, poverty and intolerance
Separated us from our loved ones
We fled, we crossed the seven seas
We sought refuge
We left our tormented countries behind
Hoping to find warmth and helping hand
A better place to find rest
Bitter memories we tend to forget
But like the rushing waves of the ocean
They keep on coming back.

The colors of our skin differ
Our religion is not the same
You are what you are
And I am what I am
Although I have not understood all this
Why for some being different really matters
What I know, we are women.

We give love, we build peace
While others make war
We know we cannot just close our eyes
There’s so much goodness in this world
A just and lasting peace is worth fighting for.

One day peace will come
Someday justice prevails
It will because we will make it happen
This is our undying promise
To make the difference
Women of peace
We must not pause, we must not be quiescent
Until our weary soul finds rest.


28 June 2003

Two Wars (and I just sit and watch)

Let there be love but no one listens, no one hears
Let there be peace, but no one cares, no one dares
Let there be war! Suddenly tanks rumble on,
Cluster bombs fall mortal targets hit young and old
And they claim they charge with surgical precision.
The Devil's Pact is broken, the ground trembles
"Shock and awe" the battle cry and why
I shiver with disbelief, brothers against brothers
From the fertile land of Mindanao
to the glowing desert of Baghdad.
Blood spatters, mangled bodies everywhere
Desperate, hallow cries of innocent people
But no one hears them in the wilderness
Their faint voices snuffed by drumfire of the raging war.
I see crimson fireballs as the night falls in Baghdad
I sit and watch until I hear another explosion in Mindanao
I see Mindanao through the night sky over Baghdad
Two wars thousands of miles apart
And I just sit and watch.

24 March 2003
(after watching CNN)

Visions of the Past

During the first half of 1960s, life was simpler then in our town. We had no electricity and running water at home. We had a dirty kitchen and used firewood for cooking, which we gathered from the forest about five kilometers away from our house. Helping in the household chores was a daily routine. West Europeans would think that gathering firewood is a heavy work for 8-year-old children. But in my town, this was just another heavy work we had to do and on the contrary, we really enjoyed doing it. Gathering firewood in the forest was one of my favorite preoccupations aside from fetching water. I did not think it was a cumbersome task at all. It was the fun to be with the other children that I always looked forward to. For us, gathering firewood was just another exciting game we should never miss. Besides, no firewood and water means no food, and this was the harsh reality in life we learned to live with at an early age as simple as that.
We had a neighbor whom we called Manang Conching. She was a tiny but sturdy woman who smoked her cigarette with the burning end inside her mouth. It was quite known in our place that Manang Conching was already chopping firewood a day after she delivered her baby. She bore ten children all of them were strong and healthy. She was our leader in gathering firewood. Every Saturday as soon as the first daylight has broken, I wrapped cooked rice and dried fish with a banana leaf, filled a bottle with drinking water and placed them inside a small basket. I had with me a bolo and a rope to bind the firewood. We assembled near the riverbank. With ten other children and obedient like good Boy and Girl Scouts, we hiked to the forest with Manang Conching taking the lead.

I loved the forest. For a long time from where I stood, I gazed at the towering trees with their crowns almost touching the immense mass of clouds. I enjoyed watching at the tiny birds singing and flapping their wings with carefree abandon and the rhythmic movements of colorful butterflies and dragonflies. I longed to find a bird's nest ensconced on a branch of a tree but there was no time to do this since we had to gather firewood before it turned dark. We had so much fun, laughing and singing while gathering dried twigs and branches and bound them neatly together with a rope. We stopped around midday to eat our lunch while we took turns in telling stories about enkantada, in local folklore, a spirit that enchants or charms people. We also talked about fairies and other deities that lived in the forest. Manang Conching reminded us to gather only twigs and branches that were lying on the ground.

