ABAKADA Winter Edition 2011

ABAKADA, SUMMER 2010

6 Message from Ambassador E. P Buensuceso

7 Moments with Mayor Klaus Bondam8 PICUM - Human Rights Day9 Paris - Brussels Conferences10 Response to Au Pair Ban Lifting

14 WAVE Conference15 KULU16 Christmas Features18 Babaylan Foto Collage21 Integration22 Sara Stilling

23 Health24 Kapatiran25 Legend of Makahiya26 Economy27 Letters from the Outlands

ABAKADA, WINTER 2010

FEATURES ADVERTISEMENTS

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Cover Illustration:Muir Jover

About the cover, Filipinos suppos-edly have the longest Christmas in the world, starting already in the month of September and ending with the Feast of the 3 Kings on 6 of January. Christmas means being with your loved ones to enjoy and share the tastes, sight and sounds of the season, bask in the festive mood. If distances keep families apart then the next best thing is to give and receive gifts, especially from abroad.

CONTENTSABAKADA

Ang Balitang Kababaihan sa DanmarkThe News on Women in Denmark

www.babaylan.dk

C & C TRAVELKROGH’S VINIMPORTPHILIPPINE CONSULATEFILCOM DENMARKBABAYLANBRONCANO FAMILYREYES FAMILYGUDMUNDSSON FAMILYDra. MARGA CONGRESO

28 Women News

29 Grin Page

30 Transition31 Migrant Women in EU

32 Arts & Media33 Christmas Greetings

Happy Holidays to all!

We often use “Happy Holidays” as greetings during Christmas. It is often used as a generic cover-all greeting for all the Winter holidays, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Chi-nese New Year and Thanksgiving. It is an all-inclusive greeting no matter what culture or religion one belongs to, fitting a growing and increas-ingly diverse population.

In the Philippines, Christmas sea-son is the most popular celebration of the year where Happy Holidays covers Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year.

Christmas season is the most popu-lar celebration of the year and is the most anticipated event for every Filipino. It is the time to remember being with the family, giving gifts, preparing special foods, wearing your best clothes, decorating the house, hanging parols, playing Christmas songs, shopping, sending cards, it goes on and on…For Filipinos abroad, it’s the time of the year to visit their families back home, to be with their loved ones on Christmas Day! It’s the season to be jolly...

Babaylan-Denmark would like to share a peek of Filipino Christ-mas to all Pinoy around the country. Since October this year, our Reach Out Program, through Western Union’s sponsorship and help from our friends and supporters, has been a huge success. Holding Christmas Events to different Filipino communities from different regions all over Denmark, be it a community fair, dinner parties, Christmas Food Court or Christmas cultural shows, the Filipinos unite to create a strong bond with the aim of helping our kababayans as well as keeping our cultures and traditions. It is in the spirit of Christmas where we have common thoughts on what to give, what to share and what to eat!

Filipinas I met from several events held in Jylland,Fyn, Midt Jyl-land, Nykøbing, Flaster & Møn were all positive and supportive of the program. It is my hope that in the coming years, Babaylan will be more visible and active in empowering our Filipina kababayans for better life and opportunities.

As we unite in the spirit of Christmas, may the coming years bring us together to realize our goal of keeping Babaylan-Den-mark, stronger, committed and highly competent in organizing for change!

BABAYLAN OFFICERS MESSAGE


BABAYLAN-DENMARKBOARD MEMBERS & OFFICERS

2010-2011

Women organizing for change!www.babaylan.dk

CES C. NYMANNTreasurer

[email protected]

HILDA [email protected]

LEMY GADDIAuditor

[email protected]

OWIE N. DELFTERWebdesigner

[email protected]

MUIR JOVERIllustrator & [email protected]

FILOMENITA HØGSHOLMPublic & Intl. Relations [email protected]

ANA [email protected]

JUDY [email protected]

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JUDY JOVER

EDITORIAL


The Magazine of the Philippine Women’s Network in Denmark

Ang Balitang Kababaihan sa DanmarkABAKADA

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ABAKADA is the official news magazine of Babaylan-Denmark. It is trilingual quarterly published by Babaylan-Denmark, the Philippine Women’s Network that covers issues of women and gender as they tangent migration and asylum, development, cross-cultures, etc. Contribu-tions are welcome but are subject to editing for reasons of space and time. Reproduction in whole or parts allowedwith permission and proper accreditation.

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FILOMENITA M. HØGSHOLM

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL.

Every six months we seem to hit the jackpot. Babaylan Denmark has been lucky once again to receive manna from heaven. Rather like a Christmas gift that really makes a difference because without

it, you dear reader would not be having this magazine in your hand. We are talking about the support we get from our spon-sors and we want to acknowledge this with warm thanks for making it possible for us in Babaylan to be seen and heard.

Indeed, the Abakada, our magazine, is our window to and from the world which gives us Access and Visibility, But even more importantly, it gives us a Voice...so we can make known our concerns and be in contact with like minded groups and individuals through networking and joining coalitions on impor-tant issues. Together women can go a little further in moving towards their goals. .Earlier this year, the International Community gathered at the UN in New York for MDG 2015, which coded means that the world must renew commitments and formulate a global agen-da, which in global partnership can result in a better world by 2015.

We know in Babaylan that the key to achieving all 8 MDGS is to start with MDG3 which has to do with gender quality and empowering women. We believe that when this is promoted and achieved, all the other MDGs will follow.

With these goals foremost in our minds, we will continue to work for improving the welfare of immigrant women wherever we are. Au Pairs, the daughters of globalisation remain at the core of our advocacy, because in the the au pair phenomenon can we see many issues converge: issues on the labour market rights, access to health services, sexual and repro-ductive rights including infant and maternal health, education, even the environment and many more.. Babaylan has also competences in the social media sector which we are already availing of in our day to day interface with our target groups and among ourselves. This will natu-rally continue and hopefully be strengthened in the future. Abakada wishes everyone a Succesfully Busy New Year 2011.


