By Beth Kneller, Deputy Director ⋅ October 8, 2009

Jackie Mariano Immigrant Community Organizing

B.A. Sept. 2011, Magna cum Laude

Home College: Hunter

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Lina Newton, Political Science, Hunter

Jackie Mariano entered CUNY BA in Fall 2009. She is a young Filipino-American woman born and raised in Elmhurst, Queens; she lives in [...]]]> http://cunyba.gc.cuny.edu/blog/jackie-mariano-immigrant-community-organizing/

Jackie Mariano: Immigrant Community Organizing

By Beth Kneller, Deputy Director ⋅ October 8, 2009

Jackie Mariano
Immigrant Community Organizing

B.A. Sept. 2011, Magna cum Laude

Home College: Hunter

Faculty Mentor: Prof. Lina Newton, Political Science, Hunter

Jackie Mariano entered CUNY BA in Fall 2009. She is a young Filipino-American woman born and raised in Elmhurst, Queens; she lives in the most diverse borough of New York City and goes to one of the most diverse colleges in the United States. Matters of race and identity are deeply important to her. She says “I am a woman. I am a person of color. I am a daughter of immigrants. I am an activist. I hope every day to fit into this world as an equal.”

Mariano is very involved in a grassroots women’s organization called Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), a member organization of GABRIELA-USA, the first overseas chapter of GABRIELA, the national alliance of progressive women’s organizations in the Philippines. She is also a dedicated advocate of Asian American Studies, and was president of the Coalition for the Revitalization of Asian American Studies at Hunter (CRAASH). She says “I am always inspired by the power of student movements to defend the right to an affordable, accessible education, particularly for the availability of ethnic and gender studies.” In her spare time, Mariano is a poet and spoken word artist who infuses her work, often in a comedic style, with issues of oppression and identity.

Mariano is constructed her area of concentration with courses in Asian American Studies, Sociology, Political Science, and Women’s and Gender Studies, courses such as Asian American Civil Rights and the Law, U.S. Immigration Policy, and Social Movements and Social Change. She is considering going to law school to focus on civil rights law and continue organizing the Filipino-American/Filipino-immigrant community locally and nationally.

Upon graduating, she wrote to update us on her activities:

“I spent a month from August to September in Long Beach, CA interning at the Filipino Migrant Center, a relatively new nonprofit organization that educates, organizes, and mobilizes the Filipino migrant worker community. I did research on Filipino domestic workers while attending the National Domestic Worker’s Alliance Congress in San Francisco; lobbied in Sacramento to pass the Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights, which has also passed in NY; received training on domestic violence prevention and case management; taught a workshop to youth on globalization and labor migration; and assisted in the day to day tasks of the FMC.

When I returned to NYC at the end of September, I immediately started a position at the Flushing YMCA Beacon 194, a YMCA community center based in JHS 194 in Whitestone, Queens. I am an after school Program Coordinator for middle school youth. I run several educational and civic engagement programs. They include the renowned Youth and Government, a mock NY State government program, Teens Take the City, a mock NYC government program, and Y-Scholars, a goal-oriented program that teach youth to plan for their future.

As for my community organizing volunteer work, I have recently been elected to serve at the Vice Chairperson of Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) – GABRIELA USA. I’ve been very active in the recent Occupy Wall Street movement, highlighting the experience of immigrant workers in the 99% in an anti-labor trafficking campaign launched by the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns and BAYAN-USA.

As for my creative work, I’ve picked up the ukulele and written songs inspired by the communities I work with.”

Email: chair@gabusa.org

GABRIELA-USA MARKS IDEVAW EXPOSING

ROLE OF THE 1% IN VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 25, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA-USA

Email: chair@gabusa.org

GABRIELA-USA MARKS IDEVAW EXPOSING

ROLE OF THE 1% IN VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Filipina Women’s Alliance IDEVAW Video Slideshow: http://tinyurl.com/gabIDEVAW2011

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — GABRIELA-USA, an alliance of organizations representing Filipino women across the U.S. commemorate Nov 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) with a slideshow of their members and supporters exposing the role of the 1% in perpetrating violence against women throughout the world.

