Monday, July 20, 2009
STORY 1: Asia's growth hopes crumble
By Chee Yoke Heong, Asia Times July 10th
Found at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KG10Ae01.html
KUALA LUMPUR - As the global economic slowdown deepens, poverty in Asia is set to become further entrenched. The number of people living in absolute poverty is increasing as a result of sagging incomes and loss of jobs amid a collapse in export-led growth, which has been the region's road to prosperity.
A slew of reports makes it clear that the global financial and economic crisis will have a significant impact on the vulnerable section of the population in Asia. A year ago there was still discussion about the possibility of Asia "decoupling" from the recession in the rich countries; it is now clear that the region is not immune.
Growth in developing Asia as a whole will fall three percentagepoints this year to 3.4%, the slowest rate since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Its recovery will depend on the depth and length of the recession in the United States, Europe and Japan, the destinations for about 60% of Asia's exports.
The global economic crisis will keep in poverty more than 60 million people in developing Asia - including 14 million in China - and 24 million more in 2010 who would otherwise have been freed from that shackle had economic growth continued at pre-crisis levels.
A just-released United Nations assessment says that both the number of poor and the poverty rate are expected to increase further in some low-income southern Asian economies. It has been widely accepted that the global crisis is likely to wipe out gains made over the past decade in reducing poverty.
Across Asia, poor communities are feeling the consequences of the global downturn particularly hard. Prices of food and fuel have declined from their peaks, but not enough for people to return to 2007 living standards.
Research in poor rural and urban communities in five countries, including Bangladesh and Indonesia, carried out by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in Britain, found that people in poor communities are eating less frequently, and less diverse and nutrient-rich foods. In some cases, people are resorting to self-medication while children's education is suffering, with them being withdrawn from school or in Islamic countries moving to (cheaper) madrassa schools.
Export-dependant businesses are closing factories, laying off workers and are being hit by supply chain disruptions. Declining prices in commodities such as rubber mean reduced production, resulting in less income and job migration.
In the urban area around Jakarta, migrant export-sector workers started to return home late in 2008 when their contracts were not renewed; others have had their working hours reduced. Garment factory workers in Dhaka report that new jobs are available, but these are in poor-quality, unsafe sub-contractor sweatshops, rather than in factories that comply with labor standards.
More workers are having to resort to low-yield or dangerous jobs. People from Kalimantan, Indonesia, are traveling to other islands to mine gold, while cross-border smuggling is reportedly rising in rural Bangladesh - both illegal and dangerous but potentially lucrative activities.
In China, tens of thousands of export-oriented firms in cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou have closed in recent months while 20 million domestic migrant workers are said to have lost their jobs as a result of the collapse in export orders.
As recession deepens in Europe, the United States and the Middle East, migrant earnings sent home to developing countries may fall to about US$290 billion in 2009 from US$305 billion in 2008, according to the World Bank. For some countries such as the Philippines, remittances from expatriate workers are the single-largest source of export revenue.
The IBON Foundation in the Philippines reported that in the first three months of this year, overseas remittances fell from 11 out of the 20 countries that account for 96% of such remittances. Remittance growth in another four countries is slowing and could soon turn negative.
In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, remittance flows are forecast to slow sharply to zero growth this year from over 16% growth in 2008. The rising pressures on international labor markets are also being felt in Indonesia. Up to 200,000 Indonesian workers, out of more than 4 million expatriate Indonesian workers worldwide, might need to return home if the international economic crisis remains severe, according to a report by the Lowy Institute in Australia.
As for people who are employed but who do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the poverty line, the International Labor Organization forecasts that their number in Asia will increase by 50-120 million for the period between 2007 and 2009.
The adverse impact of the crisis has been particularly harsh on women in the region. An Asian Development Bank (ADB) official related how most workers in the lower segment of the global supply chain of exported goods are women, and they are being heavily affected by recent job losses - particularly in the garments, textiles and electronics industries. These industries, heavily hit by the current crisis, employ five female workers for every two males.
The impact of developments in international capital markets also presents serious risks for Asian countries. In recent months, all major global financial institutions have become much more risk-averse and financial agencies are much more cautious about providing funds.
The ADB notes that "the region is ... experiencing a precipitous drop in foreign direct investment" and "funding for infrastructure projects is fast drying up". The result, says the Lowy Institute, is that many developing countries are finding that their access to international capital is being squeezed at a time when they are critically needed for development and to overcome poverty.
Proposed reforms to financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and development banks might provide some extra funding for developing countries, the overall impact of the proposals currently under consideration seems likely to be small.
