MIGRANTE International and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) announced on Tuesday their support for the growing global “occupy” movement that started in New York last month.
Migrante International Chairman Garry Martinez called on all of the group’s chapters around the world to participate in the demonstrations to uphold migrants’ rights and welfare, and protest and resist labor-export policy and the exploitation of migrants’ cheap labor and remittances.
Martinez, in a statement released on Wednesday, said overseas Filipinos, like other sectors are up in arms against budget cuts on direct services on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), state exactions, xenophobia, discrimination, crackdowns and massive layoffs as a result of the present global economic crisis.
“We call on overseas Filipinos to join the occupy protests wherever they may be,” Martinez said.
Filipino-Americans in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and other states in the US, led by Bayan-USA, have taken to the streets calling for an end to “imperialist plunder,” state repression and wars of aggression allegedly perpetrated by monopoly capitalism in the name of corporate greed for profit.
OFWs in Hong Kong, led by the International League of Peoples’ Struggles and Bayan-Hong Kong, have also staged solidarity actions.
Martinez enumerated five pointers for OFWs in joining the occupy protest: 1) Filipino workers must know their democratic rights; 2) concretize their slogans and demands; 3) come in droves; participate as a Filipino community; 4) link up with migrants of other nationalities; 5) condemn police violence and brutality.
He said migrants of the world are entitled to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
In the Philippines Migrante International, together with other organizations under “NO CUTS!” (Network Opposed to OFW Budget Cuts), is preparing for a series of activities and protests in time for the bicameral 2012 budget deliberations.
Migrante is also participating in the multisectoral alliance called “Kilos Na!” against budget cuts on social services.