While domestic violence and rape are what comes to mind as examples of violence against women, GABRIELA-USA is choosing to highlight economic injustice, as well as political repression and human rights violations as more pervasive and systematic forms of violence suffered by women throughout the world.  “As women of the 99%, we hold the 1% accountable for the culture and system of violence they perpetrate on women around the world.  Hunger and poverty, joblessness and exploitation, evictions, forced migration, lack of housing and healthcare are all part of imperialist plunder and war on the 99% by the 1%,” said Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson for GABRIELA-USA.

As the 99% all over the world are rising up, political repression and human rights violations also continue to rise. This is highlighted in events that occurred just last week when University of California, Davis Police brutally pepper-sprayed student activists of Occupy Davis.  Earlier this week was also the 2-year anniversary of the election-related Ampatuan Massacre which took the lives of 57 people, 22 of them women, in the Philippines.  To this day, family members of the victims continue to seek justice and recently filed suit against former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for arming and supporting the Ampatuans. “Political repression, human rights violations, and economic injustice continue to be the most pervasive and brutal forms of violence against women.  This violence is systematically carried out by the 1% through their private armies, public police, and other state machinery to protect the economic interests of the few, leaving the majority of the world’s population with fewer resources to survive on,” concludes Redondiez.

Women’s activists have marked November 25 as a day to fight violence against women since 1981. On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by Resolution 54/134. The date came from the brutal assassination in 1960 of the three Mirabal sisters, politicalm activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo.

GABRIELA-USA Raises the Militant Women’s Voice On the National Women’s Day of Protest in the Philippines

On October 28, 1983, over 10,000 women surged to Mendiola in the Philippines to protest the oppression, repression, hardship, and corruption of the Marcos dictatorship. Twenty-eight years have passed since women have shown [...]]]> Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA-USA
Email: chair@gabusa.org

GABRIELA-USA Raises the Militant Women’s Voice On the National Women’s Day of Protest in the Philippines

On October 28, 1983, over 10,000 women surged to Mendiola in the Philippines to protest the oppression, repression, hardship, and corruption of the Marcos dictatorship. Twenty-eight years have passed since women have shown the power of collective action in the overthrow of a dictatorship, but even with the dictator gone, oppression, repression, and the struggles of the people still remain under the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies that further plunges Filipino families into hardship. Today, on the National Women’s Day of Protest in the Philippines, member organizations of GABRIELA-USA: Babae-San Francisco, Samahan ng Kababaihan San Francisco (SAMAKA), Pinay sa Seattle, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) in New York and Sisters of GABRIELA Awaken (SiGAw) in Los Angeles stand together with Filipina women across the world to raise the militant women’s voice against the exploitative and repressive practices of the global imperialist system.

In the wake of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, the people of the United States are taking to the streets to demand an alternative to an unjust economic system that upholds imperialist and corporate interests over the lives and needs of everyday people. As the global economic crisis worsens, more and more people are rising up across the globe in response to unjust policies, and the clear unequal distribution of wealth. In the US, while big banks and corporations are bailed out, tens of thousands of people have no jobs, people’s homes are being foreclosed, and the budget for social services and basic needs continue to be cut. Promises made by President Barack Obama for immigration reform, work opportunities, and accessible health care remain unfulfilled, and the living conditions of the 99% of the population continue to deteriorate.

In Third World countries like the Philippines, unequal U.S. foreign policies and trade agreements, along with the plunder of natural resources by foreign corporations, continue to dislocate Filipinos and force them to leave the country and seek work elsewhere. To add insult to injury, the government, ruled by Benigno Cojuanco Aquino III, increase the suffering and exploitation of the people by conspiring and colluding with big foreign corporations. The cost of basic commodities continue to rise, nothing is being done to solve the unemployment problem, and evictions and demolitions occur more frequently than ever. Those who migrate out of the country in search of better conditions also often fall prey to predatory agencies, as with the experience of human trafficking survivors dubbed the Florida 15 who are currently fighting against wage theft and several other labor violations committed against them.

“People all over the world are experiencing the heightening contradictions of a global economic crisis brought upon by U.S. imperialism. The the momentum to unite with people across the world is only increasing, and it is again timely and necessary to gather the strength of women to take part in the growing people’s movement against exploitation, plunder, and hardship,” says Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson GABRIELA-USA. “We celebrate the courageous, fighting spirit of women in the Philippines and the U.S., marching with the rest of the world for justice.”