"Never cut any branches or twigs from the trees children," she kept on reminding us."But why not?" we asked."The fairies will be angry at us because we are hurting the trees and they might charm us. We will never find our way back home again.""Oh, you are so superstitious Manang Conching," we answered back."Try it and your parents must not blame me if you cannot reach your house today," Manang Conching said firmly.
One time, when we noticed that it took us too long to reach the main road, Manang Conching told us to take off our clothes and wear them inside out. It was the belief of the local people that wearing clothes inside out was the only way to break the spell of the enkantada. Believing that we were indeed bewitched, we nervously took off our clothes and wore them inside out while hoping that the trick will indeed break the spell. Coincidence or not, we found the road. We walked back safely to our house with the bundles of firewood which we carried on our head. We learned our lesson to respect nature from Manang Conching.

For our drinking water, we had to hike another four kilometers where the only potable spring water was located. We had to leave the house at 4:00 in the morning, as the queue was very long in Bugak. My father and I pushed the cart where we placed several jerry cans. I could still hear the cacophony of chirping of the crickets and croaking of the frogs as if they performed a dawn concerto. We carried a flashlight with us because it was still very dark but sometimes if we were lucky, the moon shone so brightly that I could clearly see our own shadows following us. I wondered then if it was possible for people to live on the moon. I imagined seeing a silhouette of giant bamboo on the face of the moon. On 21 July 1969, my interest in phantasmagoric splendor of the moon and the heavenly bodies became more intense when I heard over the radio that the first man just landed on the moon. There were times that I looked at the millions of stars hanging in the skies like sparkling diamonds tucked on a black velvet. I continued gazing at the dark skies waiting patiently until I saw a shooting star so I could make my wish.

We had a large clay jar at home where my father stored our drinking water. It was an old jar that it was almost covered with moss, a very small, soft, green plant that grows close together like a carpet, which helped our drinking water stay refreshingly cool.

Life was simpler then when I was in the elementary grades. With fifteen centavos pocket money, I could already buy two boiled bananas and a glass of red gulaman, a mixture of gelatin extracted from weed and plenty of water and ice cubes that was enough to quench my thirst. Sometimes, if I got bored of the gulaman and boiled bananas, I bought fried bananas and a glass of calamansi juice. I thought I was the richest girl in the world when my father gave me 25 centavos pocket money then I could buy a bottle of coke, the most delicious and precious drink I knew when I was still a child. I asked for a bottle of coca-cola when I had a fever like it was a better medicine than any analgesics around. When I had measles, I asked for a bottle of coca-cola and a can of fruit cocktail, which my parents granted just to keep me better. No wonder that I wished to be sick always since I got what I wanted. The world that I knew of was only my little town. We hardly went to the city and if we did only between Christmas and New Year when my father brought his whole family to Davao Coca-Cola plant to watch their Christmas decorations and to get free bottles of coca-cola courtesy from the company which I drank, with much delight.

Throughout my high school years when the local electric power plant was closed down for several years, I studied my lessons with the help of a kerosene lamp. When I woke up in the morning, I cleaned my nose with the tip of my forefinger and it turned as dark as a coal. When we were young, my brothers and sisters slept in one large mat under a mosquito net. There were no TV sets then so my brothers and sisters spent the early evening inside the mosquito net telling legends and fables like why the monkey is wise, why the cashew seed is outside the fruit and many others. Or we took turns in solving riddles until we all fell asleep.