OFFICIAL GREETINGS

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MESSAGE OF AMBASSADOR ELIZABETH P. BUENSUCESOTO BABAYLAN DENMARK

Congratulations to Babaylan Denmark for its notable accomplishments during the year 2010, particularly the publication of the Abakada Maga-zine, the conduct of various conferences and seminars to help our coun-trywomen, the championship of worthy causes and alliances on issues affecting women, and its partnership with the Philippine Embassy.

I am inspired by your avowed objectives to elevate the issues of women, particularly those from the Philippines, to the consciousness of our kaba-bayans and the people of Denmark. Very often, people, especially those

misguided by disinformation and misinformation, exhibit overt or subtle discrimination against our womenfolk in Scandinavia. The first ever Au Pair Conference we held in Oslo in last year enlightened our people about their rights and obligations as au pairs. They also benefited from the seminars about self worth and self respect, basic necessities in a world still not fully liberated from traditional views of women and women migrants .

Your constructive and practical partnership with the Philippine Embassy has borne substantialharvest. The lifting of the ban on the deployment of au pairs, first in Norway and then in Denmark,was achieved in close cooperation with Filipino organizations, including Babaylan-Denmark. After16 years in limbo and years of exposure of au pairs to corruption and exploitation, we finallypersuaded both the Philippine and Danish governments to come to an agreement to includeprovisions that seek to protect the welfare of au pairs and at the same time allow them to departthe Philippines with proper documentation.

Uplifting the image of our country and our womenfolk in Scandinavia is also a value cherished bothby the Embassy and your organization. With your actual assistance to au pairs in distress andthose seeking a forum for addressing their emotional, psychological and spiritual needs, you havebecome the Embassy’s co-guardians in the promotion of au pairs’ welfare and protection of theirrights. I enjoin you to continue this productive partnership.

On a personal note, I would like to thank you for your loving support to me and my staff, who,because we are not based in Copenhagen, have nevertheless been able to deliver assistance toour people in Denmark. I also wish to extend my prayers for you to have a joyful Christmas andanother successful year ahead.

Jurisdiction:NorwayDenmarkIceland

Email Address: [email protected]: www.philembassy.noFax No.: +47 2241 7401Tel. No.: +47 2240 0900

Visiting address4th Flr., Nedre Vollgate 4, 0158 Oslo, Norway

Mailing addressP.O. Box 322 Sentrum

0103 Oslo, Norway

INTEGRATION

ABAKADA, WINTER 2010 7

MOMENTS with the MAYOR By Babaylan News & Features

Copenhagen’s cultural diversity Copenhagen Mayor for Integration and Employment Klaus Bondam hosted this year’s very well attended International Day on the last Saturday of August. A whole day affair formerly held along the edge of the Lakes, but this year moved into the main thoroughfare of Nørrebrogade, there was showcased many eth-nic cuisines from the many restaurants in the area who offered their menus @ fastfood prices, dining places around Nørrebro, considered to be the multicultural core of Copenhagen. The whole day also offered a plethora of cultural inputs: music and dance, and in the case of Babaylan, our signature cultural fashion show of national costumes and Dita Sandico Ong’s bananawraps..

In order to thank all participants from that momentous day, Mayor Klaus as he is popularly called invited everyone to City Hall for a reception on the last Monday of October. Babaylan, being one of the organizations who participated into such a day from the very beginning, we naturally turned out in a small party of 5. Refreshments and cake accompanied the screening of a video documentary of this year’s International Day.

Bland dig I Byen: Get involved in the cityThe event was also the official launch of Copenhagen’s Integra-tion Policy for 2011-14 where the most significant point in such policy is to challenge Copenhageners to get involved as part of their rights and responsibilities as citizens. One must no longer be just integrated, one must be included. Indeed, the message from Copenhagen City Hall is that it is time to change the paradigm! For so long, Denmark has been invoking the con-cept of Integration when it really meant Assimilation. When Danish officials require that immigrants to integrate, they often mean that the new arrivals must change their identity overnight and be Danish in a jiffy! They forget that by “integration” is meant a 2-way street where two equal parts or halves, mov-ing towards each other to make a whole, an integer. Learning a new difficult language, finding work in a labour market where only 70% of jobs are announced, the rest is through social con-tacts, and finding a proper housing (non-ghetto,whatever that really means!) require not only time and money but often also the accept of the Danes who according to a recent Expat study excludes rather than include the foreigners in their midst.

The new policy is a result of numerous consultations with the myriad of organizations in Copenhagen, including youth and migrant women organizations such as Babaylan and FAD.According to Mayor Klaus Bondam, Copenhageners regardless of backgrounds are concerned about how they relate to each other, and by saying Inclusion rather than Integration, they are

signaling that everyone is welcome to their community. It goes without saying that cultural diversity: new cultures, new lan-guages- is highly valued in this setting. Inclusion means access to equal rights and opportunities. q

_____________________________________Postscript: Within days of the event, it was announced that Mayor Bondam was moving to Brussels by the beginning of 2011 to be Director of Denmark House in Brussels.

“Taste the World” Copenhagen International Day - Copenhagen Kommune and Wonderful Copenha-gen celebrated International Day this year bigger than ever. More than 50 groups & associations and 20 restaurants joined this year’s event with more entertainment and fun in the heart of Copenhagen last August 28, 2010.

8ABAKADA, WINTER 2010

HUMAN RIGHTS

LABOUR MIGRATION

The logos of the Council of Europe in Paris and the EU Parliament in Brussels.

Paris-Brussels: Migrant Women on the Move!By Filomenita Mongaya Høgsholm

Two events of significance for the welfare of immigrant women in Europe were held recently one after the other: the first , on December 7, was under the auspices of the Council of Europe in Paris, and then the following day, 8 December at the EU Parliament in Brussels.