In honor of the National Women’s Day of Protest in the Philippines, GABRIELA-USA sponsors the following activities:

New York City, NY
On October 25th, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment hosted a Domestic Violence Training, attended by participants from New York, California, and Australia to craft a community response to violence against women, and connecting larger societal issues to its effects on women.

San Francisco, CA
On October 26th, members of Babae linked arms with several other organizations and individuals to show solidarity with the OccupySF encampment, to fight against San Francisco Police Department’s plans to raid the encampment. After hours of direct action well into 4:00 am, efforts were successful in preventing a raid.

Seattle, WA
Pinay sa Seattle will be celebrating its 5-year anniversary on Friday Oct. 28th with a membership dinner and will be conducting a Philippine-U.S. Migration workshop at the FASA (Filipino American Student Alliance) Conference on Saturday Oct. 29th.

Los Angeles, CA
On Friday, October 28, SiGAw will be launching the 1st session of a monthly discussion group called Pinay Stories, where women can dialogue about issues that they face.

###

References: Irma Salvatierra Bajar, Chairperson, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment-NYC, email: fire.nyc@gmail.com

Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA-USA, email: gabrielawomen@gmail.com

FILIPINO WOMEN PROTEST WITH THOUSANDS IN OCCUPY WALL ST. MARCH ALONGSIDE UNIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST CAPITALISM AND THE PROTRACTED GLOBAL ECONOMIC DEPRESSION

NEW YORK, NY—On Wednesday, Filipino women of grassroots organization Filipinas [...]]]> News Release
October 8, 2011

References:
Irma Salvatierra Bajar, Chairperson, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment-NYC, email: fire.nyc@gmail.com

Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA-USA, email: gabrielawomen@gmail.com

FILIPINO WOMEN PROTEST WITH THOUSANDS IN OCCUPY WALL ST. MARCH ALONGSIDE UNIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST CAPITALISM AND THE PROTRACTED GLOBAL ECONOMIC DEPRESSION

NEW YORK, NY—On Wednesday, Filipino women of grassroots organization Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), under the banner of GABRIELA USA, a member organization of the newly formed International Women’s Alliance (IWA), joined a mass rally and march to Zucotti Park, the site of the 3-week-long Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City. The rally and march, organized by community organizations and labor unions, drew in thousands of participants and has been the largest demonstration since the launch of Occupy Wall Street. The rally commenced at Foley Square where more than fifteen public sector organizations and unions, including the United Federation of Teachers, United Auto Workers, and Transit Workers’ Union, gathered with other community and labor leaders to protest against income inequalities and poor public education in New York City.

FiRE marched with fellow BAYAN USA Northeast member organizations, Anakbayan New York, Anakbayan New Jersey, and the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, as well as with member organizations of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON). This Filipino contingent joined the “New York Communities Contingent” which included People’s Justice, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, Picture the Homeless, and FIERCE. FiRE members chanted “The banks got bailed out. We got sold out,” carrying signs reading “No to Imperialist Globalization. End U.S. Economic Intervention.”

Malou Logan of GABRIELA Australia, which is also a member organization of the International Women’s Alliance, is visiting New York City and joined the march. Of the march she stated, “I joined the march in New York as an expression of my support, and to represent the voice of the Filipino women of GABRIELA Australia and MIGRANTE Australia. Wall Street is the financial capital of the world, the epitome of corporate greed that sucks all the profits labored by the immigrants and citizens of third world countries. We as immigrants in the U.S. and in Australia are forced to leave the Philippines to look for decent jobs for our families and the women workers bear the brunt of the financial crisis.”

Monica Moorehead, an organizer with the Women’s Fightback Network, and a steering committee member of the International Women’s Alliance says, “The Occupy Wall Street actions amount to a growing mass rebellion against the global capitalist economic crisis which has already devastated the lives of millions of people, especially women, and promises to destroy the future of the youth. This radicalization of youth must continue to open up political space for the workers, who are losing their jobs, their homes, their health care and their pensions, and the most oppressed, who face political repression in the form of police brutality, cutbacks in social services, and the prison industrial complex. The Occupy Wall Street actions must be wholeheartedly supported and continue to flourish throughout the globe until ‘Occupy the World’ becomes a reality, not just a slogan.  This dynamic movement inside the U.S. has been inspired by righteous occupations in Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, Spain and Wisconsin–many of them led by women.”

