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International Migration News - Volume #8 | |
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Southeast Asia: Migrants
Philippines. The number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) returning home for the Christmas holidays was lower than usual in 2000, reportedly because the political crisis accompanying the impeachment of President Estrada weakened the peso to 50 to $1 in December 2000. However, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) cooperated to welcome home the estimated 175,000 Filipinos who did return in a "Pamaskong Handog sa OFWs" campaign. There are about 200,000 Filipino seafarers on international vessels, making Filipinos 20 percent of the 1.2 million worldwide maritime force. Malaysia. Malaysia has one of the highest shares of foreign workers in southeast Asia; there were a peak 1.2 million foreign workers registered in 1997 and 700,000 registered in 1999. The Malaysian Immigration Department said there would be no "amnesty" for illegal foreign workers who wanted to return to their countries for the Hari Raya holidays. If unauthorized migrants want to leave for the holidays, they must pay a M$3000 ($810) fine for overstaying. The department said that between January and November, 86,000 workers, including 60,000 Indonesians, who had overstayed their visas or did not have work permits were deported.. Migrant advocate group Tenaganita Sdn Bhd urged the Malaysian government to implement ILO Convention 97, which Malaysia has ratified. Irene Fernandez of Tenaganita noted that migrants who successfully sue Malaysian employers for unpaid wages are nonetheless removed from the country. Thailand. The Thai National Security Council chief announced that the estimated one million illegal immigrants in the country have become a significant threat to national security. Kachadpai Burusapatana said that drastic action had to be taken against those who employed or provided shelter to illegal immigrants, and that an agency would be established to "regulate legal workers and crack down on illegal laborers." A Senate labor panel wants the National Security Council to have measures in place in two months to stamp out illegal foreign labor. Many observers say that corruption involving police makes it hard to control illegal migration in Thailand. Police reportedly accept bribes to permit migrants to enter and they also shake down migrants. Police say that gangsters posing as police are the villains. New Zealand is re-imposing visa requirements on Thai nationals, saying that too many were abusing visa-free access by going to work or entering and applying for asylum. New Zealand gave visa-free entry to Thais in 1987, and 22,777 entered New Zealand in 1999/2000. New Zealand in 2000 approved visa-free entry for Mexicans. Indonesia. Indonesia deported 670 foreigners, mostly from the Middle East, for violating immigration laws in December 2000. Iraqis, Iranians and Afghanis often travel to Indonesia to find boats that will take them to Australia; Australia has been pressing Indonesia to step up the enforcement of its immigration laws. In November 2000, Indonesia was detaining 883 immigrants, most from Middle Eastern countries- 386 received refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and UNHCR is evaluating the claims of the others. In the first 11 months of 2000, Australia intercepted 41 boats from Indonesia carrying 2,380 migrants. In December 2000, Indonesia officially halted its transmigration program, under which residents of densely populated islands such as Java, Bali, Madura and Lombok were encouraged to move to less densely populated islands. About 1.9 million families, around 9.5 million people, were moved to the outer islands between 1973 and 1998. The World Bank stopped financing transmigration in 1989. Indonesia has about 210 million people on 17,000 islands, but transmigration increased tensions between local residents and the migrants. Burma/Myanmar/Laos. The International Labor Organization has called for sanctions against the military dictatorship in Burma or Myanmar, which is accused of using forced labor to produce export goods. In December 2000, the Pentagon announced that it would no longer import clothing from Myanmar. Activists are pressing the US government to ban all imports from Burma on January 4, Burma's Independence Day; in 1997, President Clinton barred all new investment in Myanmar. In 1988, Myanmar's military refused to recognize the election victory by the opposition party and its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize winner who has been under house arrest for six of the last 11 years. Many Burmese work as migrants in Thailand. The Communist government of Laos declared 2000 to be "Visit Laos Year," and set a goal of one million foreign visitors. It was not achieved, especially after an attempted coup in July 2000 and declarations by many countries that travel in Laos was not safe. There are about five million people in Laos, and 700,000 Laotians in the United States, France and Australia.
Reena J. Villamor, "Fewer
overseas Filipinos coming home for Christmas," Business World,
December 19, 2000. | |
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