[English below]
Draga naša zajednico,
Radujemo se otpočinjanju novog ciklusa Transnacionalnih solidarnosti i pozivamo vas da nam se pridružite na prvom jesenskom susretu! Ovoga puta okrećemo se Filipinima, povezujući priče o migracijama, radu i svakodnevnom životu s pitanjima kolonijalne povijesti, globalnih nejednakosti, rasnog kapitalizma i radničke solidarnosti. Što znači otići od kuće u potrazi za boljim životom kada migracije nisu toliko pitanje slobodnog izbora koliko ekonomske nužnosti? Što znači biti dobrodošao kao radnik, ali ne nužno i prihvaćen kao ravnopravan član društva? I kako graditi solidarnost preko podjela koje oblikuju živote migrantskih i drugih radničkih zajednica?
Zajedno s Vidom Kličko razgovarat ćemo o povijesti i političkoj ekonomiji eksploatacije, egzotifikacije, asimilacije i rasizacije filipinskih zajednica, s posebnim osvrtom na iskustva filipinskih radnika i radnica te njihovih zajednica u Hrvatskoj. Pozivamo vas da nam se pridružite u razgovoru, razmjeni iskustava i zajedničkom promišljanju mogućnosti izgradnje solidarnosti. Nakon razgovora druženje nastavljamo uz kulturni program u suradnji s inicijativom Filipinos in Croatia.
Filipini su kroz stoljeća bili oblikovani španjolskom i američkom kolonijalnom vlašću, koje je kao i na drugim prostorima prisilno stvaralo društvene, religijske, rodne stratifikacije društva, rasnu hijerarhizaciju kao i ekonomsku eksploataciju putem bandala sustava. Kolonijalizam, imperijalizam i neokolonijalni odnosi oblikovali su tako filipinsku ekonomiju i rad, političke strukture, društvene odnose te načine na koji se ti odnosi reproduciraju danas.
Filipini su danas jedna od najznačajnijih zemalja radne emigracije, a doznake migrantskih radnika i radnica sastavni su dio filipinske ekonomije. Filipinska država, kroz ugovorne odnose, upravlja migracijom svojih građana, koja postaje gotovo institucionalizirani odgovor na nedostatak sigurnih i dostojanstveno plaćenih poslova kod kuće. Koliko je takva migracija zapravo izbor?
S druge strane u globalnom lancu skrbi je Europa, gdje se migrantskim radom pokušavaju riješiti tzv. krize nedostatka radnika i dostojanstvene plaće, a migrantska populacija drži u radnom i statusnom prekarijatu – bez jamstva sigurnosti i stabilnosti u zemljama koje o njima ovise. I Hrvatska zadnjih godina bilježi sve veći broj filipinskih radnika i radnica. Oni se, osim nesigurnih radnih uvjeta i sve veće izloženosti nasilju na ulicama, susreću i s predodžbama o sebi kao “vrijednim”, “mirnim”, “zahvalnim” ili “prilagodljivim” migrantima. Tako su Filipinci i Filipinke istovremeno izložene egzotifikaciji i rasijalizaciji, ali i skupini “prihvatljivijoj” od drugih.
Položaj žena u filipinskom društvu i u zapadnim društvima skreće pozornost na isprepletenost roda, klase i uvjeta migracije. Filipinke čine velik dio populacije u međunarodnim radnim migracijama, osobito u sektorima skrbi, zdravstva i kućanskog rada. Društva i države opterećene stalnim “ekonomskim rastom” svoje potrebe za skrbi i uslugama sve više eksploatiraju rad Filipinki i žena iz Globalnog Juga. Filipinke primjerice slove kao “prirodne” njegovateljice; takav snažni trop nameće pitanje globalne podjela rada koja pretvara brigu i reproduktivni rad u migracijsku robu.
Filipinsko iskustvo tako nam omogućuje da migraciju ne promatramo samo kao pitanje “uvoza radne snage”, nego kao dio povijesti kolonijalizma, globalne nejednake podjele rada i suvremenog kapitalizma. Istovremeno, otvara prostor za izgradnju solidarnosti među migrantskim i radničkim zajednicama – uzimajući u obzir ne samo forme i posljednice eksploatacije, nego i razlike u statusu te načinima na koje su različite skupine radnika, uključujući migrantske, manjinske, ranjive, rasijalizirane i uvjetno prihvaćene.
