Deadline: 31 January 2011
Survival Stories, Coping Mechanisms, Support Networks, Bureaucratic Challenges
Keynote Speakers:
Martin Baldwin Edwards, cofounder, Mediterranean Migration Observatory, Athens, Greece
Dr. Maria PIQUERO Ballescas, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan
With a special screening of Dekasegi, independent film entry to the 12th Cinemanila International Film Festival (2010), by Rey Ventura, journalist, documentary filmmaker and author (Underground in Japan, 1992; Into the Land of Standing Men, 2007).
March 1920, 2011 at the Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Objective: This conference seeks to gather knowledge on how Filipinos in Japan are disadvantaged, subject to discriminatory practices, socially- and culturally-challenged by virtue of the fact that they are migrants. By focusing specifically on vulnerability, we hope to be able to continuously provide relevant research outputs and updated action agenda to government, non-government, civic groups and academics, coming out with a regularly-updated, Filipino migrants’ vulnerability research and action agenda.
1. Bilog: Filipino Irregular Migrants
Nearly one (8%) of every ten Filipinos overseas is an irregular migrant, that is, one whose presence in a host country is not sanctioned by its laws.2 While irregulars are in four of five (179 of 214) countries with Filipino migrants, a good majority of them (68%) are found in just 6 destinations: United States, Malaysia, Singapore, France, Japan and United Arab Emirates.
Identity and Organizational Formation: In the last two decades since 1990, roughly one of every six (30,000 average yearly) Filipinos in Japan have become Bilog, peaking in 1998 at 42,600 and dropping to its lowest level yet this 2010 at 12,800. By 2007-2010, four of every five (79%) current overstayers in Japan where either previously temporary visitors(54%) and entertainers(25%). Bilogs have historically (1990-2010) been among the biggest groups of overstayers (hovering at 13-17% or 3rd largest), second only to Korea and China. Have the particularly large numbers of entertainers been a variable in the identity, inclusiveness and cohesiveness of the local Filipino community – both regular and irregular? To what degree have Bilogs been able to harness their size and prominence among the various nationalities of overstayers as a source of group support, issue advocacy and networking? Or does irregularity or lack of legal status render impotent any form of organizational formation?
Work Niches and Competitiveness: Clearly, Bilogs persevere in their workplaces, maybe even thriving to hitherto unreached potential when a confluence of societal forces cooperate with their own investments of effort, diligence, sacrifice and guts. Majority of overstayers (56%) hold down any of the following three types of jobs: factory work, attendants/hostess and construction work. In 2009, three of every four overstayers (75%) earn between 5,000 to 9,999yen per day. Does irregularity limit the work access and earning level of Bilogs? Are remittance habits and patterns in any way determined and shaped by irregularity?
Gender. Majority of Bilogs are women (71% in 2010), and this is also true for overstayers from Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Male Bilogs are more vulnerable to arrest. Women Bilogs earn slightly less in terms of salary than male Bilogs. In what ways do experiences of irregularity vary depending on gender of the Bilog?
Re-Integration. From 2000-2008, for every 1 Bilog who decided to surrender, 4 were arrested. One of every four who were detained or arrested were subsequently given provisional release orders and special permissions to stay. All told, from 2000-2008, a total of 85,000 Bilogs returned to the Philippines (through deportation or through departure orders). What are the decision-making parameters of a Bilog that lead to a surrender? What actions led to an arrest? How does the process of reintegration vary for returning Bilogs as compared to returning non-Bilogs? In what ways does one’s local network at the host country contribute to future activities of the returned Bilog?
If irregular migration cannot be stopped, what does its future look like? States will continue to suppress it and potential, current and past irregular migrants will continue to adapt and innovate – both operating within the current societal configuration. The tie breaker will be resolve, states powering theirs with resources, irregular migrants, with dire need. Which side will prevail?
2. Filipino-Japanese Unions and their Children
Inevitably, intercultural unions between Filipino and Japanese nationals in the form of legal marriages, cohabitations and other sexual liaisons are formed. Marriages are overwhelmingly between Japanese men and Filipino women (98%), consisting mostly of brides from two categories: current or former entertainers and “rural brides” – a phenomenon often paralleled with ‘mail-order brides” – where Japanese men in rural Japan, lacking in choices among Japanese local women who often chase the fast-paced urban life, choose foreign spouses.