Babaylan’s Founding Chair, F. Mongaya-Høg-sholm, who also represented WIDE (globalizing gender equality and social justice) and its Dan-ish National Platform, KULU was invited to both events. She inputted at the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) Roundtable in Paris on Migrant Women, together with other experts from the European Women’s Lobby, the UN Committee on the Rights of Migrant Work-ers and their families, as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and of PICUM, the Platform for International Co-operation on Undocumented Migrants. The Roundtable ad-dressed the challenges and difficulties faced by migrant women in the labour market.

Aside from the day to day violation of women migrants esp. those in domestic work in the home (housemaids, nannies, au pairs), Babaylan’s representative pointed out not only brain drain of highly educated migrants pulled by factors such as the demographic deficit when European women no longer go for service jobs because of better education, leading to a need for cheap hands to service the elderly and young children. Care is the only category that Europe allows in, thus deskilling and brain waste for women mi-grants. The big challenge for Europe is how to value the higher education that the care workers actually come with so that they can be poised to take their

places in a few years say in 2020 when Europe needs new brainpower of the highly skilled to be

competitive.

The following day, a crucial Hearing co-organized by 5 NGOs concerned with health and migration looked at how Undocumented Women and Chil-dren are prevented from accessing health care in much of the EU today, thereby fostering gross inequalities in a Europe founded on humane val-ues guaranteeing a life in dignity for all.

Among many panelists, many of them EU Parlia-mentarians and Medical doctors was a lone mi-grant Woman. Virginia Mangare Greiner, Chair of ENoMW, European Network of Migrant Women launched last June and to which Babaylan DK is Associate Member.

Unfortunately the Hearing held inside the Par-liament only had two hours so there was not enough time to discuss fully but as pointed out by Amandine Bach of the European Women’s Lob-by, co-organizer of the Event, it was a significant Hearing because EU parliamentarians across the political spectrum all called for an equitable access to health care in Europe for all undocu-mented migrants. A bold step long in coming!

ALL in all, there are new and good things hap-pening on the migration front for women but MUCH MORE has to be done, eg. in countries with ever tightening rules and exclusionary poli-cies such as Denmark and the Netherlands with their “point system” that keeps families and couples apart. q



New Guidelines on Legal Au Pair Deployment to Denmark: The view from BABAYLAN

By Ana Lindenhamn, Filomenita Mongaya Høgsholm and Judy Jover

FOCUS: AU PAIRS


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FOCUS: AU PAIRS

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PRESS RELEASE

19th October 2010: EUROPE UNITED. Ending Violence Against Women

12th WAVE-Conference: 300 participants from 24 coun-tries came together in Warsaw to call on Europe for better laws, policies and support services

“It is a blow to the foundation of democracy if a victim cannot seek help”, said Polands former first lady Jolanta Kwasniewska in the opening of the WAVE conference in Warsaw. Cuts in fundings of women’s shelters was one of the main issues at the Conference of Women Against Violence Europe, which was held in cooperation with the Women’s Rights Centre Centrum Praw Kobiet in Warsaw.

“He Beats. We Pay.”, titled a Norwegian campaign. The EU Fundamental Rights Agency estimates the total annual costs of gender-based violence at €12 billion to €20 bil-lion a year. Homicide investigations constitute the highest costs. WAVE calls on the European Union and the national governments to guarantee sufficient funding of women’s shelters and to establish a minimum ratio of shelters per country. 45% of women in Europe suffer some kind of violence at least once in their lifetime because they are women. “This type of terrorism is still kept hidden”, said Carmen Romero Lopez from the European Parliament. She is one of the main supporters of the European Protec-tion Order, an initiative from Spain, which would protect victims of violence all over Europe.

Hilary Fisher from the CAHVIO Committee warned Europe to not fall below already agreed UN-standards and called for a strengthening of the Council of Europe draft Conven-tion on Violence against Women. Some countries within the Council of Europe are calling for the omission of a gen-der perspective in the draft Convention. This would fail to address the causes of violence, signaled Fisher. Violence against women is rooted in discrimination, while discrimi-nation reinforces violence against women. An end to this “most repulsive manifestation of discrimination” can only be achieved “through a holistic approach” stressed Renatas Mazeika from the Daphne Programme of the European Commission. Violence against women encompasses physical, psychical, sexual and economic violence. Women are even turned into commodities through trafficking and sexual exploitation. José Mendes Bota from the Council of Europe emphasized in his speech that “it is outrageous to see, in the XXIst Century, that slavery is a reality in our countries for the sexual fun of men”.

Tove Smaadahl from the Krisesentersekretariatet pre-sented good news from Norway: The high court convicted a man to pay 90.000 NOK because his step daughter wit-nessed violence against the mother. The Norwegian verdict is allthe more important as fathers’ rights movements in

several European countries get increasing upwind. To consider

someone being a good father even if he abuses the mother is an “enormous backlash”,

stressed Italian lawyer Marcella Pirrone. The so-called pa-rental alienation syndrome (PAS), often used in court, has been called “not scientific” by the Canadian and American National Association of Psychologists, who have “warned from PAS”. 70% of the perpetrators abusing women also abuse children. Even if children are not directly maltreat-ed, they are highly traumatized through the exposure to violence against their mother. Maria Rösslhumer from the Austrian Shelter Network calls on every government to put children’s rights over father’s rights and, amongst others, to enforce mandatory training for family judges. Urszula Nowakowska from Centrum Praw Kobiet expressed her hope that measures at the European level “change the at-titudes of our ministers” who tend towards joint custody as a general rule. Automatic joint custody is the central claim of the fathers’ rights movements. Anita Heiliger from KOFRA, Germany, as well as other experts from Germany, Italy and Sweden warned of the conse-quences automatic joint custody implies for women and children.