There was a river near our house where I took a bath since at that time we did not have running water at home. The crystal clear water was very cold and the rushing waters were too strong for my unsteady young limbs. Adults and children alike fetched water from the river for cooking, washing, watering the plants, and practically for everything we did that needed water. There was a part of the river where my father built a dam by piling stones on top of the other until the water was deep enough for us to swim. But the dam had a short life. The stones crumbled down each time there was a flood and it flooded almost every week especially during rainy season. But my father patiently carried and piled stones to build a new dam so children can go swimming again. He also dug a well by the riverbank where people in the neighborhood fetched water for cooking and washing their dishes. The well had the same fate with our swimming pool. When it flooded, the well disappeared completely covered with sand and mud.
My father did not mind at all digging a new well again. We knew that a big flood was coming because we can hear from a distance the roaring sound of the stones and debris swept away by the gushing water straight from the belly of the towering 10,000 feet high Mt. Apo, the highest mountain peak in the Philippines. My playmates rushed to the higher part of the riverbank and bet if there were farm animals swept away by the current. It was not all the time that the flood came rumbling down. Sometimes, we hardly noticed that the water level was gradually rising and its color changed from crystal clear to chocolate brown. We only noticed that flood was coming when our laundry started to float and some familiar stones vanished away under water. In some instances we have to run after our laundry being mercilessly carried away by the current while watchful that we left the river before the real big flood came. Watching an incoming flood was both a horrifying and fascinating experience but we welcomed the flood as it cleansed the river. My father assumed responsibility in taking care of the river near our place like a faithful steward. He gathered rubbish materials and leftovers of careless bathers. He reminded us constantly not to take a bath or washed out clothes near the well to keep the purity of the strained water.

The river formation fascinated me a lot. I was wondering where the river originated and why there was flood when it rained heavily in the mountains. Sometimes, I fancied myself going on a long trek following the course of the river until I reached its source. Finding out where the river ended would have completed my whole journey.

Long, thick bamboos, different kinds of trees and shrubs grew at the opposite side of the river. We used to play hide and seek there but often my father scolded me because he said there were plenty of snakes, scorpions, and other deadly insects in the bush. He was right of course because I saw snakes several times in the river that until today, I am still horrified to see a snake, real or just in pictures. There were hilarious moments when one of our neighbors washing clothes suddenly saw a snake coiled motionless inside her pail, which she was about to pick up. The unfortunate woman turned pale and stood motionless until we shouted at her to stay back. With the help of a long stick, we kept beating the pail until the cold-blooded reptile distracted by the commotion we created was left without a choice but to crawl back to the bamboo grooves as quickly as it could. There were plenty of fish too, especially paitan which only thrived abundantly in our river.

Several years later, I visited my hometown again. Almost all the houses in my town have already electricity and running water. Children hardly play on the street anymore, as they prefer to watch the TV during their free time. Instead of the chirping of the crickets and croaking of the frogs, it was the sound of my neighbors singing karaoke in the early evening that I hear.
The only movie house in our town where I spent a lot of time watching Tagalog movies is closed and will be demolished soon. A lot of people are carrying mobile phones and they sang Cebuano songs during the mass instead of Spanish or Latin. No more Canadian missionary priests. They broke down our schoolhouse and a new modern school building took its place.

I can't wait to see the river where I spent so many happy moments when I was still a child. Choked with nostalgia, I almost cried to see it practically dried and polluted. I did not see any sign of life except pungent stagnant water, a prolific breeding ground for mosquitoes. People do not bother to go to the river anymore not even to fetch water for their plants or to clean their pigsty. There were huge piles of garbage in the river dumped by the residents and the municipality never makes efforts to collect them. They cut the trees and the bamboo in the riverbank to give way to the new feeder road. The forest has been leveled off and was converted into a new middleclass subdivision. Many trees in Mt. Apo National Park did not survive due to many years of incessant logging operations. Floods do not happen anymore to cleanse the river. People do not use firewood as they cook now with liquefied petroleum gas and for those who cannot afford, they use charcoal. Children do not wrap their lunch with banana leaves instead they carried Tupperware lunchboxes and tumblers. I was confronted with another world in another time.

The modern amenities that people could now enjoy to some extent have somehow lightened up the work of the children. Gathering of firewood and fetching water five kilometers away from their homes became distant memories of the past. But the people became careless and neglectful in preserving and protecting the environment that provided them life once upon a time. If this attitude of my town mates persists and unfortunately, there are visible signs that they will, a total environmental destruction is bound to happen in our place.

Some people, and all the places and things that remind me of my childhood are all gone. Fortunately, I still have my memories of the past and hope to remember them all despite the long passage of time. When I feel the urge I just close my eyes, and the visions of my youth happily come back vividly to me once more.

