Pathfinders, HKU call for better linkages to protect migrants’ children

 

Panel speakers Dr Lucy Jordan, Xyza Bacani and Catherine Gurtin

The importance of developing new strategies to ensure all children affected by migration are protected was the focus of a panel discussion yesterday, May 11, to launch Children at the Heart of Migration, a new report published by PathFinders in collaboration with The University of Hong Kong (HKU).

The speakers included Dr. Lucy Jordan, associate professor at HKU’s Department of Social Work and Social Administration; award-winning photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani, who following her mother’s example, became a migrant domestic herself; and PathFinders' CEO Catherine Gurtin.

The talk was held as Hong Kong marked the 50^th  year since migrant domestic workers were allowed into the city.

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Today, there are around 340,000 MDWs in Hong Kong and the government expects the number to rise to 600,000 by 2047 because of the need to care for the city’s rapidly ageing population.

More than 90% of the MDWs are women of childbearing age, and many are mothers who left their own children behind in hopes of providing them with a better future.

The discussion focused on how government and other stakeholders could work together to come up with policies that adequately reflect the potential impact of migration on children - whether born in the country of destination, or left behind.

 

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This becomes more urgent as Hong Kong looks overseas to recruit more women to work as caregivers for the city’s elderly residents.

Gurtin said that over the last 15 years that PathFinders has been in existence, it has seen many MDWs falling prey to love scams, sexual abuse, and unplanned pregnancies while living and working in Hong Kong.

With the population of MDWs set to almost double over the next 20 years, we need to act now to prevent an emerging and potential crisis for migrant children, Gurtin said.

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PathFinders wants to use its voice in raising awareness and advocate for stronger protections for the children left behind, she added.

Dr Jordan also expressed concern for the children of migrant parents. She said research has shown that there is a potential “crisis of care” across Southeast Asia as an increasing number of parents migrate overseas for work, leaving their children behind. 

But she said very little is known about the long-term costs and benefits of migration for these children.

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Through the report she said HKU and PathFinders hope to start a conversation that makes a case for developing effective policies that will help children and family members affected by migration, both in the sending and receiving destinations.

Sharing her personal experiences, Bacani said, "I was a child left-behind by my migrant mother when I was eight. I grew up without her so I know how challenging and painful it was to be away from my own mother. Migration has touched our family’s lives in so many ways.

She added that her story was not unique as it was a story shared by millions of children left behind by a migrant parent.

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The panel called on stakeholders to jointly put in place several measures to help cushion the blow on children of migrant workers.

These include providing comprehensive training to migrant workers in their home countries, which should focus on crisis prevention and migration goals. In addition, migrating mothers should be made to undergo extra training on child guardianship, family togetherness and tips on how to look after their children while abroad.

Once they get to their work sites, migrant mothers should also get support from their fellow MDWs and non-government organizations in terms of access to information on general and reproductive health, as well as child safety and positive parenting.

Community networks should also be strengthened in the destination countries so migrant parents will get help in preventing crisis situations and to engage them in talks on child development.

The panel also advocated conducting further research on how migration could impact child protection and health development in both origin and destination places, in particular, those in the Philippines and Indonesia on one side and Hong Kong on the other.

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Mother's love featured in online photo exhibit

 

A Mother’s Heart A Mother’s Heart, By Tess Belgado

"This was taken 12 years ago during my first vacation in the Philippines. Behind my smile was pain. I pushed myself to hide the pain. I packed their hugs and kisses and took them with me, as they said, 'Mama, you’re leaving us again…' Even though it has been difficult, I have managed to become a mother and a father for their future.

A photo exhibit that can be viewed online has been mounted by PathFinders, a non-government organization that offers help to foreign workers in need, to explore how a mother working overseas expresses her love for the children they left behind.

“The exhibition aims to bring to the public eye the unparalleled strength, resilience and determination of MDW (migrant domestic workers) mothers who live thousands of miles away from their children,” Pathfinders said.

The photo exhibit, entitled "No Child Left Behind: A Mother's Love Knows No Borders", features 50 photographs contributed by mothers who had to leave their children to work abroad, as well as a former domestic helper who is now an award-winning photographer, Xyza Cruz Bacani.

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Bacani selected 49 of the photographs from among the entries in PathFinders’ recent "49" image competition, and Bacani added one of her own.

The exhibit can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/3WTM64m.It runs until Dec. 31.

"Many of Hong Kong's 340,000 MDWs are mothers from the Philippines and Indonesia who made the very difficult decision to leave children behind in order to work overseas and create brighter futures for them – as well as the children they care for in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, despite their sacrifices, the precious contribution of MDWs has long been undervalued in our society,” said Catherine Gurtin, CEO of PathFinders. “Through our ongoing #WorkingMomsHK campaign, we pay tribute to MDWs as mothers, while also seeking to increase the community's understanding, care and appreciation for them.”