Identity. Over the last two decades (1993-2009), a total of 137,000 Filipino-Japanese marriages have been registered, comprising the second highest group of intercultural unions, next only to Chinese-Japanese marriages. Filipino brides accept Japanese next only to American husbands. In what ways has this strong tide of Filipino and Japanese intercultural encounters highlighted vulnerabilities in terms of spousal adjustment, interpersonal growth, spiritual and religious expression? Have these challenges clarified, strengthened, cast doubt, or formed a uniquely hybrid identity among, primarily, the Filipina spouse and, secondarily and unavoidably, her nuclear family back in the Philippines?
Children. Over 84,000 children of Filipino and Japanese parents were born between 1993 and 2009, counted through official records from the Koseki, or family register of Japan. Virtually unquantifiable are those born out of wedlock and whose paternity is unacknowledged or those who are victims of parental neglect. Estimates by various support organizations put the number of children of Filipino and Japanese descent, often referred to as JFC, or Japanese-Filipino Children, living in either the Philippines or in Japan at between 100,000 to 200,000. In what ways have these JFCs carved out a system of survival that overcomes parental insufficiency (either economic, psychological, etc)? How do they struggle to carve out and secure their future shaped in no small way by their Japanese heritage?
Other groups of vulnerable Filipino migrants in Japan include, among others, victims of violence against women (domestic violence) and trainees and caregivers who are the subject of discriminatory practices in their workplaces.
Eligibility. Graduates students, post-graduates fellows and recent graduates from any discipline can apply. Submissions. Abstract form, in English or Filipino, maximum of 2 pages (500 words) sent via email to eljoma[at]irregularmigration.info. Deadline is January 31, 2011. Results will be made public by February 8, 2011. While the theme of this conference is focused on vulnerability of Filipino migrants, a holistic understanding of Japan’s migration context will necessarily involve juxtaposing the Filipino migrants’ experiences with those of other migrant nationalities, understanding if there are significant similarities or variations in vulnerabilities within or across various cultures. Thus, submissions from interested participants researching on vulnerabilities of other migrant nationalities in Japan will be welcomed. Accepted abstracts of this type will then be placed within the relevant panels as further reference materials to enrich the discussion, but these may not automatically be given presentation time.
Conference Programme: If you would like to receive the conference programme via email the moment it is finalized, please kindly email eljoma[at]irregularmigration.info with your name and affiliation (if any). Travel grants. Limited travel grants are available upon request. Priority will be given to participants coming from Philippine addresses.
More information here.
Survival Stories, Coping Mechanisms, Support Networks, Bureaucratic Challenges
Keynote Speakers:
Martin Baldwin Edwards, cofounder, Mediterranean Migration Observatory, Athens, Greece
Dr. Maria PIQUERO Ballescas, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan
With a special screening of Dekasegi, independent film entry to the 12th Cinemanila International Film Festival (2010), by Rey Ventura, journalist, documentary filmmaker and author (Underground in Japan, 1992; Into the Land of Standing Men, 2007).
March 1920, 2011 at the Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Objective: This conference seeks to gather knowledge on how Filipinos in Japan are disadvantaged, subject to discriminatory practices, socially- and culturally-challenged by virtue of the fact that they are migrants. By focusing specifically on vulnerability, we hope to be able to continuously provide relevant research outputs and updated action agenda to government, non-government, civic groups and academics, coming out with a regularly-updated, Filipino migrants’ vulnerability research and action agenda.
1. Bilog: Filipino Irregular Migrants
Nearly one (8%) of every ten Filipinos overseas is an irregular migrant, that is, one whose presence in a host country is not sanctioned by its laws.2 While irregulars are in four of five (179 of 214) countries with Filipino migrants, a good majority of them (68%) are found in just 6 destinations: United States, Malaysia, Singapore, France, Japan and United Arab Emirates.
Identity and Organizational Formation: In the last two decades since 1990, roughly one of every six (30,000 average yearly) Filipinos in Japan have become Bilog, peaking in 1998 at 42,600 and dropping to its lowest level yet this 2010 at 12,800. By 2007-2010, four of every five (79%) current overstayers in Japan where either previously temporary visitors(54%) and entertainers(25%). Bilogs have historically (1990-2010) been among the biggest groups of overstayers (hovering at 13-17% or 3rd largest), second only to Korea and China. Have the particularly large numbers of entertainers been a variable in the identity, inclusiveness and cohesiveness of the local Filipino community – both regular and irregular? To what degree have Bilogs been able to harness their size and prominence among the various nationalities of overstayers as a source of group support, issue advocacy and networking? Or does irregularity or lack of legal status render impotent any form of organizational formation?