2001

Bansalan on my mind

A few years ago, a group of friends who planned to visit Bansalan told me that they had difficulties in finding my hometown on the Philippine map. I told them where the town is geographically located and assured them that one day Bansalan will be placed on the national map. Bansalan, with a total land area of 20,770.1966 hectares, is subdivided into 25 barangays.

The town is the boundary between the provinces of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur. It is sandwiched by two cities: Kidapawan City and Digos City, probably the reason why progress in the town is so slow. Vehicles do not linger long enough in the town. Passengers from North Cotabato are eager to reach Digos or Davao City, while passengers bound for North Cotabato are rearing to reach Kidapawan City and further to Cotabato City. It has never been a place where passengers stay longer for one reason or the other. Business activities remain in the hands of the local enterprising people. And so the town remains largely rural and agricultural and still waiting for a miracle for the local economy to pick up.

The tragic bombing incident last June 15, which claimed 10 lives, made headlines not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well. It was not exactly the idea I have in my mind for Bansalan to be known around the world. For all we know, the town could be listed by the Western countries as one of the dangerous places to visit in the Philippines.

After reading the news, my first reaction was a total disbelief. This incident should never happen in my hometown. But I was thankful that the bomb was not strong enough to hit the two nearby gasoline stations. After all, Bansalan is practically not prepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. The municipality has only one ambulance which is ill-equipped and does not even have simple first aid kit. Sometimes the driver is nowhere to be found. There is no para-medic team to attend to patients. In more instances, the ambulance has no gasoline.

The local people were generally calm after the incident happened. Randy Albores, chair of the Bansalan chapter of the Association of Bansalenos Worldwide (ABW) reported that the town's parish priest, Rev. Fr. Cristito Carmona, DCD, declared June 17, 2007 as mourning day in honor of the victims of the Weena bus bombing. During the 8 am mass, prayers were offered to the victims and peace for our town. After the mass, a procession was held from the church to the bombing site. There was a short liturgical service. Prayers, flowers and candles were offered. A small white cross was erected at the site.

This bombing incident is regrettable since Bansaleños abroad have been trying their best to stimulate local tourism to enhance revenues for the town. As a matter of fact, Bansaleños abroad are preparing for their First Grand Reunion this coming December and planning to invite their families and friends to visit the town.

However, “out of sight, out of mind” may not aptly describe the attitude of ABW members. The longer they live abroad, the more they are drawn to this sleepy town like falling in love for the first time and falling in love all over again.

ABW members launched the “Give Back” campaign since two years ago to help the development of their hometown. They have finished the re-painting of the ABC Gym (click http://www.bansalan.com/giveback_abc_evolution.htm) in cooperation with the municipal government.

They also support poor but deserving pupils in their hometown. This school year (2007-2008), they were able to raise enough funds to buy uniforms, school bags, school supplies, and pay school contributions of 84 pupils (please visit http://www.bansalan.com/literacy/abw_scholars.htm). They were able to raise almost Ph 200,000 after conducting a fund-raising campaign from December 2006 – May 2007. A funding agency based in the Netherlands matched 70% of the net amount they actually raised.

ABW members have many dreams for their beloved town: they want to send books, set up a learning center, build waiting sheds, and improve the Rizal Park. Some are seriously thinking of investing to spur local economy. One member based in Germany already built a nursery school, the Metilla Day Care center, and in fact shoulder the salaries of the teachers.

The bombing incident clouds a bit of these dreams. However, I know Bansaleños are resilient people. The incident may inspire them even more to work harder and support the development of their hometown.

Perhaps, ABW members could explore with the municipal government unit what measures to be taken to protect the lives of the local people. For instance, the municipal council can conduct disaster preparedness campaign to teach people to become more vigilant in dealing with terrorist attacks.
If they find a suspicious bag or box, the first thing they should do is not to touch or open it. They should vacate the area carefully but quickly without moving the object.