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“There’s so much we can all do to show our care and support for MDWs. If you employ an MDW who has children, please encourage her to have regular, heart-to-heart connections with her children. Support their connection by providing your employee with short breaks to interact with her children. This small gesture will truly make a meaningful difference!" she said.

Bacani added: “All the images we collected are simply striking, each revealing a unique, heart-wrenching separation story of migrant mothers and their children. Behind each smile lies a story of struggle and heartbreak. As a left-behind child myself, I can still feel the unceasing pain and trauma when looking at these images and remembering how I felt growing up without my mother by my side."

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"Hong Kong has a special place in my heart. My mother works there. I worked there. It is my home. Being able to share my own experience to inspire the MDW community in the city means so much to me. For all MDW mothers, connect regularly and meaningfully with your children. They need your love as much as you need theirs,"she said.

Alongside their exhibition, PathFinders’ 14th Anniversary and Children’s Day fundraising appeal No Child Left Behind seeks to raise funds to protect children born to migrant mothers in Hong Kong.

Donations will plug urgent funding gaps for critical services and programmes, to ensure no child is born without an identity, deprived of shelter, education or unable to access healthcare.

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Thanks to a group of private donors, the first HK$269,000 of donations will be matched! Support PathFinders’ No Child Left Behind campaign at www.give.asia/nochildleftbehind.

Since 2008, PathFinders has helped over 9,800 migrant mothers and children. Every year 500 children and their migrant mothers seek their specialist care and protection.

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“The last few years have been difficult for so many in Hong Kong, but especially for MDWs who have faced their own unique challenges and been excluded from pandemic relief measures. For the PathFinders team it's been even harder than usual to help expectant and migrant mothers navigate their crisis and ensure no child is left behind,” the NGO said.

Here is a sampling of the entries:

Waiting for Ibu (Mom) to Come Home

By Alinggar Alfat Akbar (10 years old)

24 July 2015 was the last day I celebrated my birthday with my Ibu (mom) before she went to Hong Kong to work. I have been without my mother for 7 years. I know Ibu wants to be beside me and wish me a happy birthday. Hopefully next year Alinggar can eat birthday cake again with you, Ibu. Alinggar loves you, Ibu.

 

Bridging Hearts

By Evelyn Genisan

These are my treasures! An old school way of expression, and a great amount of effort to show love and gratitude. They are the best gifts I receive from my kids on special occasions. Whenever I depart from home, they also insert a note or an envelope in my bag. I usually find it at the airport or days after my arrival. It always brings tears to my eyes and fills my heart with love.

 

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Xyza Bacani, ex-HK OFW, is now a proud NYU master's degree holder

 By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Proud NYU scholar and master's degree holder
(photo taken by Xyza's husband, Nicholas, who is also professional photograher)

She’s come a long way, baby.

From being a second-generation migrant worker in Hong Kong to a Magnum Foundation scholar on human rights at New York University to becoming a highly sought-after photographer, then book author, Xyza Cruz Bacani has scaled an even greater height.

On May 18, she graduated from NYU’s Tisch School with a Master’s Degree in Arts and Politics. Not only did she get a scholarship to the prestigious university and program, she was also allowed to take the post-graduate course without a bachelor’s degree.

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Fellow Filipino and NYU’s former science dean, Michael Purugganan, was so proud of Xyza’s achievement that he posted this on Facebook:

“In less than 10 years Xyza Cruz Bacani has gone from being a migrant OFW domestic worker to world-renowned photographer, with her photos gracing the NY Times and CNN, as well as galleries and museums around the world. Two years ago NYU was so impressed with her that even without a college degree they accepted her (with scholarship) into the rigorous M.A. in Arts Politics program at the Tisch school. On Wednesday she will be in Yankee Stadium to get her diploma!”

 

Purugganan poses happily with a NYU colleague and the two scholars
(from VP Leni Robredo's FB  post)

Purugganan said he wanted to shift some of the attention to Xyza, as the rest of the world had been focusing on another outstanding NYU student – Jill Robredo, youngest daughter of Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo, who graduated with a double degree in economics and mathematics, also on a full scholarship.

Xyza, who is 35, was understandably happy herself about her latest achievement. NYU is not an easy school to get into, and cracking a master’s degree without having gone through the rigors of a four-year undergraduate course would have obviously made the task doubly harder.

