Philippine Labor Standards are a Terrorism Issue
Walden Bello, a Filipino professor on a peace mission to Lebanon, recommends that militant Lebanese group Hezbollah may be Filipino migrant workers best hope. At least several thousand migrant workers are in southern Lebanon, and thousands more are in Beirut and elsewhere. Migrant labor is the backbone of the Philippine economy, but migrant laborers—whose treatment by Lebanese employers ranges from acceptable to abusive--receive almost no protection from the Philippine government.
If Western democracies truly want to put a dent in their terrorist enemies' armor, they must start paying serious and sustained attention to the fact that if countries with significant migrant labor populations in the Middle East won't take care of their own, someone else probably will. Sri Lanka and Thailand, like the Philippines, send thousands of nationals a year to the Middle East, primarily women who work as domestics.
Hezbollah ties with Philippines' terrorists still unproven
While connections have been proposed between Hezbollah and Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group, based in the Philippines, these remain unproven. The search for a link also reflects the American administration's hope of finding a substantial connection between Hezbollah's sponsor, Iran, and Al Qaeda.
Hezbollah ties with disenfranchised migrant housemaids may be strong
But the potential links between the disenfranchised Shiites of Lebanon and the disenfranchised, mostly Catholic, migrant workers of the Philippines are real.
"Hezbollah ministers in the Lebanese government are the most pro-migrant worker," Bello observed, because as Shi'a, they understand what it is like to be from the lowest social rung. Hezbollah, which essentially governs southern Lebanon, is shouldering the work of rebuilding the south, where 34 days of Israeli bombing and ground combat devastated local infrastructure.
Evacuation of Filipinos from Lebanon unusually slow
When combat between Hezbollah and Israel spread to southern Lebanon in July, Phillipines President Arroyo called for the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos. Of the 25,000 to 40,000 estimated Filipino laborers in Lebanon, only about 5,500 have been evacuated.
The reasons given for the low number vary, but they all serve as indictments of the Philippine government. The Philippine government has acted slowly, relied on international organizations to transport workers and failed to approve necessary funding for repatriation. As many of two-thirds of Filipino workers may be undocumented , and are likely to refuse return. Others prefer the $150 to $200 a month they can make in Lebanon to the lower wages or unemployment that awaits them at home.
Hundreds of thousands of Philippine, Thai and Sri Lankan migrant workers serve as drivers and housemaids and other menial laborers throughout the Middle East. There are few protections against widespread abuse ranging from withheld wages, to rape and physical abuse, to near imprisonment in the homes where they work.
Migrant labor should be elevated as a war on terror issue
Arroyo's government, an American ally in the war on terror, conducts military exercises with the U.S. military, and receives substantial U.S. financial aid.
U.S. aid addresses the relationshp between economic and educational opportunities, and terrorism. Providing books, teacher training and other educational tools, for example, is supposed to counter the growth of extremist Islamist schools for young boys in southern Philippines. This may be, but the U.S. would also be justified in applying heavier pressure on its Asian allies to reduce their nationals' economic vulnerability.
Other instruments, such as the new agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia can be brought to bear on both labor and terrorism issues. The agreement pledges greater cooperation on cross-border crimes such as money laundering and arms smuggling, but also kidnapping and human trafficking. The traffic in migrant labor should be at the top of the list of activities that need stopping.
If Western democracies truly want to put a dent in their terrorist enemies' armor, they must start paying serious and sustained attention to the fact that if countries with significant migrant labor populations in the Middle East won't take care of their own, someone else probably will. Sri Lanka and Thailand, like the Philippines, send thousands of nationals a year to the Middle East, primarily women who work as domestics.
Hezbollah ties with Philippines' terrorists still unproven
While connections have been proposed between Hezbollah and Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group, based in the Philippines, these remain unproven. The search for a link also reflects the American administration's hope of finding a substantial connection between Hezbollah's sponsor, Iran, and Al Qaeda.
Hezbollah ties with disenfranchised migrant housemaids may be strong
But the potential links between the disenfranchised Shiites of Lebanon and the disenfranchised, mostly Catholic, migrant workers of the Philippines are real.
"Hezbollah ministers in the Lebanese government are the most pro-migrant worker," Bello observed, because as Shi'a, they understand what it is like to be from the lowest social rung. Hezbollah, which essentially governs southern Lebanon, is shouldering the work of rebuilding the south, where 34 days of Israeli bombing and ground combat devastated local infrastructure.
Evacuation of Filipinos from Lebanon unusually slow
When combat between Hezbollah and Israel spread to southern Lebanon in July, Phillipines President Arroyo called for the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos. Of the 25,000 to 40,000 estimated Filipino laborers in Lebanon, only about 5,500 have been evacuated.
The reasons given for the low number vary, but they all serve as indictments of the Philippine government. The Philippine government has acted slowly, relied on international organizations to transport workers and failed to approve necessary funding for repatriation. As many of two-thirds of Filipino workers may be undocumented , and are likely to refuse return. Others prefer the $150 to $200 a month they can make in Lebanon to the lower wages or unemployment that awaits them at home.
Hundreds of thousands of Philippine, Thai and Sri Lankan migrant workers serve as drivers and housemaids and other menial laborers throughout the Middle East. There are few protections against widespread abuse ranging from withheld wages, to rape and physical abuse, to near imprisonment in the homes where they work.
Migrant labor should be elevated as a war on terror issue
Arroyo's government, an American ally in the war on terror, conducts military exercises with the U.S. military, and receives substantial U.S. financial aid.
U.S. aid addresses the relationshp between economic and educational opportunities, and terrorism. Providing books, teacher training and other educational tools, for example, is supposed to counter the growth of extremist Islamist schools for young boys in southern Philippines. This may be, but the U.S. would also be justified in applying heavier pressure on its Asian allies to reduce their nationals' economic vulnerability.
Other instruments, such as the new agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia can be brought to bear on both labor and terrorism issues. The agreement pledges greater cooperation on cross-border crimes such as money laundering and arms smuggling, but also kidnapping and human trafficking. The traffic in migrant labor should be at the top of the list of activities that need stopping.
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