save innocent migrant workers
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There are over 10 millions of overseas workers from the Philippines alone.
Hundreds of migrant workers are currently facing execution in various countries, victims of abuse and injustice such as Mary Jane Veloso.
How many innocents facing harsh sentences in prisons?
Hundreds of migrant workers are currently facing execution in various countries, victims of abuse and injustice such as Mary Jane Veloso.
How many innocents facing harsh sentences in prisons?
PHILIPPINES
88 FILIPINO WORKERS ON DEATH ROW
Saudi Arabia: 28 (26 for murder and one for drugs)
Malaysia: 34 (17 for murder, 16 for drug trafficking; 28 cases in Sabah, 6 in Peninsular Malaysia)
China: 21 (all for drugs) (+over 200 filipinos in total in prison in China alone for drug-related charges)
USA: 2 (both for murder)
Vietnam: 2 (both for drugs)
Kuwait: 1 (for murder): Jakatla Pawa
Indonesia: 1 (for drugs)
Thailand: 1 (for murder, rape, and theft): Mark Alvin Antonio
(SOURCE DFA, PHILIPPINES)
Malaysia: 34 (17 for murder, 16 for drug trafficking; 28 cases in Sabah, 6 in Peninsular Malaysia)
China: 21 (all for drugs) (+over 200 filipinos in total in prison in China alone for drug-related charges)
USA: 2 (both for murder)
Vietnam: 2 (both for drugs)
Kuwait: 1 (for murder): Jakatla Pawa
Indonesia: 1 (for drugs)
Thailand: 1 (for murder, rape, and theft): Mark Alvin Antonio
(SOURCE DFA, PHILIPPINES)
READ MORE ABOUT MARY JANE VELOSO AND MIGRANTE INTERNATIONAL, the campaigning organisation figthing for the lives of migrant workers
Migrante International was founded in December 1996 after the death of Filipina domestic helper Flor Contemplacion who was hanged in Singapore for allegedly murdering another Filipina domestic worker in 1995.
The Flor Contemplacion case aroused wide indignation over the Philippine government’s inaction and failure to save her life and brought to national awareness the life and death situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Since then, Migrante International has become an active defender of the rights and welfare of OFWs by raising public awareness on their plight and providing a critical analysis of the Philippine government’s labor export policy program as the main factor responsible for the commodification of Filipino workers.
WATCH the story of Flor Contemplacion, executed in Singapore
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THE FLOR CONTEMPLACION STORY (Viva Films, 1995) - Directed by Joel Lamangan, Nora Aunor plays the title role of the domestic helper from Laguna who is sentenced to death in Singapore for killing another housemaid named Delia Maga. For her performance in this film, she won the Best Actress Award in the Cairo International Film Festival. "The Flor Contemplacion Story" has since been shown to huge acclaim in other film festivals all over the world.
WATCH report of controversial of 3 filipinos convicted of smuggling drugs in 2008, and executed in 2011 in China despite presidential appeals
INDONESIA
257 workers on death row around the world
(SOURCE: International Migrants Alliance - Indonesia)
. 39 in Saudi Arabia
7 RECOMMENDATIONS TO ASEAN COUNTRIES FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS
1. Ratify the United Nations International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. "Very few ASEAN have signed it, and those who have signed it have not implemented it," (Eni Lestari, International Migrants Alliance Indonesia)
2. Ratify the International Labor Organization's C189 - Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189).
3. Include migrant workers in all local labor laws, and issue standard contracts for them. Migrant workers should know their rights and entitlements, even if they are excluded from coverage of labor laws in their own countries, Lestari said.
4. Create a mechanism that will hold factories, employers, and recruiters accountable for compensation and other claims. For instance in Hong Kong where there is a standard contract, Lestari said, employers commit contract violations making migrant workers, usually domestic helpers, work long hours and sleep on the floor
5. Enforce laws on anti-forced labor and anti-human trafficking.
6. Resolve the ASEAN problems on treaty or blueprint for migrant workers.
7. Abolish death penalty in all ASEAN countries. "Mary Jane is the classic case of a migrant worker being victimized many times over. She was arrested in 25 April 2010 and provided no legal assistance until December 2010. She did not know Indonesian law, or what she is being accused of," Lestari said.
SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS ALLIANCE, INDONESIA
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