Counterspin towards a just and genuine settlement and integration: Filipino Canadian workers, women and youth link arms, raise fists and be counted!
National Conference April 30, May 1-2, 2010 will mark the days that progressive Filipino Canadians will, once again, galvanize their unity in a national conference called “Counterspin towards a just and genuine settlement and integration.” This landmark conference is the product of the strengthening unity amongst the progressive national organizations of Filipino Canadians including workers, women and youth and signifies the new phase in our educating, organizing and mobilizing work in the Filipino Canadian community. For over 50 years, Filipino Canadians have struggled to settle and integrate in order to achieve full participation and entitlement in Canadian society. Three community centres working together, namely Kapit Bisig (“link arms”) in Montreal, Magkaisa (“unite”) in Toronto and Kalayaan (“freedom”) in Vancouver, have been in the forefront of these struggles. And once more, they continue to “ link arms and unite in freedom” to make this coming Counterspin conference possible. To be held at 3755 Chemin de la Cote Sainte Catherine, Montreal, this national conference will bring forward our struggle for a just and genuine settlement and integration and declare our [...]
Filipino-Canadian community’s stories of migration unravels at the arrival of the Maleta
Countdown to the Maleta Launch
Toronto, ON – March 17, 2010 – Going beyond tokenizing traditional cultural performances and culinary treats, the Maleta (suitcase) Project aims to sew the experiences of the Filipino community together to weave a history of Filipino migration to Canada. Titled “End the Exploitation, March for Liberation: The Maleta Launch,” the opening show will focus on the theme of enhancing Filipino women’s equality, human rights and genuine development. Works will explore the issues, the struggles and the resistance Filipino women have exemplified in Canada. “From over 20 years of Filipino women’s organizing in Canada and 10 years here in Ontario, we can’t keep silent about the experiences of Filipino women” states Alleben Purugganan, Maleta’s Project Coordinator. “We have to acknowledge that as a community, the exploitation that is happening and we need to strive for our just and genuine settlement and integration in Canada,” she continues. The Maleta project was originally held in Vancouver, but has now come to Toronto through the work of the Magkasia Centre. Rather than just being an exposé of different experiences, however, it is [...]
TOWARDS GENUINE WOMEN’S EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND LIBERATION
The National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC) greets International Women’s Day (IWD) with heightened militancy and salutes the legacy of resistance of thousands of women before us in putting women’s liberation at the forefront of women’s struggles. The NAPWC also calls on all progressive women in Canada and around the world to intensify our struggle against the escalating attacks on women launched to quell the growing movement for genuine women’s equality and liberation. For over two decades, we, Filipino-Canadian women of NAPWC, have been steadfast and firm in our call to struggle for the struggle of women from the South, whose lives and future continue to be battered by the violent impacts of neo-liberal agenda of globalization. We, Filipino-Canadian women of NAPWC, remain strong and clear in stating that the liberation of all women from the South, such as the Philippines, is integral and central to the overall liberation of women. As progressive women, we will not accept that the future reserved for us is that of continuous exploitation and oppression as women of colour and [...]
The arrival of the Maleta draws closer
Toronto, ON—March 10, 2010—Excitement builds up as the Maleta (Suitcase) Project draws closer to its launching date. Far from your average art exhibit, “End the Exploitation, March for Liberation: The Maleta Launch” will highlight art depicting the Filipino-Canadian community’s rich story of migration and resistance. Speakers and unique art works by progressive Filipino women, workers and youth will draw inspiration from the struggles and resistance of Filipino women to depict the theme of “enhancing Filipino women’s equality, human rights and genuine development.” While embodying an artistic flair without compromising a political punch, the night’s speakers, cultural presentations and art exhibit will show the creative capacities of the Magkaisa Centre in producing art that aims to be genuinely transformative. An uplifting and inspiring debut performance by Sinag Bayan Ontario, the cultural arm of the Magkaisa Centre, will set the tone for the rest of the night’s program. Speakers from the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario (PWC—ON) will highlight the role of women as makers and innovators of their own history. In commemoration of the 10th year anniversary PWC—ON, Joy [...]
Maleta [suitcase]
Maleta (suitcase): Project Launch When:Saturday, March 20, 2010 Where:University of Toronto, International Student Centre (33 St. George Street) Come and join us for the arrival of the Maleta (suitcase) in Toronto. The project launching will showcase some of the work of our Filipino community members discussing and unraveling the journal of migration of Filipinos in Canada. Featuring: A keynote from Cecilia Diocson, National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada Executive Director, and speakers Marissa Largo and Alleben Purugganan.