There are also signs of increasing protectionism in capital markets. In recent months, many rich countries have introduced various forms of assistance for their domestic financial sectors. While some of these have been emergency measures needed to head off systemic collapse, the Lowy Institute said some other measures have the effect of tilting access to the playing field for international capital markets in favor of rich countries at the expense of developing countries. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described these kinds of measures as "mercantilism in a new form" and "a form of financial protectionism".
Open economies in Asia will also need to contend with increased trade protectionism in the industrialized countries. For example, since last November's Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Washington, a pledge by leaders not to raise new barriers to trade or investment has been widely flouted. The World Bank recently estimated that 17 of the G-20 countries had instigated 47 policies that had restricted trade since the summit.
Difficulties faced during economically challenging times are usually compounded by social problems. As the IDS research found, there are signs of rising domestic violence growing inter-group tensions. Minority groups have been criticized for taking advantage of the crisis, but are typically disadvantaged compared with the majority in terms of access to official resources. Petty crime, drug and alcohol abuse were reportedly on the rise. So were the abandonment of children and the elderly; micro-credit default; and criminalization of youth.
Help from governments is severely limited in many countries. Public safety nets for the poor in Bangladesh, for example, were criticized for the small amounts disbursed. In Jakarta, migrant workers who had lost their jobs were not able to access government rice for the poor, which typically goes to longer-term residents.
Chee Yoke Heong is a freelance journalist and researcher based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
STORY 2: OECD: Korea Should Open More Doors to Migrant Workers
July 20th http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/07/20/2009072000496.html
Korea is said to be one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. The National Statistical Office projects that by 2050, four out of 10 people in the country will be over the age of 65, which will be the highest in the OECD. As the population grows older, the working population is expected to drop by more than 15 percent in 2050, dealing a serious blow to the nation's economy.
The OECD says the solution to this problem is in lowering Korea's threshold for immigrants. In order to cope with the country's shrinking working population, the OECD advises that Korea should supplement 14 percent of its population with migrant workers from 2020 to 2050.
By holding on to the virtue of homogeneity, Korea has always been on the OECD's list of countries where national and foreigner distinction is prevalent. As of 2007, foreigners who have acquired Korean citizenship accounted for a mere 1.5 percent of the total population.
OECD Secretary-General Angel Guarria said countries should keep in mind that "the benefits of migration are shared between sending and receiving countries," and stressed the importance of "responsive, fair and effective migration and integration policies."
According to a recent study by Hyundai Research Institute, migrant workers' productivity is expected to increase Korea's GDP by nearly 0.5 percent and the amount of money they spend here is expected to amount to almost W4 trillion (US$1=W1,260). Keeping the doors open to more immigrants is more likely to bring a positive rather than a negative effect to the economy, according to the study.
STORY 3: Kept in the dark: Domestic migrant workers face media blackout
Found at: http://www.menassat.com/?q=en/news-articles/6865-domestic-migrant-workers
For many migrant domestic workers, leaving for a foreign place also means losing touch with the political situation back home. It can take months for migrant workers in Lebanon to learn of events and developments in their countries, as workers often endure long working hours, low pay, lack of access to the news, and for some, no communication with their families. Simba Russeau looks at how migrant domestic workers keep up with the news.
By SIMBA RUSSEAU
BEIRUT, July 16, 2009 (MENASSAT) — Abbey trained as a nurse and French interpreter at a military hospital in Antsiranana Bay, which is located along the northeast coast of Madagascar. It is considered one of the largest natural harbors in the world and the second commercial port of the island. During the three years Abbey worked at the hospital they cared for many Arab seamen whose ships were stationed for three months at a time along the coast. Because the hospital was a French-run operation, the director accepted an offer to send a nurse to Lebanon for three years to learn Arabic so that she would be better equipped to care for those in need of treatment.
Abbey was presented with a three-year contract, which included a car to transport her to the hospital, a lot of work hours and a salary of $1,000 per month. However, when she arrived, she was placed in a Lebanese household with another Madagascan woman, and the two were expected to take care of the house, three kids and a newborn.
“We didn’t sleep day or night, we had to be up whenever the baby cried. The baby was never supposed to cry. We didn’t even have time to shower or eat during the day because we were always rocking him so he [wouldn't] cry. It was like that for two-and-a-half years,” Abbey said. “They didn’t even used to give us leftovers to eat. With our small salary of $150 we had to give the employer money so she would buy food for us. They didn’t even used to buy us toothpaste. What little we made, we used to buy food. So basically we were working for free for the Lebanese.”