Jezik razgovora: engleski (uz solidaran prijevod na hrvatski jezik)
- Program Transnacionalne solidarnosti oblikuju i vode Emina Bužinkić i Lucija Mulalić, a održavaju se unutar programskog pravca MaMe Ljudi u pokretu, koji vodi Marija Krstanović
Koristimo priliku da vam preporučimo program udruge Jutro koja u suradnji s klubom MaMa od subote 17. listopada kreće s jezičnim radionicama Grad u prijevodu. Program započinje upravo s radionicom filipinskog jezika. Istu subotu navečer u Ritmu Grada svratite na koncert novog filipinskog benda Six Corners.
[English version]
On the Philippines, the Industry of Global Inequalities, and Workers’ Solidarity
Dear community,
We are excited to welcome you to a new cycle of Transnational Solidarities! This fall, we begin with the Philippines, bringing together stories of migration, labor, and everyday life with questions of colonial histories, global inequalities, racial capitalism, and workers’ solidarity. What does it mean to leave home in search of a better life when migration is shaped by economic necessity? What does it mean to be welcomed as a worker but not necessarily accepted as an equal member of society? And how can we build solidarities across the divisions that shape migrant and working-class lives?
Together with Vida Kličko, we will explore the histories and political economies of exploitation, exoticization, assimilation, and racialization of Filipino communities, while paying particular attention to the experiences of Filipino workers and communities in Croatia. We warmly invite you to join the conversation, share experiences, and imagine possibilities for solidarity. Following the discussion, we will continue the evening with a cultural program in collaboration with the Filipinos in Croatia initiative.
For centuries, the Philippines was shaped by Spanish and American colonial rule, which, as in other colonized territories, forcibly imposed social, religious, and gender stratifications, racial hierarchies, and economic exploitation, including through the bandala system. Colonialism, imperialism, and neocolonial relations have profoundly shaped the Philippine economy and labor, political structures, social relations, and the ways these relations continue to be reproduced today.
Today, the Philippines is one of the world’s major countries of labor emigration, with remittances from migrant workers forming an integral part of its economy. Through contractual arrangements and labor migration policies, the Philippine state manages the migration of its citizens, turning migration into an almost institutionalized response to the lack of secure and decently paid jobs at home. But to what extent is such migration really a choice?
At the other end of the global care chain lies Europe, where migrant labor is increasingly mobilized as a response to the so-called crises of labor shortages and decent wages, while migrant populations are kept in conditions of labor and legal precarity, without guarantees of security or stability in the very countries that depend on their work. Croatia, too, has seen a growing number of Filipino workers in recent years. Alongside insecure working conditions and increasing exposure to violence in public spaces, Filipino workers encounter representations of themselves as “hardworking,” “quiet,” “grateful,” or “adaptable” migrants. Filipinos are thus simultaneously subjected to exoticization and racialization while being positioned as more “acceptable” than other migrant groups.
The position of women in Philippine society and Western societies draws attention to the intersections of gender, class, and migration conditions. Filipina women make up a significant proportion of international labor migrants, particularly in care, healthcare, and domestic work. Societies and states driven by the imperative of perpetual “economic growth” increasingly exploit the labor of Filipina women and other women from the Global South to meet their care and service needs. Filipina women, for example, are often portrayed as “natural” caregivers. This powerful trope raises critical questions about the global division of labor that turns care and reproductive labor into a commodity circulating through migration.
The Philippine experience thus allows us to understand migration not merely as a matter of “importing labor,” but as part of the histories of colonialism, the unequal global division of labor, and contemporary capitalism. At the same time, it opens possibilities for building solidarity across migrant and working-class communities, taking into account not only the forms and consequences of exploitation, but also differences in legal and social status and the ways in which different groups of workers—including migrant, minoritized, vulnerable, racialized, and conditionally accepted workers—are positioned and treated.
This session: in English (with solidarity translation into Croatian)
- Transnational Solidarities is conceived and facilitated by Emina Bužinkić and Lucija Mulalić. The program takes place within MaMa’s People on the Move program strand, curated by Marija Krstanović.
We would also like to recommend the program organized by the association Jutro in collaboration with Club MaMa. Starting Saturday, October 17, they will host a series of language workshops titled The City in Translation, beginning with a Filipino language workshop. Later that evening, join the new Filipino band Six Corners for a concert at Ritam Grada!