In developed countries, the first thing people do is to call a bomb demolition team. But in Bansalan, is there such a team or a person who knows? And if there is, do people know whom to contact? Anyhow, this is easier said than done. “Curiosity kills a cat,” so goes a saying and our tendency is to satisfy our curiosity first but the consequence can cause many innocent lives. Even if one calls a bomb squad, probably the instruction might be “open it first to be sure that it is a bomb!” For all we know, it is too late.

It is important that peace and order must be restored. Engagement of local government officials to the development of the town is equally important.
ABW members will explore possibilities in establishing such cooperation with the local officials in identifying projects that will improve the quality of life of the local people.

Now, where is Bansalan exactly located?

From the ABW website, I found this information:

“In the lowlands of Mt. Apo lies the rural town of Bansalan. Despite being considered an agricultural economy, it is one of the progressive municipalities in the province of Davao del Sur.

"Legend has it that Bansalan got its name from a Bagobo chieftain (datu) named 'Dansalan' whose tribal folks were the original inhabitants of the place. A so-called reporting error by the early surveyors transposed the name to Bansalan and somehow became the official name on record.

"Bansalan is also formerly called 'Miral' and some local folks still refer to this former name. Visitors to this rustic town would notice that in public transportation the signboard still says Miral instead of Bansalan.

"Bansalan is about 72 kilometers south of Davao City and is very accessible by land transportation mostly by buses going to Cotabato City, Kidapawan City, and Tacurong. Bansalan is about 12 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Digos. Her neighboring towns include Makilala, North Cotabato in the north, Magsaysay, Davao del Sur (formerly called
Kialeg) in the west, Matanao, Davao del Sur in the south, Mt. Apo and parts of Digos City in the east.

"The town of Bansalan is a second class municipality which means its income level is between 27 million to 35 million pesos. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 51,781 people in 11,073 households.

"Agriculture is the major source of income for this town. Bansalenos grow rice, corn, banana, fruit trees, coconut, sugar cane in the lowlands.
Coffee, vegetables and fruits are grown in the colder highlands of Mt.
Apo.

"Bansalan is also keeping up with the times in terms of technology. It has access to cable television, computers, and cell phone sites. It may not be at par with the big cities but it's getting there. Gone are the days when radio was the only source of mass media communications.” -- ###

June 2007

When ChristmasTrees Were Tall

“When I was small/ and Christmas trees were tall/ we used to love while others used to play/ don't ask me why/ but time has passed us by/ some one else moved in from far away,” so goes the first stanza of a song popularized by the Bee Gees. Listening to it brings me back to the many Christmases I celebrated in my hometown several years ago.

What was Christmas like in a little town called Bansalan in the ‘60s and ‘70s? Since Christmas is supposed for children, the season was a memorable event for me. I was born into a very poor family but despite this our house was loaded with Christmas decorations. My father and I had so much fun decorating our house during Christmas time.

As early as October, we would discuss the possible motif of our Christmas tree. After all, making the Christmas tree was a family tradition. We wanted to have a different motif each year. I could still remember the time when we wrapped a big branch of a coffee tree – cut from farm of my auntie who lived in Bulatukan, North Cotabato – with green crepe paper. Coffee? Yes, in those days, lots of farmers still managed small coffee plantations.

On another year, we made a big cone out from a hard cardboard and wrapped it with pastel-colored tissue papers. But the last one I could not forget was a Christmas tree made from a bunch of raw banana complete with fruits and heart (yes, the puso ng saging). It was an adorable sight to behold.

We also hanged on our windows multi-colored Christmas lanterns wrapped with Japanese paper. We lined our main door with colorful blinking Christmas lights. But there was a hitch: Christmas lights attracted carolers and we had problem giving them pinaskuhan.

Every Christmas, our father would wrap small presents for all of us. We opened these presents after taking eating our Noche Buena but only after we had attended the midnight mass. Though not expensive, the gifts – a dainty handmade bag for me, plastic dolls for my younger sisters, pairs of socks for my brothers, and bandanna or nice blouse for my mother – were splendid because we only received them once a year. We rarely received birthday gifts since money was for food.