Irma Bajar, Chairperson of FiRE-GABRIELA USA, stated, “Women in the U.S. and all over the world have been fighting against capitalist exploitation, patriarchy, and multiple intersecting oppressions and discrimination. The enemy is this unfair capitalist system and imperialism. People across various immigrant communities and people of color have been standing in solidarity with Occupy Wall St. because people are fed up with the injustices and unfair systems.” Bajar continues, “As a Filipino American woman, I can connect the reasons why my mother had to leave the Philippines to the Occupy Wall Street struggle because of the economic conditions and joblessness there. Women are forced out of the country and legally trafficked by the Labor Export Policy that benefits imperialist countries like the United States and big corporations like Dole and Nestle.”

The International Women’s Assembly (IWA) successfully held its First General Assembly on July 5 and 6, 2011 in Quezon City, Philippines under the theme, “Advance the Global Anti-imperialist Women’s Movement! Strengthen the International Women’s Alliance!” FiRE-GABRIELA USA urges other anti-imperialist organizations to join us in fighting against capitalism and imperialism from the level of grassroots organizing expanding to global networks. Class consciousness becomes the basis for women to fight for economic equity, political rights, freedom of association, and to oppose colonial and imperialist wars.

###

August 6, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA-USA, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

Filipino Women Stand in Solidarity with PGCPS Teachers in Their Struggle Against Joblessness, Labor Law Violations, and The Broken U.S. Immigration System

The women of GABRIELA-USA send warm militant greetings of solidarity to the teachers of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) in Maryland who are [...]]]> For Immediate Release

August 6, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, GABRIELA-USA, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

Filipino Women Stand in Solidarity with PGCPS Teachers in Their Struggle Against Joblessness, Labor Law Violations, and The Broken U.S. Immigration System

The women of GABRIELA-USA send warm militant greetings of solidarity to the teachers of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) in Maryland who are currently waging a struggle against joblessness, labor law violations, and a system designed to divide workers and exploit migrants of the United States. There are an estimated 19,000 migrant teachers currently employed in the U.S. public school system, most of whom are women recruited from the Philippines. Since 2005, the PGCPS district recruited 1000 out of its 9000 schoolteachers from other countries, the majority from the Philippines. As a national alliance of progressive Filipino women’s organizations, we understand how unfair U.S. labor laws and Philippine economic policies influenced by U.S. interests collude to create exploitative conditions for thousands of Filipino migrant worker women from all sectors.

In the case of the PGCPS teachers, over 800 teachers are in danger of losing their H-1B working visas and facing deportation due to a recent decision made by the Department of Labor. In 2007, the DOL began investigating a claim that the PGCPS district was forcing its migrant teachers to pay exorbitant placement and processing fees that should have been handled by the district itself. It is common for U.S. employers to bypass local and international labor laws by hiring foreign workers through third-party employment agencies. The DOL found the PGCPS district guilty of financially exploiting migrant teachers and ordered the district to pay the workers back wages that amounted to $4 million. However, the DOL also barred the district from renewing these migrant teachers’ visas, leaving hundreds of them facing lay-offs and deportation. The Filipino migrant teachers of PGCPS are in a crisis, because their prospects are slim. With mass budget cuts in education, not enough teaching jobs are available for the growing reserve labor force of teachers in the U.S. In addition, the reason many of these migrant teachers chose to leave their families and work in the U.S. public school system is that no jobs are available to them in their home countries as well.

In the Philippines, the people face rampant poverty, landlessness, and joblessness caused by corrupt governance and relentless intervention of U.S. imperialism in the country. The Philippine state has been subservient to the economic and political interests of the U.S., often upholding policies that violate the basic rights and freedom of the Filipino people. One such policy is the Labor Export Policy, launched during the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in the 1970s. This policy has been in effect even today, under the current administration of President Benigno Aquino III. It maintains a systematic exodus of Filipino workers abroad into countries who promise better opportunities in economic niches unfulfilled by the receiving countries’ labor force. Despite the positive rhetoric attached to this process, the Philippine state requires these migrant workers—who often face employer abuse, wage theft, unfair working conditions, and human trafficking—to send mass remittances back home, not only to support their families, but also to keep the dwindling Philippine economy afloat. Over 4000 workers, more than half of who are women, leave the Philippines everyday in search for work abroad. This is good news only for the Philippine state that benefits from the backs of these workers, and for the U.S. that has historically desired a cheap, exploited labor force to drive its capitalist expansion.

