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183 The Fe mal e Face of Migration Rosario G. Manalo, P hilippines It was while I was the Philippine Ambassador to Brussels in the mid1980s that I had one of my earliest personal encounters with the “human face” of migration, and—as to be expected in hindsight—it was the face of a woman, a Filipina. Three people paid a call on me at the Embassy that day: the young Filipina, a Belgian man, and a Filipina Catholic nun. Apparently, the young Filipina was under threat of arrest by immigration authorities who had discovered that she had entered the country illegally and under false pretenses. But although it was essentially my young compatriot’s problem, her companions were doing most of the talking, or rather, the haranguing—demanding that I, as the ambassador, “do something ” to save her from being arrested. When the man, who had obviously had a hand in smuggling her into Belgium, began demanding that the Philippine Government produce the money needed for her airfare back to Manila, I lost my temper. “Shut up!” I told him firmly. Then, turning to the Filipina, I declared that I would talk to her and her alone. It was only after the Belgian man and the nun left my office that the young woman visibly relaxed and stopped shaking. She admitted to me that, though she had come to Belgium on a tourist visa, she had had the intention all along of working illegally in the country. I assured her that, even though what she had done was illegal, I would do everything I could to prevent her from being arrested. But, I said, I could not accede to the man’s demand that the Embassy pay for her airfare, since at that time the Philippine Government had no financial provisions for the repatriation of Filipinos who got into trouble abroad. Instead, with the help of the honorary consul in Antwerp, I managed to secure for her a passage on a ship bound for home. I don’t know whatever happened to this young Filipina after that, but I often wonder what her fate would have been if she had not turned up at the Embassy that day. In the decades since the woman and her companions paid a call on me, I have encountered, in both the diplomatic service as well as in my work with the CEDAW Committee, countless such cases, most of them involving women from poor countries who are either deceived and cheated by unscrupulous recruiters, apprehended by immigration or police officials for illegal entry into foreign countries, or who seek assistance after endur- ing abuse and exploitation at the hands of foreign employers or even foreign spouses. For many of them, migration is often impelled by economic necessity, a response to poverty and hopelessness, and the search for productive labor and a better life not just for themselves but also for their families . Other women find themselves traveling to foreign lands to join their families or spouses who have established themselves there. Some women migrants are also compelled to leave their countries of origin as refugees, fleeing armed conflict, natural disasters, or even sexual abuse, and placing themselves at the mercy of “receiving” States and international agencies. Migration has emerged as a major concern of both sending and receiving governments around the globe. However, while the march of people across borders presents new and difficult challenges, receiving governments should see migrants also as a potential source of new energy and creativity. Often, they fuel entrepreneurial activity; sometimes they provide knowledge, skills, and talents that may be needed in the receiving countries; and in all cases, through associating with the nationals of their adopted country, they may expand the world view of these people. At the same time, remittances by overseas workers not only help lift their families back home out of the trap of poverty, but even keep afloat national economies of sending countries. Regardless of whether a country is mainly a “source” of or a “destination” for migrants, most governments have bound themselves to various international legal instruments that should help them to respect and protect the rights and the welfare of these “people on the move.” Such instruments include the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant for Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) of 1966, and various Conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).1 In more recent years this obligation to protect migrant workers was...

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