Days before Christmas, particularly at 3:30 in the morning, the phonograph of the parish convento would start playing Christmas songs. In order for the people to hear the music, the priest installed a loud speaker outside the convento. Indeed, the songs were literally a wake up call. Once the third song, “The First Noel,” would be played, I would rise up and start dressing up for the Misa de Gallo. The song served as my cue.

Before that, however, the two Christmas songs being played were “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Hark the Herald the Angels Sing.” Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, has been – and still is – an arena of bitter political dispute. I learned all these years later.

I always told my father how pleased I was that our family name Noel because during the Nativity season everybody seemed to remember us. Since I am the eldest of the eight children, I usually teased and made my brothers and sisters green with envy that the song was actually meant for me. My father was the only son and as far as I knew we did not have cousins who have the same family name.

Dressed in my Sunday dress topped with a second-hand twin-set, which my mother bought from the market (it was called “relief clothes” then; now, it known as ukay-ukay), I walked spiritedly to the church together with my parents and siblings. We would come early to be sure that we have the best set in the church.

I was always fascinated with the Christmas decorations in the church. I felt sad every time the décors were taken down after the Feast of Epiphany. I had to wait for the next Christmas to see them again.

Every now and then, the church would show a “real” Nativity scene. Local players would essay the roles convincingly that sometimes I thought Joseph and Mary may ascended from heaven. I watched them with awe and deep reverence. In several occasions, I was chosen to portray as one of the angels and this would be the highlight of my Christmas. I thought I had the most beautiful wings among other angels. My father made the wings especially for me that in most instances, I wanted to sleep wearing them.

Going home was a pleasant walk since we usually stopped at a store to drink warm native chocolate and eat suman or bibingka. The aroma of the native tableya brewing in an old clay pot was enough to wake me up from daydreaming, which I usually did when I was still young. I daydreamed about anything or hummed a song on my mind even while walking that my mother thought I was going out of my mind. Even until today, I still do this childhood habit especially when I walk home after a busy day.

My father, at age 49, died in an accident in April 1975. The first Christmas without my father was unforgettable. Being the eldest, I tried as much as possible to continue the Christmas tradition we observed. With the help of my younger brothers and sisters, I tried to make the Christmas tree and the lanterns. Everything we did seemed to be a poor version of what we have done the previous Christmases. My mother was not a big help at all. “If your father is still alive, he could have made this and that,” she told us.

Unlike past Christmases, we prepared simple food. Our late father was the only bread winner of the family, and we did not have much then to buy special food. Although I had a job, my salary was miniscule and I supported my own studies as well as my siblings. Months before Christmas, I started buying gifts at the bargain shops for every member of the family and saved enough money for our Noche Buena, which consisted of spaghetti and hotcakes made from Hungry Jack flour.

When all of us were gathered around the table, we were surprised when my younger brother requested something. “Please place a plate for Papa since he will join us,” he urged. Hearing this, we looked at each other and did not do anything. We all went to bed and dreamed about Christmas when my father was still with us.

Well, those were the days.

Today, I have a real Christmas tree made of fresh pine tree adorned with beautiful golden colored Christmas balls, pine cones, and dainty tulle and organza ribbons. Christmas packages are now bigger compared to those I had when I was still in Bansalan.

Snowflakes are falling while I am writing this piece. Perhaps we will have a white Christmas this year which we always dream of in the Philippines when we sing Irving Berlin’s “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”. I didn’t know then that the song was written while American soldiers were fighting during the Second World War and for their families who were waiting for them to return home safely. Why is it that there is always a sad story behind a beautiful song?

Our Christmas tree here in the Netherlands is literally much taller and fancier than what we had before. Food and wine are aplenty, gifts are abundant but the Christmas in Bansalan continues to linger on my mind. My memories drift back to the time when I was small and Christmas trees were tall.

Malipayong Pasko kaninyong tanan ug bulahang Bag-ong Tuig!