“I got into NYU because of my vast portfolio and the grace of an entire village of good-hearted people. They uplifted (me) and took a chance on me. They wrote recommendation letters, encouraged, and helped me financially. They openly shared their knowledge, resources, and influences. I am grateful for that,” she told The SUN via messenger.

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“Being part of NYU was challenging and exciting. The seeds and offerings are stimulating to the mind. It opened up an academic side of me. The Arts and Politics cohorts and faculties are all accomplished people in their own rights. It is heartwarming to be part of a community that allows ideas to flourish.”

Less seriously, she posted on her own Facebook account that she wanted tarpaulins like those used by politicians hung in her hometown of Nueva Vizcaya “because I am the first in our family to get a graduate degree! Lol! My ancestors must be proud.”

 

Xyza's parents (extreme left) and former employer (beside her) joined the
launch of her book in HK in 2018, along with then Consul General Tony Morales 

Xyza, who celebrated the new milestone with her new husband and longtime partner Nicholas Papananias, also posted wistfully that she wished her parents were around to see her graduate.

“Next week, I will officially have a diploma. I fulfilled a dream, not just mine but of my parents. A farmer and an OFW got a daughter with Masters in Arts Politics from NYU. I still wish that they could see me wear a violet gown that doesn't compliment my skin tone but wearing it proud and loud. This is for my descendants. I broke the chain, mama!”

Clearly, the rebellious daughter who left home at the age of 19 to follow her mother’s footsteps as an OFW so she could help send her two younger siblings to school is happy to have finally ended the cycle of poverty that used to determine her life’s path.

Through sheer talent, grit and hard work, she got to where she is now – a respected photographer and recipient of various awards, including a resolution passed by the Philippine House of Representatives in her honor and being named as one of the BBC’s 100 Women of the World.

She has also received grants from various prestigious groups like the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the WMA Commission, which funded her book, “We Are Like Air.”

Xyza believes all OFWs are capable of being the best they could be. They just need to dream.

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“I can never advise my fellow migrants because they are among the smartest and bravest people in the world. The courage they show every day is worth emulating,” she said.

“This is not advice but words of encouragement. Be your own heroes. We honor our sacrifices for our families by dreaming for ourselves. Everything starts with having a dream and not letting our circumstances define us. Speak kindly to ourselves and rest when there is an opportunity. Self-care is vital because we can only give when we are replenished. Do something for ourselves from time to time and pursue any hobby you’re interested in.”

Check out more stories on Xyza and her inspiring achievements here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/search?q=xyza+cruz+bacani

Lament of an OFW child at forum on migrant workers’ plight

Xyza Cruz Bacani

By Daisy CL Mandap

Twenty-three years on, and Xyza Cruz Bacani still remembers the time her mother left their home in the Philippines to work as a domestic helper in Singapore.

“I woke up one day and she was gone, just like that,” the celebrated migrant worker-turned photographer said at a forum on migrant workers’ plight held at the Hong Kong Arts Centre on Dec. 16.

For the then eight-year-old Xyza, her mother’s unexplained departure left a wound so deep it took decades before she could come around to understand that it was more an act of sacrifice than of abandonment.



It did not help that her father, a construction worker who came home only on weekends, made no effort either to explain why her mother, who had been working as a laundrywoman, had to leave.

So, at a very young age, Xyza was left alone to look after two siblings, one five-year-old, and another three.



“For an eight-year-old child, that was not easy to handle,” said Xyza. “I had to grow up fast, even if all I could do was cook noodles for my siblings.”

Another memory that stands out was when Xyza had her first monthly period, and not having any adult to explain to her what was happening, she assumed she was about to die. “So I went over to our neighbor and said, ‘I think I am dying.’’



Her resentment was cemented when, just a month after leaving home, Georgia sent home a picture of her smiling beside a Christmas tree, with several gifts lying around.

“She left in November then sent a picture in December of her surrounded by Christmas gifts. So I said, ‘I hate you!’ and that resentment built up over the years.”



Little did she know that her mother was having her own problems, having been trafficked to Singapore and mistreated initially, until she found her way into the home of a rich and caring employer in Hong Kong, with whom she has been working for more than 20 years now.

Eleven years after her mother left home, Xyza decided to drop out of a nursing course, and work as a domestic helper for the same kindly employer, Kathryn Louey.

But Xyza says she was driven more by the desire to help send her younger brother and sister to school and not to be close to her mother.



“So when I came here I did not know my mother. I kept pushing her away,” she said.

It took three years before she saw how her mother had sacrificed through the years so their family would have a better life.

Xyza first noticed that her mother did not go out during her holidays, which she says could be a throwback to her first employment in Singapore, when she was not allowed to take a day off. Xyza also learned that during those difficult days, her mother was fed only noodles twice a day.