Migrant women represent one of the most vulnerable groups in society, as they suffer from double discrimination as migrants and as women. WAVE calls on every govern-ment to provide women with independent legal status. As long as women are dependent on their partners, they run a particular high risk of gender-based violence. The econom-ic crisis implies also a political crisis. “Women and children have the right to a life free of violence, so we hope that in this time of crisis we do not step backwards”, emphasized Rosa Logar from the Domestic Abuse Intervention Cen-tre in Austria. She expressed her conviction that positive changes are indeed always possible. “We can change!” q

________________________________For further information, please contact: Sonja Plessl, tel.: +43 (0) 1 548 2720-20, [email protected]

Maria Rösslhumer, tel.: +43 (0) 664 7930 789, [email protected]

NETWORKING

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Clockwise from left: During Workshop Session; Judy Jover, Babaylan-Denmark’s representative with PICUM’s Programme Officer Eve Geddie from Belgium (ctr), Entire organizers of the conference and Opening of the conference by Jolanta Kwasniewska, Former First Lady of Poland.


A wedding party to em-power women

Women in wedding dresses crowded in front of Copenhagen City Hall last Septem-ber 18th. They were there to demand that politicians take them and their issues seri-ously at the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York, September 2010.

The third Millennium Development Goal or MDG3 for short, is gender equality, and while several of the eight goals are headed in the right direction, the goal of empowering women has fallen behind – that goal has not gotten enough attention anywhere. New Millennium focus on women

That is why KULU – Women and Development, the only Danish development organisation that focuses specifically on women’s rights – threw a “wedding party” to remind the Danish politicians to work for women of the world and their opportunities. The new declaration on the Millennium Development Goals agreed upon at the Summit did, indeed, turn out to increase focus on gender and empowerment of women. How the eight goals can be achieved through, and how they impact, women and girls, is now an integral part of the spirit of the MDGs. Enable girls’ rights in Africa: MaliKULU – Women and Development has been working for women’s rights in developing countries since 1976. The rights and empowerment of women is crucial to the development of all countries. In Mali, women do not have equal rights with men, and many women cannot access the rights they do have. They or their families cannot afford to pay fpr their birth or marriage certificates or identity cards – or, indeed, do not think a woman even needs these papers. KULU’s campaign “Enable girls’ rights in Mali” raises money to buy these official papers that secure women and girls’ rights in the eyes of the law, so they can go to school, vote, travel, and get divorced without losing their children or their homes. With these papers, they can verify their existence, and make a difference to themselves, their fami-lies, and to Mali – and they can create a better future. Read more and support the campaign here: www.givenpigeret.dk

Martha Madsen Communication Officer, KULU


MDG 3


‘’IMPORTED PINOY CHRISTMAS’’

By: Kenneth John Dapunan

It’s probably true that nothing compares with Christmas celebrations in the Philippines espe-cially when it comes to our fascinating traditions--big Christmas trees, star lanterns or parols, color-ful lights outside dazzling after dark, children’s caroling, Filipino-style foods like lechon, (suck-ling pig, ed.) which I miss terribly and of course Filipino or Pinoy Christmas wouldn’t be complete without misa de gallo (midnight mass starting from the 16th of December to Christmas eve,ed) and Noche Buena .(the final midnight table full of delicacies equivalent to the Nordic Christmas eve dinner at 6 pm, after the Christmas mass at 4 pm, ed.) These kinds of simple yet wonderful traditions truly give joy to our hearts particularly when cele-brated together with our loved ones back home in the Philippines.

Two years ago on 24 Decem-ber 2008, I expe-rienced Christ-mas celebrations abroad which I celebrated with my new friends. In other words, with-out my dear family, relatives and old good friends. My mother was not there to call me: “Ken, its time for noche buena!” It was without my father too who always cooks roast duck for me, my loving sisters and my one and only brother who gives me a hug just to say, ‘’Merry Christmas my little bro!’’ My aunts and uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces who precisely visit us on this particular day were not there either.. That would then make for an unforgettable sad experience especially since one is meant to be happy because it’s Christmas time!

I recall sitting down by a couch near the window…. And it was snowing outside. While I was looking at the snow falling down from sky, I could feel the

tears from my eyes doing the same. I didn’t know if I should be glad or frown instead. Then a small voice whispered to my ears saying, “the beauty of a White Christmas is nothing without my family”.

Getting over this kind of predicament seems not easy. Unless the fighting spirit reigns within you and you have the courage to deal with your loneli-ness. What I did was, I knelt down and then prayed

to God. And all of a sudden I was enlightened and had the strength to open up my mind about the situation I was facing.. I have come to realize that the common effect of being quite far away from my loved ones was home-sickness. Even though it was not easy, con-sequently, I did overcome it.

A year ago later, I and my newfound friends decided to have some fun, by creating something new and different. We decided to bring the Pinoy Christmas here to Europe. We celebrated our Christmas as if we were in the Philippines. The food we cooked were all Pinoy-style namely

adobo, pansit, lumpia, puto, embutido, and some other Filipino delicacies. We had, at least one hand-made parol (star lantern) hung in my room. We sang different kinds of Tagalog Christmas jin-gles. We ended the party traditionally with dancing and exchanging of gifts.

So far, Christmas celebrations have become more fun for me than before. I have met a lot of nice com-panions who like to hang around with me. I feel at home now knowing the fact that there are many Filipino groups and communities who can help me out certainly. And obviously, Filipino Christmas gatherings are plentiful. Like the common Filipino expression, ‘Iba talaga ang Paskong Pinoy.’’

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CHRISTMAS FEATURE


CHRISTMAS FEATURE

MORE ROOM at the INN : a kind of Christmas Story

by Lumen Aquaria

Pre-story

For it was writ-ten...there was a bright star in the East which guided the wise men, the 3 Kings in their quest to find the Christchild,

with their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh..This was one of my favourite childhood pictures that signified Christ-mas: the receiving of gifts, the anticipation to find a treasure in my medyas (socks actually), ittle brown Americans that we were, hung the night before Christmas, chimneyless in the Philippine landscape of payags (nipa huts) in the barrios and bahay bato (stonehouses) in the towns.