Christmas 2005

More than just tweaking: Harnessing development potentials of migrants remittances

On 9, 10 and 11 July 2007 the Belgian Government will host the first meeting of the 'Global Forum on Migration and Development'. The King Baudoin Foundation has accepted the invitation to organise the first day of the Global Forum, which will be devoted to civil society. The 'Civil Society Forum on Migration and Development' on 9 July will gather a broad range of non-governmental actors to discuss the Migration and Development nexus and give input to the governmental discussions on the 10th and 11th of July.

The forum will bring together government representatives from migrant-receiving countries in Europe and countries of origin in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as international organizations, migrant organizations and other civil society organizations involved with migration and/or development. Of the estimated 550 applicants representing the civil society, 200 participants were finally selected by the steering committee of the King Baudouin Foundation to attend the ‘Civil Society Forum on Migration and Development’.

A broad-range of topics related to migration and development nexus will be discussed but specifically on the following:
· Highly skilled migration: balancing interests and responsibilities and tackling Brain Drain
· Temporary labour migration as a contribution to development: Low skilled migration and measures to combat irregular migration
· How can circular migration and sustainable return benefit development?
· Measures to increase the development value of remittances: Formalization and reduction of transfer costs and ways to enhance the micro-impact of remittances on development to the benefit of the wider community
· Strategies for building diaspora/migrant organisation capacity for development
· The value of the "migration and development" nexus and migration out of choice vs. migration out of necessity
· Enhancing policy coherence and strengthening coordination at global level (role of agencies and entities with a development, social, labour and human rights mandate)
· Looking ahead: Developing strategies and partnerships to work on 'migration and development' issues

In order to ensure wide participation from the public, the King Baudouin Foundation launched a three-week 3-week online session facilitated by December 18 – an NGO based in Brussles which advocate for migrants rights - and ran in English, French and Spanish. It was open to participation from non-state actors from around the world focusing on Human Capital Development and Labor Mobility: Maximizing Opportunities and Minimizing Risks; Remittances and other Diaspora Resources: Increasing their Net Volume and Development Value, and Enhancing Institutional and Policy Coherence and Promoting Partnerships.

Aside from the online discussions, several regional and country-level consultations were also conducted and migrant remittances - money immigrants and foreign workers send abroad to their families - was among the themes which was extensively discussed. Participants of the online discussions put forward policy recommendations to drastically reduce the cost of remittance transactions, the use of formal financial systems, harness the development potential of migration, and to allow microfinance, credit unions, and cooperatives to engage in remittance services.

The topic is quite relevant in the case of the Philippines. Accredited delegates from the Philippines to attend the Civil Society Forum should be able to submit clear policy recommendations. According to the Central Bank of the Philippines, Overseas Filipino sent home an estimated US$ 14 billion last year, placing the country as no. 4 among remittances receiving countries. Most of the 8 million OFWs are located in the USA and the Middle East. The remittances account for about 10% of the country's economy the bank added. The Philippines is the fifth-largest recipient of foreign remittances behind India, China, Mexico and France, and the highest when remittances are measured as ratios to population, GDP and exports. OFWs have become the government’s biggest source of precious dollars.

The Philippine government accounts the positive growth rate and the appreciation of the Philippine peso to the steady flow of remittances. The peso rise according to Joachim von Amberg , outgoing World Bank director was due more to the dollar weakening than the peso becoming a stronger currency. Even the Ugandan shilling is appreciating against the dollar. The same is happening in other African countries.

The increasing remittance flows has made remittances an interesting subject of study of policy makers, development organisations and academics. Some policy makers and people in the academe are proposing policy measures on how to leverage remittances for development. One of these proposals is to remove tax privileges enjoyed by overseas Filipino workers whose remittances keep the Philippine economy afloat for several decades now. “Such a move can arrest the possible hollowing effects on industries and mitigate the loss in international competition," according to the study conducted by Tereso Tullao, Michael Angelo Cortez and Edward See.

In reaction to the recommendation, Michael Defensor, former administration candidate who lost in the senatorial bid credited the positive economic growth to the steadily growing remittances and described the proposal as "foolish" and "counter-productive". The unpopular tax proposal was vehemently rejected by OFWs and eventually watered down.