Work Niches and Competitiveness: Clearly, Bilogs persevere in their workplaces, maybe even thriving to hitherto unreached potential when a confluence of societal forces cooperate with their own investments of effort, diligence, sacrifice and guts. Majority of overstayers (56%) hold down any of the following three types of jobs: factory work, attendants/hostess and construction work. In 2009, three of every four overstayers (75%) earn between 5,000 to 9,999yen per day. Does irregularity limit the work access and earning level of Bilogs? Are remittance habits and patterns in any way determined and shaped by irregularity?
Gender. Majority of Bilogs are women (71% in 2010), and this is also true for overstayers from Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Male Bilogs are more vulnerable to arrest. Women Bilogs earn slightly less in terms of salary than male Bilogs. In what ways do experiences of irregularity vary depending on gender of the Bilog?
Re-Integration. From 2000-2008, for every 1 Bilog who decided to surrender, 4 were arrested. One of every four who were detained or arrested were subsequently given provisional release orders and special permissions to stay. All told, from 2000-2008, a total of 85,000 Bilogs returned to the Philippines (through deportation or through departure orders). What are the decision-making parameters of a Bilog that lead to a surrender? What actions led to an arrest? How does the process of reintegration vary for returning Bilogs as compared to returning non-Bilogs? In what ways does one’s local network at the host country contribute to future activities of the returned Bilog?
If irregular migration cannot be stopped, what does its future look like? States will continue to suppress it and potential, current and past irregular migrants will continue to adapt and innovate – both operating within the current societal configuration. The tie breaker will be resolve, states powering theirs with resources, irregular migrants, with dire need. Which side will prevail?
2. Filipino-Japanese Unions and their Children
Inevitably, intercultural unions between Filipino and Japanese nationals in the form of legal marriages, cohabitations and other sexual liaisons are formed. Marriages are overwhelmingly between Japanese men and Filipino women (98%), consisting mostly of brides from two categories: current or former entertainers and “rural brides” – a phenomenon often paralleled with ‘mail-order brides” – where Japanese men in rural Japan, lacking in choices among Japanese local women who often chase the fast-paced urban life, choose foreign spouses.
Identity. Over the last two decades (1993-2009), a total of 137,000 Filipino-Japanese marriages have been registered, comprising the second highest group of intercultural unions, next only to Chinese-Japanese marriages. Filipino brides accept Japanese next only to American husbands. In what ways has this strong tide of Filipino and Japanese intercultural encounters highlighted vulnerabilities in terms of spousal adjustment, interpersonal growth, spiritual and religious expression? Have these challenges clarified, strengthened, cast doubt, or formed a uniquely hybrid identity among, primarily, the Filipina spouse and, secondarily and unavoidably, her nuclear family back in the Philippines?
Children. Over 84,000 children of Filipino and Japanese parents were born between 1993 and 2009, counted through official records from the Koseki, or family register of Japan. Virtually unquantifiable are those born out of wedlock and whose paternity is unacknowledged or those who are victims of parental neglect. Estimates by various support organizations put the number of children of Filipino and Japanese descent, often referred to as JFC, or Japanese-Filipino Children, living in either the Philippines or in Japan at between 100,000 to 200,000. In what ways have these JFCs carved out a system of survival that overcomes parental insufficiency (either economic, psychological, etc)? How do they struggle to carve out and secure their future shaped in no small way by their Japanese heritage?
Other groups of vulnerable Filipino migrants in Japan include, among others, victims of violence against women (domestic violence) and trainees and caregivers who are the subject of discriminatory practices in their workplaces.
Eligibility. Graduates students, post-graduates fellows and recent graduates from any discipline can apply. Submissions. Abstract form, in English or Filipino, maximum of 2 pages (500 words) sent via email to eljoma[at]irregularmigration.info. Deadline is January 31, 2011. Results will be made public by February 8, 2011. While the theme of this conference is focused on vulnerability of Filipino migrants, a holistic understanding of Japan’s migration context will necessarily involve juxtaposing the Filipino migrants’ experiences with those of other migrant nationalities, understanding if there are significant similarities or variations in vulnerabilities within or across various cultures. Thus, submissions from interested participants researching on vulnerabilities of other migrant nationalities in Japan will be welcomed. Accepted abstracts of this type will then be placed within the relevant panels as further reference materials to enrich the discussion, but these may not automatically be given presentation time.
Conference Programme: If you would like to receive the conference programme via email the moment it is finalized, please kindly email eljoma[at]irregularmigration.info with your name and affiliation (if any). Travel grants. Limited travel grants are available upon request. Priority will be given to participants coming from Philippine addresses.
More information here.