In the current global economic crisis, we can see that the United States government has only been interested in preserving the livelihood of its rich elite and the private sector. Nationally and locally, it has slashed the budgets of the public sector—including that of public education and health care—at the expense of the masses of U.S. workers, native and foreign. This DOL decision, if not overturned, could negatively affect the PGCPS migrant teachers’ means of surviving and supporting their families in the U.S. and in their homeland. Not only do they lose their jobs, but they lose their homes, access to health care, and opportunities to care for their families. GABRIELA-USA is inspired by the migrant teachers who, despite facing such injustice, are steadfast in their fight for their basic rights and livelihood. We unite and stand in solidarity with the PGCPS migrant teachers and all exploited migrant workers until justice has been served!

Join GABRIELA USA and other organizations in support and solidarity with the PGCPS teachers at a White House Rally. Tell the Dept. of Labor NOT to deport migrant teachers who have excelled in servicing our youth and communities!

Picket Rally @ The White House
When: Tuesday, August 9th @ 2p.m.
Where: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20500 (btw East & West Executive Streets in front of Lafayette Park facing the White House)

Metro: Closest stop is Farragut North or Metro Center on the Red line & McPherson Square on the Blue line

There’s Still TIME to Sign Petition! Tell DOL Don’t Deport Filipino Teachers After School System Failed Them!

MGA GURO NG BAYAN, NGAYON AY LUMALABAN!

THE TEACHERS UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!

EDUCATION NOT DEPORTATION!

PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS!

MABUHAY ANG MIGRANTENG PILIPINO!

July 25, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

Conditions for Women Worsen in Aquino’s First Year

While Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino delivers a message of hope and progress during the State of the Nation Address (SONA), thousands of Filipinos worldwide will take part in protest actions in an outcry to the [...]]]> Press Statement

July 25, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

Conditions for Women Worsen in Aquino’s First Year

While Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino delivers a message of hope and progress during the State of the Nation Address (SONA), thousands of Filipinos worldwide will take part in protest actions in an outcry to the worsening conditions of Filipinos at home and abroad.  Aquino won the hearts and minds of those who voted him into office with the slogan of hope and change, yet for the millions of Filipinos still suffering from poverty, economic plunder and injustice, there has been no change under Aquino’s administration.

Filipino women have suffered long enough, with the continued rise in basic commodities such as food, gas and water, to support their families.  Short term welfare solutions such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program which aims to provide government funding to those who meet certain criteria for things like enrollment for their children, vaccinations, check-ups at the doctor’s office, are dole out solutions which does not aim to address the root causes of poverty for the majority of Filipinos.  A survey among women who were recipients of the CCT program showed that 77% claimed the CCT could be more beneficial if it offered long term benefits like scholarships for their children or regular employment.

While programs like the CCT program are pushed as band aid solutions to provide basic services and necessities for poor families, Aquino has added the extra burden on women by taking away basic public services such as health care and public transportation, and handing them over to the private sector to supposedly “help” improve these services under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.  However, privatization schemes such as the PPP have proven to only to serve the wealthy multinational corporate investors while the majority of the nation continues to suffer, widening the gap between the rich and the poor.

Given the lack of real change, the Filipino people continue to leave the country in droves to seek employment abroad.  According to Migrante International, the state of our and welfare of Filipino migrant workers is “arguably the worst year for OFWs”.  Aquino has failed time and again to address the needs of our overseas compatriots including immediate evacuation and repatriation of OFWs affected by the conflict in the North African region of the Middle East; continued persecution and execution of Filipinos on death row; innumerous mandatory fees; failure to investigate allegations of misuse and corruption of the Overseas Filipino Workers Welfare Administration funds; and the lack of a comprehensive sustainable program for returned OFWs and their families.