The correlation between housing boom and remittances and its multiplier effects on the local economy are also worth looking into. Century Properties, a Manila based real state developer estimates that 30 percent of all remittances end up in spending for the real estate sector, whether it is used to buy property or spent on housing improvement. Construction work needs workers thus, the housing boom propelled by remittance inflows indirectly contribute to job generation.

The impact of remittances to micro and macro development of the country could not be simply ignored and to harness its development potentials need more than just tweaking. The growing dependence of the country’s economy on the money sent home by OFWs, the perpetuation of the culture and social costs of migration, and violation of migrants’ rights are some priority issues of concern which need immediate and careful attention.

The Civil Society Forum on Migration and Development must result into action-oriented policy recommendations related to remittances and their contribution to poverty alleviation and development. Some basic principles must be considered such as:

1. Remittance is only one aspect of the migration and development field. Remittance tends to be singled out because it is seen as making the most direct contribution to development in migrants’ countries of origin. However, addressing other dimensions in the migration and development field can also help to boost the contribution of the remittances to effective development on the ground.

2. Migrants are the strategic agents behind the flow of remittances. Yet, migrants still remain invisible and are largely overlooked in the debates and policy considerations on the issue. This raises a concern particularly among migrants and needs to be addressed. After all, without migrants, there would be no remittances in the first place. Migrants feel that they and their tangible contribution to development and poverty reduction in their countries of origin are not appreciated. More importantly, there is a need to pay a greater attention to the well-being of the remittance givers who are mainly vulnerable workers, particularly women that perform dirty, dangerous and demeaning (3D) jobs in return for paltry wages.

3. There is a need to advocate linking migrant remittances to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Creating such a policy link would help mainstream the development potential of remittance in a wider development agenda. Furthermore, this process will enable migration and development issues to become an integral part of the recipient countries’ strategic national economic and development plans.

4. Addressing the socio-economic inequalities generated by remittances in the receiving localities should be considered. How this can be redressed is an aspect, which needs to be discussed. It is also important to hear the views of migrants on how remittances can be invested in productive ventures that generate a means of living for those who are not direct beneficiaries of remittances.

5. Consideration should be made of the strategic policy recommendations of the Civil Society Forum in the future dynamics of remittances. This raises the question: what can we learn from past experiences, best practices and positive exceptions to future policy interventions. This knowledge is essential for the formulation of policy positions and strategies, better policy responses, practical operations, and, in the end, improving the quality of life of the poor recipients in the developing countries.

To maximise the benefits of remittances, it is recommended among others to 1) reduce the high cost of remittance transfer, 2) promote financial literacy/financial democracy, and 3) link remittance with microfinance. Likewise, Filipino migrant organisations should try partnering with international organisations, the private sector and governments to increase the worth value of their development projects, and forge strategic trade alliances with other stakeholders. Most of the success stories about remittances are individual, not collective. This proves that despite the huge amount of remittance inflows, governments and development agencies have not yet really found the appropriate strategy to unleash the full development potential of remittances and taking diasporas as active partners in development.

For instance, the Philippine government and the new members of the 14th Congress can look into the possibility of replicating the 3 for 1 program in Mexico. Under this program, the local, state and federal governments of Mexico will match one dollar each for every dollar invested by Mexican diaspora organisations on any productive and social projects in their hometown. The 3 x 1 scheme has been institutionalized meaning it remains enforced, respected and implemented regardless of who holds the power in the government. Moreover, the program respects ownership since the Mexican diaspora organisations participate actively in the identification, implementation, and monitoring of the projects. In the Philippines, the government just taps migrants as mere donors who have no right to say on the projects.

However, capturing a share of remittances for development requires transparent and coherent policies, the relevant enabling environment, and full recognition and appreciation of the positive contributions of migrants to the development of their countries of origin. It cannot be fully achieved without consideration of other migrant-related issues such as the human rights of migrants including women and the social costs of migration.

July 2007