The other picture was the Belen or creche almost every home rich or poor displayed when I was a child. Ours was in foldable cardboard to which we added small animals in plastic and in wood to the cradle where the baby Jesus was, watched by angels and his parents: Mary and her husband to be, Joseph, the lowly carpenter from Nazareth. They ended here in the manger because having walked for days, in order to register the prospective birth for the census, were denied a place for the night even though Mary was highly pregnant. There was no room at the inn that particular cold winter night in Bethlehem.

A not so Danish ChristmasAnd so it came to pass that Danish Christmases be spent in warmth, in the bosom of one’s family. And if as a lucky parent, one’s children have many friends, then one has to lengthen the Christmas table! Our eldest, the most affable of the three invited her boyfriend and his brother and together they had a Chinese student friend who was a long way from his home, Shanghai, so naturally he was invited too. My mother in law had a couple of lonely cousins who lived on their own, so pretty soon the “wings” of the old pine table were now out-stretched to capacity.

On Christmas eve, public transport in Denmark is at a stand-still at around 6 pm when Danes have their Christmas dinner, the pinnacle of many weeks of Christmas rush that put me off early on: the mad shopping, the gløgg parties, the jule frokost or Christmas office parties, abhorred by spouses who were not invited and by the bosses who had to finance it. Neither are able to prevent the coming catastrophe: divorce

after married people fall in love with office matess under the mistletoe or the maternity leaves 9 months after....but this is digressing a bit. Back in track...

This particular Christmas eve dinner, we also had to provide transport and most of our guests were student musicians who played at nearby churches to earn a few kroners so we had to mobilize our battered Saab as Taxi service. When my hus-band had to fetch the latest arrival, who was delayed. While waiting he could see from the corner of his eye a lone foreign woman with a small suitcase, lost in minus 7 degrees C. She obviously had no map to guide her on foot towards her desti-nation! My husband asked if he could help her, told her there were definitely no more taxis. She showed him her cousin’s address, the cousin who was supposed to meet her at the now closed train station. But when they drove to the address, it was pitch dark. Obviously, her cousin was not home. .

A quick decision to extend the Christmas table further and add another nationality to the UN-like gathering at our hum-ble hearth. Everyone was wide-eyed when my husband ex-plained we had another guest at the Christmas table as he came in with two guests, one old and one new! Now most Danes will stick with the traditional fare of pork crackling and roast duck and the obligatory red cabbage, caramel potatoes brown sauce. Plus the ris a’l’amande or almond rice pudding served with warm cherry sauce. We always had this fare, at least while my mother in law was still with us.

After we finished dinner, it was time for the tradition of ex-change of gifts. Luckily, we always have a lot of extra gifts in our closets and I could apportion a few to the special guests, and all signed by Sheba, which was actually our ageing housecat. Our Tanzanian friend did not get to sleep at the inn. Her cousin turned up to fetch her. She had actually travelled -fled? from Germany we found out later, Her slightly visible bruises maybe had something to do with her trip to Denmark on Christmas eve..

The message of Christmas -and of Christianity-is really to love your fellow human being as you love yourself. It is the story of the good Samaritan...when it comes down to basics, the real spirit of Christmas and of Christianity is that we must make room in the inn, and open our doors -our hearts, our homes- to those who are needy, in need of shelter and soli-darity.

In my world that translates into asylum seekers, refugees, trafficked women, molested children, all kinds of misfits who we, as established society, tend to turn our backs on. Christ-mas is about being merciful, magnanimous, and givng back people their dignity. In roominess, Yes, we have plenty of Room at the Inn if we have the good will! Christmas today and everyday?

Have a Meaningful Christmas.

1 Philippine Independence Day, Copenhagen Culture Center, June 12, 20102 Summer Sport, Klampenborg August 08, 20103 Au Pair Info Event, Borup Højskole, September 04, 20104 WAVE Confrence, Warsaw, Poland, October 14-18, 20105 Annual General Assembly, EMKR Verdenskultur Center6 Copenhagen International Day, Nørrebrogade,August 28, 20107 Expat Day , Copenhagen City Hall, October 04, 20108 Holly Jolly Christmas Party Nakskov, December 04, 2010

9 PaskOdense, Christmas Party Hockeyklub, November 06, 201010 Jingle Bell Rock Christmas Party, Sct Anne, November 19, 201011 Give Love on Christmas Day Aalborg, December 11, 201012 Consular Outreach & Passporting December 10-11, 201013 Au Pair Info Event, CCC October 23, 201014 PaSkonderborg, Pasko na, Fiesta Pa Skanderborg, November 27, 201015 FILCOM-DENMARK, December 10, 2010

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Evidence is rife in our own art, on magazine covers, live on TV, from Amorsolo’s portraits of country lasses bathing in streams to models conquering the the international ramp, or beauty queens for whom grace has been the winning X-factor.

The soulfulness of the Filipina shines through, reflecting in her confidence the best of both worlds, East and West.

Her eloquence of spirit spells sheer elegance.

In a country where natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes and volcano eruptions are common occurrences, and which has experienced the vagaries of colonialism three times in its short history, the figure of the loving and devoted Filipina is akin to a ray of sunshine, the amihan (wind from the east) or the land itself. An inherent part of her character that cannot be overlooked is her exceptional capacity for love and devotion.