While these human rights violations continue under the current administration, we cannot forget the thousands of victims still suffering during Arroyo’s reign of terror, which Aquino has done little to nothing to hold her accountable during her 9 year rule stained with a long list of scandals, tortures, abductions and political killings.  Aquino’s first term as President has not been much different than that of his predecessor, with 45 politically motivated killings, 5 victims of forced disappearance and over 300 political prisoners behind bars.

Aquino campaigned and won on a platform and slogan of change, but aside from the “look and feel” of a clean leader, change has not come in a profound way to the Filipino people.

As the U.S. chapter of GABRIELA- Philippines, Filipino women and their allies continue to hold Aquino accountable for the innumerous failures and false promises laid out by Aquino and his administration, and call for the immediate prosecution for former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  The women of GABRIELA demand that long term sustainable policies such as the support of the passage of the P125 wage increase, the passage of the Reproductive Health bill and other economic measures that ensure immediate and long term relief for the women and their families, be at the top of Aquino’s agenda.

A list of protest actions across the US in support of the people’s protest against Aquino’s State of the Nation Address are listed below.  For more information contact gabrielawomen@gmail.com.

FiRE – New York

Sunday, July 24 – 12pm

At the corner of Roosevelt Ave & 69th St in Woodside, Queens.

Babae & Samaka – San Francisco

Monday, July 25th

5:30pm Meet @ Powell BART

6:00pm March to Philippine Consulate (447 Sutter St. in SF)

* Please wear black and red *

SiGAw! – Los Angeles

Monday, July 25, 2011 – 5:30 PM

At the Philippine Consulate: 3600 Wilshire, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Pin@y sa Seattle – Seattle

Sunday July, 31, 2011, 11am-4pm

Pista sa Nayon Information Booth and MK Survey – 5895 Lake Washington Blvd. S

July 17, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson of GABRIELA USA, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

Filipino American Women in the US Stand with Undocumented Journalist, Jose Vargas

Members of GABRIELA USA stand in solidarity with acclaimed journalist and Pulitzer Prize Winner Jose Vargas, who recently published an article in the New York Times about his life as an undocumented resident [...]]]> Press Statement

July 17, 2011

Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson of GABRIELA USA, gabrielawomen@gmail.com

Filipino American Women in the US Stand with Undocumented Journalist, Jose Vargas

Members of GABRIELA USA stand in solidarity with acclaimed journalist and Pulitzer Prize Winner Jose Vargas, who recently published an article in the New York Times about his life as an undocumented resident in the United States.

His story represents one out of the million undocumented Filipinos in the U.S. Vargas’s article has exposed the U.S. immigration system as one that strips human beings of their worth based on citizenship. Regardless of one’s social contributions, whether as a writer, healthcare professional, student, teacher, or domestic worker there is no clear path to citizenship.

Member organizations of GABRIELA USA and other immigrant rights advocates have been raising the need for “Legalization for All” since 2006 when the Sensenbrenner Bill was about to be passed, which would have criminalized undocumented immigrants and those who helped the undocumented, and again in 2010 when Arizona’s SB1070 legislation would have allowed police to racially profile and question anyone that “looked” like an undocumented immigrant. However, due to the outpour of resistance from immigrant communities and allies nationwide these bills were not fully enacted into law.

“We applaud Vargas and his truth-telling because he shows the reality of the Filipino community, and it’s important and crucial that we as Filipinos, undocumented or citizen, stand up for the rights of all immigrants,” said Tina Shauf from Babae in San Francisco.

Vargas is one of many Filipinos, undocumented or not, who migrated to the US as a result of the poor Philippine economy brought about by a long history of colonialism and imperialism. The pressures of an economy completely lacking in any national industry; the overwhelming debt of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank; and the unfair Labor Export Policy that forces Filipinos to leave their homes in order to seek jobs overseas–has led to a culture of migration, one that necessitates that Filipinos leave their country if they want to be able to support their families, and which ironically, ultimately breaks many families apart.

“We have seen the effects of the U.S. Immigration system on our community– mothers and fathers being separated from their families for years because they don’t have the right papers to travel back home. Parents should not have to leave their children and families in order to support them, there should be jobs in the Philippines to provide some economic stability,” said Irma Bajar, chairperson of Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment in New York City.