While under contract, Abbey was never allowed to use the phone or send letters to her family, so for two and a half years she never knew what was going on in Madagascar and her family didn’t know if she was alive. Eventually she ran away, and for the past ten years has been working as a freelancer.
According to Abbey, even if she were allowed to watch the news once a day it would be of no benefit, because all TV stations are in Arabic and the few that are in French only deal with European issues. If Madagascar is mentioned in the news, the report is brief and doesn’t offer in-depth information of what is actually happening on the ground.
Little-to-no time
Madagascar, an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa, has experienced a series of assassinations, military coups and election disputes since gaining independence from France in 1960. The latest violence and struggle for power took place in January of this year, when more than 170 people were killed.
“I found out about the coup from my brother, who called me. There isn’t much on television to keep us updated. But if I was still under contract I would have never known,” said Abbey.
Diana, who is also from Madagascar, is currently working under contract and is not given any days off, only finding out what is happening in her country through random and seldom opportunities.
“I had no access to news or contact with people from the community or my family back home. I happened to see another Madagascan while walking the dog and she mentioned that there was a coup,” “It’s now July and I’m just finding out what is going in my country.”
During the last three decades the region has experienced a large influx of migrant domestic workers from Southeast Asia and Africa. Although there are currently over 200,000 domestic workers in Lebanon, very little information is provided to these women in terms of media coverage.
Freelancers are always able to connect with family or friends from the community to find out what is happening back home, but for those under contract and unable to leave the house, they take whatever moments they can when the "Madame" is not looking to meet with other women on the balcony. If the other worker is granted access to speak with family then she will become the source of information for other women in the area.
It is always easy to say that the Lebanese and the Arab media are once again responsible for not granting migrant workers rights, but is it actually the responsibility of the workers’ embassies and the Lebanese agencies they work with. For instance, the Philippine Embassy, which is by far the most conscious of their workers' needs, provides them with several blogs and online employment sites, not only detailing their rights, but also providing news on faulty recruitment agencies and current news from the Philippines.
In fact, the embassies could act as a portal for news and media for their migrants abroad or better yet could encourage the Lebanese government to allow, for example, networks to air a Madagascan station, like they do Sri Lankan and Sudanese stations. Of course, the main problem is finding time for the workers to catch a glimpse of what is happening back home and also for those under contract to be given normal working hours, rather than the 24-hour, 7-day a week schedules most are forced to adhere to.
Disconnected
Bernadette, a 32-year-old single mother from Sri Lanka, needed a means to provide for her daughter. The option of working overseas sounded very promising at the time.
For almost 3-years she has been working in Lebanon as a domestic worker. Every day, Bernadette wakes at 6am to endure 18 hours of grueling labor. Because she works in a remote location, she sometimes asks visitors to buy copies of a Sri Lankan newspaper, which can be found at most Sri Lankan shops in the Dora or Hamra neighborhoods of Beirut, as well as a phone card so that she can contact her family.
From 1983 until the present, there has been an on and off civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist movement seeking an autonomous state in the northern and eastern part of the country.
“We have a big problem in Sri Lanka. My brother told me that sometimes the fighting is really bad, but because my family is in Colombo it doesn’t affect them as much. Things were quiet for a while, but after they caught the head Tamil leader now I don’t know what will happen,” said Bernadette.
This past Sunday, Madagascan domestic workers celebrated Independence Day, which was last month. At the time, country organizers saw no reason to celebrate due to the political situation in the country. However, since it was the only opportunity for many women to leave the house, they decided to carry on with the events and held a celebration last week.
“You know I had one girl come to me and ask me if there were problems in Madagascar and I told her yes, but at the beginning of the year,” said community leader and social worker Aimee.
“I worry a lot about the situation in Madagascar, because it changes often but the problem is that the government never thinks about the people. Currently, foreigners come to the region to cultivate the land by growing medicinal plants for export. They establish factories, and it’s countries like France who will benefit while the people’s quality of life decreases and poverty increases,” added Abbey.
“If we return, then more poverty and death [will] await us.”
The media is one of the most powerful means of informing the masses of social issues related to their home countries, such as unemployment, war, and political instability. Little or no access to media outlets can directly - or indirectly - affect the performance of migrant workers.
However, having access to information, family, weekly interactions with friends from the same country and media - be it online or through word of mouth - can play an important role in aiding the workers' decision to return home, or can give them the strength to continue working, since information has the ability to put the mind at ease.
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