Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB)

A founding member of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) and with members from Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand

c/o APMM, No. 2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR Tel no(s): (852) 3156-2447, 2723-7536 Fax no(s): 2735-4559 E-mail: amcb.hk@gmail.com

Persevere in our struggles!

End the abuse, slavery and commodification of women migrant workers
Statement of the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body (AMCB-IMA) for International Womens Day 2014
International Womens Day is a day we mark for the historic struggles of women the toiling women for rights, dignity and liberation. For us women migrants in Hong Kong, it is a day we celebrate the gains of our collective actions as we also pursue our demands for changes in policies that abuse, oppress and exploit us as women and as workers. Indeed we have gained much with our organised strength from the increase of our wage, the abolition of the levy, and the forging of solidarity among us and with other peoples organisations in Hong Kong and elsewhere. However, attacks on our rights and wellbeing are relentless. Hong Kong remains to be a hotbed of social exclusion and policies that put our livelihood, security, safety and even life, at risk. Erwiana Sulistyaningsih and Anis Adriana are two of our sisters who have publicly come out to show to the people of Hong Kong and of the world that women migrants, especially domestic workers, are the epitome of modern-day slaves. We commend their courage to stand up despite their battered body or cut off finger to seek justice for the violence done against them and for the numerous more foreign domestics living and working in a condition ripe for various forms of violence. Since the start of this year, thousands of women and supporters among local organisations have marched to ensure that Erwiana gets the justice she deserves and to call for immediate reforms to policies such as the New Conditions of Stay or Two-Week Rule, the mandatory live-in employment arrangement, and the weak prosecution of overcharging and abusive agencies. But instead of addressing these concerns, the Hong Kong government and reactionary political parties are bringing to life the phantom of job-hopping among FDWs to divert the public from the reality that the policies of HK government for FDWs are fundamentally flawed. Instead of taking steps to ensure that there will be no more Erwiana or Anis in the future, the HK government is choosing to reinforce the illusion that they are respectful of human, workers and womens rights. Our own governments perpetuate this condition for they are more concerned with ensuring that their labour export continues and expands for the profit of the state, the recruitment agencies, and businesses that exploit the desperation of our people to seek work abroad. This desperation stems from the massive displacement due to the erosion of jobs and economies, destruction of agriculture and rural production, plunder of the environment, privatisation of utilities and commercialisation of education and health brought by neoliberal globalisation in our countries. With what happened to Erwiana and Anis, a renewed vigour is much needed to pursue our cause for justice and the rights of FDWs in Hong Kong. On this International Womens Day, women migrants in Hong Kong celebrate with our sisters around the world the victories weve had in our struggles. But more so, we celebrate our commitment to persevere with building and strengthening of our movement so that no woman migrant will be subjected to any type of abuse, will be exploited by any agency, and will be oppressed by a system that do not serve the interests of the toiling women and people.