“Our migration story is not old, our families have been migrating to the US in waves since the Filipino farm workers in the 1900s, to the nurses in the 1970s, and still to this day there is no systematic way for immigrants to become a citizen. This is the US continuing to use the immigration system in it’s original design to create a workforce of undocumented immigrants as cheap, docile, fearful, and vulnerable workers to extract as much profits for the U.S. Corporations. The system is not broken, but it is meant to divide workers and further exploit immigrants and push them into the shadows.” said Raquel Redondiez, chairperson of GABRIELA USA.

Vargas’ article has helped raise the discussion and the need to change the dehumanizing immigration system.  His courageous expose is an inspiration for other immigrants, and has encouraged others like the Florida 15, trafficked workers from Miami Florida, to speak out. Similarly, undocumented students in San Bernadino, CA rallied against the unjust immigration laws that criminalize students working hard to be productive contributors to U.S. society.

“In Los Angeles, which is predominantly Mexican and Latin American – Vargas’s article has helped raise the issue of immigration as a unifying issue for our communities. We must continue to keep fighting together on this issue to assure that we change this immigration system not just for Filipinos but for all immigrants,” stated Terrie Cervas of Sisters of Gabriela, Awaken! (SiGAw) in Los Angeles.

As long as our homeland and many others in the world are plundered for their natural resources and prevented from industrializing, as long as our people are displaced by militarization, and our governments plagued by corruption, forced migration will continue to be a problem. “To address the needs of immigrants in the U.S., it is necessary for us to also address the reasons why our people are forced to leave our home country to begin with. The Philippine government has a hand in it as well,” says Claudia Parras from Pinay sa Seattle.

In support and solidarity with Jose Vargas, and millions of other undocumented immigrants, we urge that you sign this petition of support and help spread awareness on this important issue: http://bit.ly/100k-4-Colbert.

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Reference: Valerie Francisco, GABRIELA USA, Solidarity Officer, gabwomen@gmail.com

US Delegates Link Arms with Women From All Over the World at the First International Women’s Alliance Assembly in Philippines

Manila, Philippines–From July 5 to July 6, 10 delegates from GABRIELA USA organizations Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) in New York, BABAE in San [...]]]> For Immediate Release
July 8, 2011

Reference: Valerie Francisco, GABRIELA USA, Solidarity Officer, gabwomen@gmail.com

US Delegates Link Arms with Women From All Over the World at the First International Women’s Alliance Assembly in Philippines

Manila, Philippines–From July 5 to July 6, 10 delegates from GABRIELA USA organizations Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) in New York, BABAE in San Francisco, Sisters of Gabriela Awaken (SiGAw) in Los Angeles and Pinay sa Seattle in Seattle, joined by Monica Moorehead, a representative from the Women’s Fightback Network, NYC joined the first general assembly of the International Women’s Alliance (IWA) in the Philippines. In attendance was over 100 women from 60 or more grassroots women’s organizations from Africa, Latin America, Asia, Oceania and North America. The theme for the assembly, “Advance a Militant Anti-Imperialist Women’s Movement: Strengthen the International Women’s Alliance,” brought these women together to accept new members, ratify the alliance’s constitution, agree on an international plan for the next 4 years and elect the first-ever executive council of the IWA.

Monica Moorehead, one of the esteemed speakers of the first day plenary, shared the hardships and difficulties that are faced by working women, women of color and poor women in the US. She identified austerity measures and rampant attacks on migrant rights as key issues that women in the US struggle against. “It is timely for an assembly like this, an alliance like this to form because the attacks of imperialism on our people are intensifying and therefore the response of women from the grassroots must get stronger.” Moorehead’s contribution to the assembly brought light to the fact that even in the “developed” countries, women, their families and communities still fall victim to neoliberal attacks on social welfare and freedom.

The second day of the assembly called upon the expertise of delegates in women’s organizing and resistance strategies against the impacts of imperialism. Workshops on different global regions and their inputs ultimately became part of the IWA’s 4-year plan of action. Valerie Francisco, GABRIELA USA’s solidarity relations officer and a member of the organizing committee for the assembly stated, “Learning about the conditions and issues of women from different parts of the world allowed us to see the common patterns of imperialism and inspired us to take up resistance strategies that worked for women’s organizations in other places.” The time for delegates from the US to exchange lessons produced productive and informative discussion on forms of action and struggle.