Georgia’s frugal and simple ways have persisted despite being in Hong Kong for two decades.

“Can you imagine being in Hong Kong for 20 years and not having gone into an MTR station, or a bank?”, Xyza, now a globe-trotting photographer, asked her audience.

“That’s when I realized she did not leave us. She has sacrificed a lot.”

One of the speakers at the forum, renowned journalist Sheila Coronel, academic dean of Columbia University’s Journalism School, tackled the ‘profound impact” of migration on the children left behind by the migrant workers.

She said a study shows that three million Filipino children have been left behind by migrant worker parents who have passed on much of the child-rearing to other people. Most affected by the separation are children 8-12 years of age, and its impact is felt more by boys.

Coronel said the Philippines’ labor export program was started as a stop-gap measure to help the country recover from the oil crisis in the 70s, but it has lasted for decades so that there are now second-generation migrant workers like Xyza.

The exodus has continued because remittances from Filipinos overseas remain as the country’s biggest source of much-needed dollars.

But despite the huge dollar earnings from overseas Filipinos, the Philippine government has failed to improve public education and health care.

“So in a way, the government is escaping responsibility for the most vulnerable sectors of the economy,” said Coronel.

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers, spoke on how the Hong Kong government has also failed imported workers by enacting policies that diminish, rather than enhance, their rights.

Journalist Zoher Abdoolcarim served as moderator.

The forum was part of a series of activities held to launch Xyza’s  book, “We Are Like Air,” and an accompanying photo exhibit. Xyza says the book’s title refer to migrant domestic workers who play an important role in society yet are often invisible.

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Book, art exhibit shine spotlight on Bacani’s life as 2nd generation migrant worker

Xyza Cruz Bacani (center) is joined by guests led by Consul General Antonio Morales (5th from left) in opening the art exhibit and book launching.

By Daisy CL Mandap

Xyza Cruz Bacani

Award-winning photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani retraces her steps as a former migrant domestic worker in the book, ‘We Are Like Air” which was launched at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in Wanchai on Nov. 30.

To put emphasis on how personal the book is, 31-year-old Bacani attended the launch with her parents, Villamor and Georgia Bacani, who she said were attending her art exhibit together for the first time.

Also present was Kathryn Louey, Xyza’s former employer, whom she called as “the most important person” and “biggest influence” in her life.

It was Louey, said Bacani, who virtually pushed her out of her house - and Hong Kong - so she would take up the Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice fellowship at New York University when it was offered to her in 2015.

After reading about the scholarship offer in a newspaper article, Louey reportedly told Bacani, “You’re fired!” just so the reluctant maid, who had been in her employ for 10 years, would accept the offer.

That short stint in New York City opened many more doors for Bacani so that she now fondly refers to Louey as the one who changed the fortune of “the future generations of the Bacanis.”

But the book - and the photos in the accompanying exhibit – tell more the story of Bacani’s mother, Georgia, and the more than 200,000 Filipino women working as domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

Bacani titled the book “We Are Like Air” in reference to migrant domestic workers who she
said are important yet are often invisible.

The photos she took provide a glimpse into how migrant workers live- from when they first arrived at their employer’s home, the numerous letters they sent to their family, finding love and raising a family in Hong Kong, to protesting for their rights.



Part of the art installation was a narrow bed in a corner above which two shirts are hung, signifying the small space often given to domestic workers in their employer’s home.

A collage of photos on a wall show various migrant workers at work or on their days off, with the description for each written by Georgia, who left home in the 1990s to provide a better life for her husband-farmer and three young children, the eldest of whom is Xyza.



Among about 100 guests who attended the launch were Consul General Antonio A. Morales, representatives from the U.S. consulate, the Wanchai District Council, and the sponsors, WYNG Media Award (WMA).

The book launch and opening of the photo exhibit were the first in a series of activities for
Bacani’s new project which she created as part of the WMA Commission in 2016-2017.



On Dec. 2, the domestic workers’ group, Guhit Kulay, hosted an art jam at the Centre, and on Dec. 9, Bacani held a book-signing session at the newsstand in front of World Wide House, the favorite go-to place of Filipino migrant workers on their off days.

On Dec. 16, Bacani will be joined in a forum at the HK Arts Centre by renowned journalist Sheila Coronel, academic dean of Columbia University’s Journalism School.



Among Bacani’s numerous achievements is having a resolution at the Philippine House of

Representatives passed in her honor. She is also one of Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders in 2018, a Pulitzer Prize grantee and an Open Society Moving Walls grantee in 2017. In 2015 she was named among BBC’s 100 Women of the World, and as one of 30 Under 30 Women Photographers in 2016.