[Berlin, 09 October 2019] A two-day forum on 5-6 October composed of panel discussions and workshops tackling political and social issues such as imperialism and neo-colonialism,  racism, territorial and natural resources defense, anti-patriarchal struggles, and internationalism marked the opening of the first Anticolonial Month (5 Oct- 15 Nov) in Berlin. The forum which gathered together more than 200 participants from Berlin and elsewhere is  designed as a venue not only to discuss and consume information but an open space to acquire a deeper understanding of each other’s struggles and strategies in order to forge a strong unity to mutually advance all struggles.

Zara Alvarez of Negros Island Health Integrated Program for Community Development Inc., along with Abel from the National Indigenous Association of Colombia, and Ferhat from the Kurdish Student Federation were the invited speakers in the Panel “Defending Our Territories and Natural Resources: Strategies and Practices of Resistance in the Global South”. The three shared and illustrated their particular conditions and peoples’ resistance against the control of their lands and rivers by aggressive imperialist powers through their local ruling elites.  

Zara is actively involved in campaigns against the construction of a Mega Shipyard that will displace hundreds of poor families in the coastal area of Negros, of the continuing operations and applications of foreign mining companies exacerbated by the foreign serving Philippine Mining Act of 1995, as well as in strengthening the collective actions of farmers in occupying idle landlord lands thru “Bungkalan”.  She expressed her increasing alarm as the peoples’ resistance are being met by heightened Duterte government’s sponsored killings and harassments thru the Oplan Sauron, where 87 deaths have been recorded in the last three years since Duterte came to power. As a conclusion she thanked the people in Anticolonial Berlin and all those who are present in creating spaces to listen to their plight and struggles and to be in solidarity with them.

Abel belongs to an Indigenous Group in Colombia, and was part of the Asturias program in Spain for temporary protection. The Program enabled him to travel to Germany and speak in the panel. The Program is now over and he has to go back to Colombia despite the imminent threat to his life. He discussed with fervor their century old suffering from colonial power, the betrayal of their own ruling government and their- the indigenous peoples enduring fight for their rights, lands and territories.   Their groups’ symbol of struggle is an Indigenous Guard with a wooden spear, denoting their principle to non- violent means of resistance. He noted however that the increasingly brutal and repressive state reactions against their non-violent defiance is pushing them to even consider taking up arms.  He ended with a call for support to their struggle, not for him but for the generations to come and expression of his peoples’ staunch oath to defend their mother earth, as good sons and daughters would do.

Ferhat talked about the threat of a mega dam that will not only displace hundreds  of families but could wipe out a thousands of years old world historical heritage, the birthplace of the oldest civilization discovered so far that emerged from the fertile lands of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The resistance of the Kurdish people, who highly value not only the rights of the affected peoples in the proposed dam but also the historic significance of this heritage have been met with repression from the Turkish government, the main sponsor for the construction.

The panel concluded with discussions revolving around how imperialist powers and their hands thru repressive local regimes have its deep historical colonial roots and that it continues and increasingly becoming more aggressive in the face of ever worsening crisis of the monopoly capitalist system, wanton destruction of natural resources that results to the climate crisis, and the growing resistance of the peoples in different parts of the globe.

The Anticolonial month is organized to actively claim the space and platform to speak for ourselves, the exploited and the oppressed, particularly the conditions in our home countries and how they are connected to the politics and economics of our residence country, Germany and to engage in defining solutions that are just and humane. Different activities organized by the anticolonial Berlin and other independent organizations are spread out in different days within the duration of the Anticolonial Month.

The idea is initiated by the Bloque Latino Americano Berlin, a progressive internationalist network of individuals and social and political organisations coming from different countries in South America. It is then taken up as a collaborative work by various organisations and network based in Berlin including Gabriela Germany, Migrante Europe, Africa United Sports Club, Unidos por la Paz-Alemania, Ni Una Menos Berlin, Mapuche Solidaritaetsgruppe, Voces de Guatemala, Schwarze Hochshulgruppe, Refracta, Humboldt Huaca, Nav-Dem, Academics for Peace, Frauenstreik Komitee Berlin, Palestina Speaks, JXK & YXK Berlin, Kale Amenge, and Revolutionaere Internationalistische Organisation/Klasse gegen Klasse.

REFERENCES:
Gabriela Germany
[email protected]
Migrante Europe
[email protected]

Migrante-Europe supported the showing of the film Sunday Beauty Queen in this year’s 2nd Philippine Film Festival-Berlin. It was the culminating film for the festival, which ran from November 3-5, and 8-12. The film, directed by Baby Ruth Villarama, is a documentary featuring the lives of five domestic workers in Hong Kong and how they spend their Sundays organizing and participating in beauty pageants in order to alleviate homesickness and foster community in a foreign land. More than a hundred people, mostly Filipinos and some Germans went to see the film and participated in the roundtable discussion (RTD) held afterwards. The Philippine Film Festival-Berlin, the only film festival in Germany that showcases Filipino films is organized by The First Reel, and the Philippine Studies Series-Berlin, and supported by various organizations in Germany.

The discussion theme for the SBQ was “Philippine Migrants’ struggles and desires”. Two Germany-based members of Migrante-Europe–Elnora Held and Father Mark Jun Yañez were invited as panelists to the RTD. Held is a member of Gabriela-Germany and the auditor of the Migrante-Europe, while Yañez is the port chaplain of the Seamen mission in Hamburg. The other panelists were Krisanta Caguioa-Moenich, a language mediator in Banying, organization that helps migrant women who are victims of violence, Megha Amrith, an urban anthropologist of migration, and Lisa May David, an artist who previously worked on issues of identity and migration.

The discussion lasted for more than an hour, as the audience got actively engaged by asking questions and sharing some thoughts about the theme and the film. During the discussion, there was a general agreement among the panelists and the audience that the film presents a sad reality on how hard the lives of the majority of domestic workers in Hong Kong are. Most of the discussions also revolved around the significant contributions of Migrant workers to the Philippine economy and the government’s weak efforts in securing their rights abroad and helping migrants facing various problems such as violence or abuse in their host country. Held emphasized that present-day migration is mostly forced migration: caused by war, poverty, and even climate change. She added that forced migration can only be addressed by solving these root causes. Father Yañez stated that Filipino seafarers are in demand as they are of highly qualified but cheap. “The government however is not bent on addressing this issue believing that pushing for the increase of Seafarers’ wages will prompt hiring companies to take cheaper labor from other countries, thus reducing their potential remittances” he added. In his experience working with the Seamen, most of them are not happy with their work because it means being away from the family. However, their family and the desire to give them a better future are the reasons why they take these jobs. The seamen hope that Philippine economy will get better soon and that they no longer need to be away from their families just do they can provide for their needs.

Some notable contributions from the audience were on the discussion of the Labor Export Policy and the sharing of an experience by a former overseas domestic worker herself. The discussion ended with insights from the panel and the audience on what migrants in Germany can do to help their fellow migrants.