The first general assembly ended with the recognition of “Women of Valor” who have dedicated their lives to cause of women’s rights and issues in the anti-imperialist struggle. The recognized women were Nanay Mameng Deunida of the Philippines, Clelia Santos of Argentina, Leila Khaled of Palestine and Edith Ballantyne of Sweden. The assembly ended on a high note as the delegates accomplished all of the goals set out for them, honored women in their ranks and looking forward to coordinating and working together with other women’s grassroots organizations in the future.

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E-mail: chair@gabusa.org

This June, in the midst of pride celebrations around the country, GABRIELA USA, a national alliance of progressive Filipino women’s organizations, is agitating, organizing, and mobilizing their communities in unwavering support for LGBTQGNC rights. Through a human rights and immigrant rights framework, GABRIELA USA sees LGBTQGNC issues as [...]]]> Reference: Raquel Redondiez, Chairperson of GABRIELA-USA

E-mail: chair@gabusa.org

This June, in the midst of pride celebrations around the country, GABRIELA USA, a national alliance of progressive Filipino women’s organizations, is agitating, organizing, and mobilizing their communities in unwavering support for LGBTQGNC rights. Through a human rights and immigrant rights framework, GABRIELA USA sees LGBTQGNC issues as embedded in struggles worldwide for economic, political, and social justice.

For the Filipino community, LGBTQGNC rights are international in scope. Since its founding in 2009, GABRIELA USA has been committed to highlighting LGBTQGNC issues in the broader context of the national democratic movement of the Philippines and other social justice movements in the U.S. Every year, through exposure programs to the Philippines, GABRIELA USA women have had the opportunity to meet with Philippine-based organizations Lesbians for National Democracy (LESBOND) in Baguio City and ProGay in Quezon City. Both groups affirmed the important role of LGBTQGNC people in the struggle against gender-ans sexuality-based violence, exploitation, and discrimination as well as the struggle against poverty, foreign intervention, and the ever-worsening global economic crisis.

In the U.S., GABRIELA USA celebrated last year’s pride season by launching an official campaign to promote and defend LGBTQGNC people and relationships, and their equal access and ability to meet basic needs. This campaign continues today as GABRIELA USA organizations participate in various community pride events, and host workshops and discussions to educate members and the community to increase awareness, advocacy, and support for LGBTQGNC issues. This year is especially historic with the recent passage of gay marriage in New York, more than forty years after the Stonewall riots, marking another milestone in the gay rights movement. “The news of this victory is a strong reminder that organized power is truly the way to bring about change,” says Raquel Redondiez, chairperson of GABRIELA USA. “It is one of many steps that need to be taken for LGBTQGNC rights. We hope other states follow after New York, but there is still much to be done. A path to legalization for LGBTQGNC immigrants is an issue that must also be addressed.”

In New York, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) has endorsed the Trans Day of Action on June 24, 2011, a protest rally and march that highlights the issues of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, especially those who are people of color and of working class backgrounds. In addition, TDOA endorsers demand health care, full legalization for all immigrants, an end to profiling, harassment, and brutality at the hands of the police, and an end the U.S “War on Terrorism”.

In Seattle, Pinay sa Seattle kicked off their pride festivities with a fundraising event called “Solstice”, that raised money for members of the organization who will be partaking in this summer’s exposure program to the Philippines. They also conducted a Queer 101 educational discussion for the community. Pinay will also be participating in the Dyke March and Pride March, on June 25 and June 26 respectively.

In the Bay Area, Babae San Francisco will mobilize for the Dyke March on June 25 at Dolores Park. They will also conduct post-Pride events, such as a Queer Pinay Brunch for the queer pinays in the community.

In Los Angeles, Sisters of GABRIELA Awaken! (SiGAw!) focused their efforts on building community partnerships to strengthen their forces for gender and sexuality issues. They also fundraised for the founding assembly of the International Women’s Alliance to take place this July in the Philippines.

In celebration of our LGBTQGNC sisters and brothers, and in advancing the fight for LGBTQGNC rights and welfare, we we hope you can join us in any of the above activities!

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