D E V O T I O N - Cesar Ruiz Aquino Tribute to FILIPINA


TRIBUTE

20

POUL KROGHConsul General

OPENMonday to Friday

10:00 - 12:00

Jægersborg Alle’ 16, 2. sal DK-2920 Charlottenlund DenmarkTelephone +45 2563 6711 Fax +45 3940 1889 Mobile +45 4013 7711

www.filippinsk-konsulat.dk mail: [email protected]

Integration and expatsExcerpted from Copenhagen Post, Vol.13, Issue 49, 10-16 December

The release of the Expat Study of 2010 highlights a number of challenges for those involved in attracting foreign workers to Denmark. The study shows decision makers that there are still major obstacles to expat’s integration despite efforts to alleviate the situation. These obstacles need to be tackled as it is estimated that Denmark will require upwards of 100 000 highly educated workers by the year 2020. The study was conducted by the Copenhagen Post with the support of a number of public and private agencies including the Immigration Ministry, the Greater Copenhagen Regional Council and the Technical University of Denmark. The survey apparently is also about the “openness “of Danes towards foreigners or lack of it since of the 1500 who were surveyed when asked about this question 43% said Less good/Not good, meaning Danes can improve on this point, although there was also a significant number who thought otherwise. Indeed an observation was made that maybe Danes are not unfriendly but that their social circles are difficult to enter by foreigners.

The aspect of non-working spouses who may be unhappy was cited also as a factor of lack of integration or that the working foreigner might not stay long in Denmark. Many in the study agreed that learning the Danish language was key, esp. to finding jobs. Only 1/6 of all expats had ready jobs upon arrival. 60% have yet to find work and this is made difficult by the fact that most jobs will already be filled by natives thru social networks.

Demonstration against ”Point System” policy on Danish migrants

Ever since the ruling Conservatives and Liberals with their par-liamentary support, the extreme right Danish People’s Party, came up with yet another amend-ment to the Aliens Law, this time to implement the so-called “Point

system”, there has been resistance in many segments of Danish society. The point system means that Danish citizens can settle in Denmark with their foreign born spouses only when the spouses can earn enough points such as higher education (from top 20 universities in the world(!), fluent Danish skills, etc. plus the Danish part has to put up 100 000 DKK (ca. 20 000 USD) bond. The Danish Aliens Law has been amended 18 times during the last 8 years, increasingly to prevent foreigners to be able to settle in Denmark.“Danes Worldwide” Chair, ex-Ambassador Christopher Bramsen, was one of the visible speakers at a demonstra-

tion the 8th of December before the Parliament, arranged by the organization, Marriage without Frontiers and with speak-ers, aside from the 5000 member “Danes Worldwide”, also the labour union FOA, and two small but principally humane political parties, the Social Liberals and the Unity List party. Because the two top opposition parties (Socialdemocrats and the Socialist People’s Party) are also in agreement with the government about the Point System –they are now accused of pandering to the right so as to win the next elec-tions- there has been registered a shift of voters from these parties to the smaller parties on the left and center.

Nobel Prize Awardee for Microcredit Bank Initiative In Financial Scandal Excerpted from Kristeligt Dagblad, December 10; translation by Worldscan Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi Nobel Prize winner

for Peace in 2006 awarded for his innovative microcredit banking (Grameen Bank mostly servicing women) has come under fire in a newly screened Norwegian TV documentary entitled “Imprisoned in Microcredit.” The thesis of the film is that 608 million Kroner of development aid from mainly Norwary and Sweden was withdrawn from Yunus’ Grameen Bank, then deposited into another account and used to set up a telephone company instead. These amounts were originally intended as microcredit loans to poverty stricken Bangladeshi women.

Norad, the Norwegian equivalent of Danida, which donated most of the funds, already discovered the swindle back in 1998 but first come out with it publicly 12 years after, in the TV documentary screened by NRK, the Norwegian Broad-casting System, or long after the Nobel Prize had been awarded to Muhammad Yunus in 2006. Apparently Norad investigated the matter when it came up already in 1997, when Yunus denied the allegations. First in 1998 when the Nowegians threatened to take back their donation did Yunus go to a meeting in Norway where he promised to pay back the 170 millions, after which Norad went along with making the documents confidential, until this year when NRK came upon the facts and decided to make a TV documentary ex-pose about it. The rest of the amount was donated by SIDA or the Swedish Development Agency, but the Swedes have made neither noise nor bones about it. So far.

The beautiful ideal of a Bank for the Poor which the Grameen Microcrdit Bank was conceived to be, started by Yunus in 1976 has 8.5 milllion women borrowers today. Some researchers of late have avowed that the Bank, dependent on the good will of people who want to help the developing world, for example in the Scandinavian countries has hoodwinked its supporters into thinking that microcredit is the panacea for poverty says a Professor from Cam-bridge. Not all women can be entrepreneurs nor can they support their families in this manner. In fact many of the poor women are so enmeshed in a web of microloans that have brought them to total bankruptcy.

FOTOS from Ny I Danmark


INTEGRATION & DEVELOPMENT

21


SARA STILLING OG KUNSTMESSE

SPECIAL FEATURE

af Georgina Mongaya Høgsholm

”Enten vil man gerne hænge sig selv, eller også vil man holde et gigantisk party”Sort på hvidt. Og alligevel ikke. De mørke tuschstreger af dyr, mennesker, ting og natur smelter sammen i hybrid-lignende skab-ninger på detaljeret baggrund, og indimellem med tilråb af tve-tydige kommentarer på skrift.

Det er ikke første gang Sara Stilling udstiller på Kunstmes-sen. I februar 2010 udstillede hun på Copenhagen Art Fair under temaet Save The World, og dengang lå tanken om en fremtid uden dyr til grund for arbejdet: ”Er der nogle i frem-tiden som vil forstå at vi har ædt alle dyr og taget dem på som beklædning? Jeg fores-tillede mig verden om 300 år og i mine illustrationer klædte jeg mennesket ud i dyr, mens jeg tænkte, måske vil vi gerne være dyr, måske vil vi gerne starte forfra…”

Der er klare tråde mellem kun-sten og hendes tidligere karriere som designer i modebranchen. Menneskets selvforståelse gennemarbejdes og kommer til udtryk i det materielle. Men der hører ligheden også op. Sara Stilling har trang til at skabe, ikke for kommerciel vindings skyld, men for at tømme ho-vedet, se angsten i øjnene og kaste sig ud på ukendt grund. Det er ikke altid lige sjovt, til gengæld er det så tæt på frihed som vi måske kommer. ”Sådan er det at være kreativ”, beskriver Sara Stilling sin kunstnertilværelse, ”enten vil man hænge sig selv, eller også vil man holde et gigantisk party.”

