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Susan LoonePublished: Jun 22, 2022 12:04 AM | Updated: Jun 22, 2022 12:08 AM
"The sexual lives of migrant workers do not stop once they step ashore ... Migrant workers are no less the people they were when they were at home - they need communities, they need friends...," said an official from an international newswire agency in Bangkok.
Inter-Press Service Asia-Pacific regional director Johanna Son said that she had come across a women's NGO Tenaganita material quoting a former migrant worker as saying in a conference that he had to deal not only with 'homesickness' but 'homesex-sickness' as well.
She added that many governments take migrant workers in to help their economies but step back when it comes to talking about migrant sexual and human rights, including health services and health rights. Governments get even more nervous when issues about sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV and AIDS are raised.
"This allergy is also a key part of why, after many years, an international convention on migrant workers rights has yet to get the required number of 20 countries to get it enforced," she said.
"The Philippine government used to call for a global conference on migrant workers - but many tended to look away when it was raised," she told a conference of 20 non-governmental organisation representatives and journalists from nine different countries, including Malaysia.
Modern-day hero
The conference called 'On the Philippine Migration Trail: Migration and Reproductive Health' held in Bangkok on Feb 22 and 23 hoped to unravel an under-reported and under-researched aspect of labour migration and its link to reproductive health.
The Philippines continues to be among the biggest, if not the biggest, exporter of human labour in the world with several million people in more than 120 countries, said Son.
She reported that Filipino seafarers made up a quarter of the country's departures every year and one in five seafarers in the world today is a Filipino.
"But much news about migration tends to touch on migrant worker issues such as police or consular issues - when something happens to them or when they are blamed for crimes - and report them as faceless economic and labour resources," she said, adding that this was also often how many host governments view migration for work.
"Part of why this is so probably lies with the sending countries themselves. Officials routinely cite the billion of dollars they send home as remittances and several Filipino presidents have said time and time again that the overseas Filipino workers is a modern-day hero or are helping other Asian economies by doing domestic work to free women in host countries from house chores," she added.
But the human stories of the daily lives of Filipino migrant workers, said Son, their need for health services, loneliness, adjustment, laws that treat them as little as more than economic resources, sexual behaviour, social support systems and dealing with alien cultures in alien lands do not get discussed enough.
She stressed that the situation is riskier for women, who make up most of Asian migrants today.
If a Filipino documented worker already has little access to health services and has nowhere to run to if she gets pregnant in Malaysia, for instance, she is probably forced to get an abortion. The situation is worse if she is an illegal worker or a trafficked one, she added.
Social problems
There is much cause for worry as far as the Filipino case is concerned. A newspaper recently reported that in 1999 the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs recorded that an average of two dead Filipino workers are sent home each day from abroad.
There are also major controversial cases involving Filipinos such as the the story of Flor Contemplacion, the Filipino domestic helper in Singapore who murdered her employer and was hanged to death despite worldwide protests.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's Tenaganita Migrant Desk programme coordinator Aegile Fernandez said that interventions from sending countries have been inadequate although more rules and regulations concerning migrant workers have been laid down by the Malaysian government.
In her presentation entitled 'Health Concerns of Filipino Domestic Workers in Malaysia', she said that the problems of Filipino workers in Malaysia have now gone into the third phase of migration.
"That is, migrant workers have gone beyond just working. The larger their number in the country, the more familiar they become with the environment," she said.
"In this phase, relationships begin with both the local community and among themselves and this has led to many social problems within the host country," she added.
Fernandez said that some of the problems related to Filipino domestic workers are that some elope and live with their Malaysian partners as a couple and have children.
After three to five years, the partners leave them and the woman is stranded with the children. Her work permit has expired by then and she will be staying illegally in the country, she added.
"In some other cases, the Malaysian partners take away the children, leaving the mother alone and stranded," she said.
"Some run away from their employer and work without permits at entertainment outlets or end up doing sex work. When a raid takes place, they are arrested and deported," she said.
Marriage, children, divorce
The Asia-Pacific Coalition Against Trafficking of Women, an NGO in the Philippines, reports that in Malaysia, there are an estimated 142,000 foreign women in prostitution. Out of that figure, about 8,000 to 10,000 are found in Kuala Lumpur.
The main channels of this prostitution rings are the recreation industry such as entertainment outlets and fitness clubs.
Fernandez also reported that some migrant workers do not want to return to their original country after their work permit expires. This is due to the fact that some have married local men and others end up marrying divorced men.
"Some marriages work out, while some have serious problems like wife-battering. When the woman files for divorce, the husband takes custody of the children, as the children hold Malaysian birth certificates," she said.
"Those who are not married get into intimate relationships, they get pregnant and many go for abortions. There is also an increase in the number of STD cases among Filipino maids," she added.
Fernandez said that very little emphasis is placed on health problems. When migrant workers are sick, they tend to self-medicate for various reasons and seek medical help only when they are very sick or in great pain.
She added that more emphasis should be placed on health education for migrant workers as over the years Malaysia has seen an increase in health problems concerning migrant workers.
Higher medical fees
According to Tenaganita, Malaysia records an official figure of 900,000 registered migrant workers and an unofficial figure of one million undocumented migrant workers.
Their contract term is for three years and workers are subjected to a mandatory medical examination every year as one condition for their work permit renewal.
Those who have contracted HIV or AIDS or any other communicable disease like malaria, hepatitis, leprosy, cancer and tuberculosis are deported within 24 hours.
Although documented migrant workers are covered under an insurance scheme for accidents and some have the convenience of a panel doctor, migrant workers have to pay double for medical and hospitalisation.
