FILIPINO migrant workers in Hong Kong are one with our families and our people in welcoming His Holiness Pope Francis to the Philippines. Even overseas, we are overjoyed with the Pope’s presence among our compatriots and fervently wish for his support to our people who are impoverished and disempowered by the economic, social and political problems in our country.
As overseas Filipino workers, we are very appreciative of Pope Francis’ effort to meet Filipino migrant workers and families as part of his visit.
We are a people displaced by poverty, unemployment and a system that do not uphold our dignity and right for a decent living with our loved ones.
Despite the vaunted growth that the Philippine government reports, the increasing number of Filipinos forced to live and work overseas, experience exploitation and discrimination, and encounter some of the most unspeakable abuses in a foreign land are proofs of a people desperate to survive and sustain even the most basic of needs.
We believe that Pope Francis will go beyond what Philippine authorities may show and promote before him, and see the real condition of Filipino migrants and Filipino people.
He will see that the labour export program of the Philippine government very much goes against the tenets of the Church for it sees people not as God’s creations who deserve dignity but as commodities that can be sold as modern-day slaves for profits.
He will see that unscrupulous agents such as private recruiters have deeply-entrenched themselves in the export of Filipinos and have been exploiting the desperation of many of us to get the most from the fees they charge us. He will see that the Philippine government has been complicit in this exploitative practice.
He will see that services and assistance to protect Filipinos in distress are very much absent for such are not part of the government’s priorities.
He will see our children who grow up without the presence of a mother or a father. He will see our families still trying to make ends meet as the wage we receive abroad pale in comparison to the skyrocketing prices of commodities, the debts we have to pay, and the lack of free or affordable social services such as education and health.
We believe that he will see these for his heart is with the poor and the disempowered. Unlike the powers that be in our country who see migration in terms of profit, Pope Francis rightly see current migration as against the interest of the people.
Filipino migrants in Hong Kong are also gladdened by Pope Francis’ visit to Tacloban to meet with the Typhoon Haiyan victims. Our people who already suffered from the said typhoon – like the hundreds of thousands more in other provinces and regions who suffered from similar calamities – have been victims over and over again by neglect and corruption.
Together with our people, our fellow migrants in other countries, and our families in the Philippines, we call for His Holiness to bear witness to our condition and hear our call for change, stand with us, and fight for the poor and the oppressed.
Dolores Balladares
Chairperson
Tel. No.: 97472986
The Secretariat
United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK)
2/F., New Hall, St. John’s Cathedral,
4 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR
Tel. (852) 3156-2447 Fax. (852) 2526-2894
E-mail: secretariat@unifil.org.hk
Website: http://www.unifil.org.hk
Blog: compatriots.blogspot.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/unifilhk
Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindanaoexaminer
Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindanaoExamine
Read Our News on: http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/ and https://mindanaoexaminer.com/
Share The News
20