Frygt og frihed spiller bag kulisserne af de færdige værker, og på tragikomisk vis kan forskellen være svær at få øje, når de samme ting som skræmmer,

også er dem som fascinerer. På den ene side frygter hun afhængigheden af dagligdagsindhold som bil, hjem og fast job. På den anden side drømmer hun om forankring og sikkerhed. ”Min frygt har altid været

at stå stille, blive et sted, committe sig til nogen og noget. Måske er det derfor jeg alligevel gør det. For at se om det virkelig er så slemt. Og nu skal vi til at have et barn, og det skræmmer mig mere end noget som helst andet. Jeg lader som om at jeg tager det i stiv arm, men hold op, der findes ikke noget mere skræm-mende. Men måske er det også det, som gør at jeg bliver nødt til at prøve det.”

Og måske er det barnet og familielivet på vej, og udsigten til – i hvert fald for en periode – en mere still-estående tilværelse, der sæt-ter en hidtil anden grundtone i gang for den kommende udstilling. Spørger man Sara Stilling er fremtiden sta-digvæk et aktuelt tema, men man aner mindre tvivl, og i stedet en større drøm. ”Lige nu er jeg optaget af de her ’jeg vil have mere’-tanker, som jeg tror de fleste men-nesker tænker. De fleste drømmer om at blive bedre til deres job, en bedre forældre, en bedre kæreste. Eller vil de bare have en andens job, en andens krop, en andens kæreste? De fleste ting i vores samfund handler om at blive bedre, rigere, sundere, tyndere… Og på samme tid er vi i en periode af finan-skrise, et sted hvor vi hver især prøver at genoprette et tilfredsstillende liv, eller være tilfredse med det vi har, i for-hold til det vi havde før. Vi ser op til folk som gør det godt, vi vil gerne være mere som

dem. Vi har brug for vores idoler, de giver os håb.”

Om det er frygten eller friheden der fører penslen, kan man få at opleve på Kunst, Mad &Vin festivalen. Sara Stilling udstiller på stand nr. 52.

Begge Sara og Georgina er dansk-filippinere som iøvrigt kalder sig selv Danish Plus, dvs.Dansk med mere da de udover dansk har andet fremmed kultur i baggagen. q

_______________________Læs mere på www.sarastilling.dk og www.kunstmesse.dk

With the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein tells the ages when different parts of the body start to lose their battle with time. BRAIN - Starts ageing at 20.As we get older, the number of nerve cells - or neurons - in the brain decrease. We start with around 100 billion, but in our 20s this number starts to decline. By 40, we could be losing up to 10,000 per day, affect-ing memory, co-ordination and brain function. GUT - Starts ageing at 55. A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and ‘friendly’ bacteria. But, levels of friendly bacteria in the gut drop significantly after 55, particularly in the large intestine,says Tom MacDonald, Professor of Immunology at Barts and The London Medical School. As a result, we suffer from poor digestion and an increased risk of gut disease.

Constipation is more likely as we age, as the flow of digestive juices from the stomach, liver, pancreas and small intestine slows down. BREASTS - Start ageing at 35.BY their mid-30s, women’s breasts start losing tissue and fat, reducing size and fullness. Sagging starts properly at 40 and the areola (the area surrounding the nipple) can shrink considerably. BLADDER - Starts ageing at 65.Loss of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65. Women are more vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause, declining es-trogen levels make tissues in the urethra - the tube through which urine passes - thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder capacity in an older adult generally is about half that of a younger person - about two cups in a 30-year-old and one cup in a 70-year-old. ....

LUNGS - Start ageing at 20.Lung capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20. By the age of 40, some people are already experiencing breathlessness. This is partly because the muscles and the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up. VOICE - Starts ageing at 65.Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in the voice box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of the voice. A woman’s voice may become huskier and lower in pitch, whereas a man’s might become thinner and higher.

EYES - Start ageing at 40.Glasses are the norm for many over-40s as failing eyesight kicks in - usually long-sightedness, affecting our ability to see objects up close. HEART - Starts ageing at 40.The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older. This is because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can harden or become blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the coro-nary arteries - caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply to the heart is then reduced, resulting in painful angina. Men over 45 and women over 55 are at greater risk of a heart attack. LIVER - Starts ageing at 70.This is the only organ in the body which seems to defy the aging process.

KIDNEYS - Starts ageing at 50.With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons) that remove waste from the bloodstream starts to reduce in middle age. PROSTATE - Starts ageing at 50.The prostate often becomes enlarged with age, leading to problems such as increased need to urinate. This is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia and affects half of men over 50, but rarely those under 40. It occurs when the prostate absorbs large amounts of the male sex hor-mone testosterone, which increases the growth of cells in the prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but the condition can increase this to the size of a tangerine. BONES - Start ageing at 35.Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and replaced by bone-building cells called osteoblasts - a process called bone turnover. Children’s bone growth is rapid - the skeleton takes just two years to renew itself completely. In adults, this can take ten years. Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing. But at 35 bone loss begins as part of the natural ageing process. TEETH - Start ageing at 40.As we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away bacteria, so teeth and gums are more vulnerable to decay. Receding gums - when tissue is lost from gums around the teeth - is common in adults over 40. MUSCLES - Start ageing at 30.Muscle is constantly being built up and broken down, a process which is well balanced in young adults. However, by the time we’re 30, break-down is greater than buildup. Once adults reach 40, they start to lose between 0.5 and 02 per cent of their muscle each year. Regular exercise can help prevent this. HEARING - Starts ageing mid-50s.More than half of people over 60 lose hearing because of their age. SKIN - Starts ageing mid-20s.The skin starts to age naturally in your mid-20s. TASTE AND SMELL - Start ageing at 60.We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue. This number can halve later in life. After we turn 60, taste and smell gradually decline, partly as a result of the normal ageing process. FERTILITY - Starts ageing at 35.Female fertility begins to decline after 35, as the number and quality of eggs in the ovaries start to fall. The lining of the womb may become thinner, making it less likely for a fertilised egg to take, and also creating an environment hostile to sperm. HAIR - Starts ageing at 30.Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s. Hair is made in tiny pouches just under the skin’s surface, known as follices. A hair normally grows from each follicle for about three years, is then shed, and a new hair grows. Most people will have some grey hair by the age of 35. When we are young, our hair is coloured by the pigments produced by cells in the hair follicle known as melanocytes. q

HEALTH

AGEING PROCESS ...... INSIGHTFUL !