SUSAN LOONE is a member of the malaysiakini team. The two-day conference was organised by IPS, whose office is in Bangkok, with the support of Ford Foundation. Participants came from the Philippines, Thailand, Lebanon, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
Inter-Press Service Asia-Pacific regional director Johanna Son said that she had come across a women's NGO Tenaganita material quoting a former migrant worker as saying in a conference that he had to deal not only with 'homesickness' but 'homesex-sickness' as well.
She added that many governments take migrant workers in to help their economies but step back when it comes to talking about migrant sexual and human rights, including health services and health rights. Governments get even more nervous when issues about sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV and AIDS are raised.
"This allergy is also a key part of why, after many years, an international convention on migrant workers rights has yet to get the required number of 20 countries to get it enforced," she said.
"The Philippine government used to call for a global conference on migrant workers - but many tended to look away when it was raised," she told a conference of 20 non-governmental organisation representatives and journalists from nine different countries, including Malaysia.
Modern-day hero
The conference called 'On the Philippine Migration Trail: Migration and Reproductive Health' held in Bangkok on Feb 22 and 23 hoped to unravel an under-reported and under-researched aspect of labour migration and its link to reproductive health.
The Philippines continues to be among the biggest, if not the biggest, exporter of human labour in the world with several million people in more than 120 countries, said Son.
She reported that Filipino seafarers made up a quarter of the country's departures every year and one in five seafarers in the world today is a Filipino.
"But much news about migration tends to touch on migrant worker issues such as police or consular issues - when something happens to them or when they are blamed for crimes - and report them as faceless economic and labour resources," she said, adding that this was also often how many host governments view migration for work.
"Part of why this is so probably lies with the sending countries themselves. Officials routinely cite the billion of dollars they send home as remittances and several Filipino presidents have said time and time again that the overseas Filipino workers is a modern-day hero or are helping other Asian economies by doing domestic work to free women in host countries from house chores," she added.
But the human stories of the daily lives of Filipino migrant workers, said Son, their need for health services, loneliness, adjustment, laws that treat them as little as more than economic resources, sexual behaviour, social support systems and dealing with alien cultures in alien lands do not get discussed enough.
She stressed that the situation is riskier for women, who make up most of Asian migrants today.
If a Filipino documented worker already has little access to health services and has nowhere to run to if she gets pregnant in Malaysia, for instance, she is probably forced to get an abortion. The situation is worse if she is an illegal worker or a trafficked one, she added.
Social problems
There is much cause for worry as far as the Filipino case is concerned. A newspaper recently reported that in 1999 the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs recorded that an average of two dead Filipino workers are sent home each day from abroad.
There are also major controversial cases involving Filipinos such as the the story of Flor Contemplacion, the Filipino domestic helper in Singapore who murdered her employer and was hanged to death despite worldwide protests.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's Tenaganita Migrant Desk programme coordinator Aegile Fernandez said that interventions from sending countries have been inadequate although more rules and regulations concerning migrant workers have been laid down by the Malaysian government.
In her presentation entitled 'Health Concerns of Filipino Domestic Workers in Malaysia', she said that the problems of Filipino workers in Malaysia have now gone into the third phase of migration.
"That is, migrant workers have gone beyond just working. The larger their number in the country, the more familiar they become with the environment," she said.
"In this phase, relationships begin with both the local community and among themselves and this has led to many social problems within the host country," she added.
Fernandez said that some of the problems related to Filipino domestic workers are that some elope and live with their Malaysian partners as a couple and have children.
After three to five years, the partners leave them and the woman is stranded with the children. Her work permit has expired by then and she will be staying illegally in the country, she added.
"In some other cases, the Malaysian partners take away the children, leaving the mother alone and stranded," she said.
"Some run away from their employer and work without permits at entertainment outlets or end up doing sex work. When a raid takes place, they are arrested and deported," she said.
Marriage, children, divorce
The Asia-Pacific Coalition Against Trafficking of Women, an NGO in the Philippines, reports that in Malaysia, there are an estimated 142,000 foreign women in prostitution. Out of that figure, about 8,000 to 10,000 are found in Kuala Lumpur.
The main channels of this prostitution rings are the recreation industry such as entertainment outlets and fitness clubs.
Fernandez also reported that some migrant workers do not want to return to their original country after their work permit expires. This is due to the fact that some have married local men and others end up marrying divorced men.
"Some marriages work out, while some have serious problems like wife-battering. When the woman files for divorce, the husband takes custody of the children, as the children hold Malaysian birth certificates," she said.
"Those who are not married get into intimate relationships, they get pregnant and many go for abortions. There is also an increase in the number of STD cases among Filipino maids," she added.
Fernandez said that very little emphasis is placed on health problems. When migrant workers are sick, they tend to self-medicate for various reasons and seek medical help only when they are very sick or in great pain.
She added that more emphasis should be placed on health education for migrant workers as over the years Malaysia has seen an increase in health problems concerning migrant workers.
Higher medical fees
According to Tenaganita, Malaysia records an official figure of 900,000 registered migrant workers and an unofficial figure of one million undocumented migrant workers.
Their contract term is for three years and workers are subjected to a mandatory medical examination every year as one condition for their work permit renewal.
Those who have contracted HIV or AIDS or any other communicable disease like malaria, hepatitis, leprosy, cancer and tuberculosis are deported within 24 hours.
Although documented migrant workers are covered under an insurance scheme for accidents and some have the convenience of a panel doctor, migrant workers have to pay double for medical and hospitalisation.
SUSAN LOONE is a member of the malaysiakini team. The two-day conference was organised by IPS, whose office is in Bangkok, with the support of Ford Foundation. Participants came from the Philippines, Thailand, Lebanon, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
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