No genuine national childcare until the Live-in Caregiver Program is scrapped, Magkaisa Centre organizations assert
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: No genuine national childcare until the Live-in Caregiver Program is scrapped, Magkaisa Centre organizations assert Toronto, ON – February 10, 2010 – Despite a recent proposal by the Liberal Party to create a national childcare program, progressive Filipino Canadian organizations under the Magkaisa Centre express that the the ongoing exploitation and violence perpetuated by the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) renders the Liberal’s proposal an empty promise that falls short of genuinely fulfilling the childcare needs of all Canadians. The Philippine Women Centre of Ontario, SIKLAB-ON (Advance and Uphold the Struggle of Filipino Workers) and the Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canda/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance – ON are wary of celebrating the announcement made by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, and are instead calling for a critical examination of the proposal. Any initiative to create a national childcare program is not complete until the LCP, which the groups describe as Canada’s de facto national childcare program, is scrapped. “What was not mentioned in Ignatieff’s recent announcement is the ongoing use of the LCP to meet Canada’s ever-pressing [...]
Filipino youth, women and workers celebrate a night of resistance and empowerment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Filipino youth, women and workers celebrate a night of resistance and empowerment Toronto, ON – February 7, 2010 – Filipino youth, women, workers and allies, numbering over 150 people, raised their fists in unity and empowerment at Toronto’s first ever “Roots, Rhymes and Resistance,” entitled “Turning Up the Resistance!” The event was organized by Magkaisa Centre’s three organizations, and was held last December 12th 2009 at the Arbor Room in the University of Toronto. It was night of cultural resistance expressed through poetry, hip hop, song and dance to “celebrate the active role we're taking in advancing the community's struggle in Canada,” says performer and event organizer Mike Yambao aka MC Lyrical Abstrakt. He explains that the participation of people from the different sectors of the community sharing the common aim of empowerment sets RRR apart from any other Filipino-focused events. From its humble beginnings at a café in Vancouver over a decade ago, RRR is a powerful means by which the community aims to take pride in their long and proud history of community [...]
Magkaisa Centre Packing Up Another Maleta
Magkaisa Centre Packing Up Another Maleta Toronto, ON – February 1, 2010 – During the November 2008 “Making the Filipino Community Count In Canada’s Future” conference, Toronto was honoured by the presence of several art works produced by the Kalayaan Centre in Vancouver and the Kapit Bisig Centre in Montreal. Most favourable were two pieces: a series of acrylic painted suitcases (mga maleta) titled the Maleta Family (produced as part of the Maleta art project) and Scrap: A Political Fashion Show. Through cartoon caricatures, The Maleta Family alluded to – visually – the harsh reality that Filipino families face coming to Canada, such as, but not limited to: the de-skilling of our community into service sector jobs and the deceiving nature of the Live-In Caregiver Program as an immigration program. Scrap: A Political Fashion Show presented the stories of Filipino caregivers through projection, audio voice-overs, and from the women themselves dressed in specifically “themed” gowns representing their challenges under a modern-day slavery program. In short, these works represent what the Maleta art project is all about: presenting the [...]
Making Leaps and Bounds Towards a Just and Genuine Settlement and Integration of Filipino-Canadians in 2010
Making Leaps and Bounds Towards a Just and Genuine Settlement and Integration of Filipino-Canadians in 2010 January 30, 2010 Magkaisa Centre Statement The progressive Filipino-Canadian community organizations of the Magkaisa Centre greet this New Year with courage and determination as we advance the struggle for the just and genuine settlement and integration of Filipino-Canadians. Through our efforts in educating, organizing and mobilizing the Filipino-Canadian community, including advocacy work, policy engagements, political campaigns and more, we remain steadfast in addressing the needs of our community as we continue to face ongoing forms of oppression and marginalization in Canada. Filipino workers, women and youth all across Canada are awakening to the challenges of community-building, and are prepared to confront all the barriers we face, whether in the form of racist and anti-woman policies such as the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) or in its direct effects on our daily realities as an economically marginalized peoples. In this new year of 2010, the Filipino-Canadian community still refuses to remain silent. We recognize that while the Filipino community has been present in Canada [...]