WE all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now leading clinicians have revealed the exact age when different body parts start to decline, most alarming being the brain and lungs.

French doctors have found that the quality of men’s’ sperm starts to deteriorate by 35, so that by the

time a man is 45 a third of pregnancies end in miscarriage.


ANGELA EPSTEIN, Freelance Health JournalistFoto from Reforming NY


ANNIVERSARY

TWENTY Y E A R S of KAPATI-RANBabaylan congratulates a sister organization in the Netherlands that just turned 20. Kapatiran’s birth is unique: it was both an end and a beginiing. Like many Filipino organi-zations around the globe, it was discord that led to the founding of Kapatiran (brotherhood) Regrettably this is a very familiar dy-namic with Filipino organiza-tions wherever they may be. This frequent visitor to the land of the tulips and wind-mills, and who lived there for 7 years, has woven a mosaic of recalls, observations and analysis..

As longtime Chair Wads Wijnberg-Tiongson recalls, “Like orphaned children we had to reinvent ourselves and had to look for a new beginning to continue the work most of us started in Samahan. Powered by the desire to help other Fili-pino migrants in the Netherlands and elsewhere, and to as-sist poor communities in the Philippines, Kapatiran was born. It was 1990.

“I have always been an avid supporter of children’s welfare and education and special projects oin the rural areas in the Philippines. I was real glad when the Basic Literacy Program was launched in 2000 says Irma Galias who first got involved with Kapatiran in 1994. Irma actually was for a short time Chairperson of Kapatiran but withdrew when her workload in the music world increased.

Sally Rousset-Viegelmann (now resident of Paris) was one of the original co-founders of Kapatiran.“I thank my friends in Kapatiran for giving me this space, which I would like to use to honor two remarkable Kapatiran members who just left us –our friends Lily and Jimmy. I will limit myself to two incidents that remain in my mind and which have accompanied me

through the years. One is Lily’s (Ankone) pioneer-ing role in the history of Filipina migrants in the Netherlands…which was used as basis for mo-bilizing and organizing Filipino migrants in the country.

As to Jimmy (Ayong) I cannot forget the won-derful days when we hopped from town to town, participating in solidarity information evenings on the Phil-ippines by perform-ing our traditional dances. What was important to us then and now, which both shared with us while they were still around, was this vision of bettering

our societies. Liv-ing in France today, and being part of a Filipino migrant

woman’s group called Babaylan, is this ongoing vision. Our struggles continue in different ways, and in France, the con-text of more rigid migration laws, has rendered the lives of our women still precarious and sometimes inhuman.

Greater unity and solidarity between Netherlands-based Fili-pinos and local communities in the Philippines through small scale and self-reliance projects are goals, while organizing information for awareness-raising. Since 2003, the multi-culturality of the organization was reflected in the choice of a Dutch Chairperson. Mr.Wim Vermeiden. q

In 2008, Kapatiran received from the Philippine government the prestigious Presidential LINKAPIL (Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino) Award. Nitnit Mongaya Hoegsholm

STICHTING KAPATIRANP.O. Box 82673009 AG RotterdamThe NetherlandsTel.: +31-(0)10-2860931 Email: [email protected]

Myth on the origin of

Makahiya (Tickle me Plant)

Once upon a time, there were a rich couple named Dondong and Iska. They had a 12 year old daughter named Maria whom they love deeply.

Maria was a responsible daugh-ter, hard working and kindheart-ed. Because of her traits, every-body loved Maria.

Maria was also a shy young lady and because of her shyness, she was not fond of speaking with other people. She would blush every time somebody would greet her and she would just nod her head and wouldn’t utter a word. Because of this, she would of-ten hide herself in her room so she wouldn’t have any chance of mingling with other people.

Maria loved taking of her flowers. She had a beautiful flower garden that was popular in their town. She took good care of the flowers in her garden. She loved it there; it’s in her garden that she found refuge and happiness.

One day, the townspeople heard horrifying news. A group of bandits came to a nearby town and killed all the people who tried to hide their money and other belongings from them. The next day, the group of bandits had reached the town where the family of Dondong, Iska and their daughter Maria lived. Don-dong saw the group of bandits were heating towards them, so he decided to hide Maria in her flower gar-den to protect her from being killed by the bandits as well.

Iska and Dondong hid inside their house, frightened and shaken. She heard the bandits crushed their door and at that moment she silently prayed to protect them from whatever the bandits will do to them.Iska cried out, “Oh Lord, my Lord, please save my daughter Maria.” At this time, the bandits had already broken down their door. They went in and hit Don-dong on his head, he lost consciousness and fell down on the floor. Iska, on the other hand, tried to run and escape but she too was hit on her head and fell down and also lost consciousness.

The bandits knew they had a daughter and they searched the whole house to find the little girl but to no avail they couldn’t find Maria. They took all their money and jewelries and they left.

When Dondong and Iska regained con-sciousness, the bandits had already fled. They

immediately ran towards the flower garden to find their young daughter Maria. Much to their surprise, Maria was gone! They tried to look for her everywhere but still they did not find Maria. They went back to the flower garden and searched on every corner but they didn’t find Maria.

“My daughter! They took away my daughter!” Iska was frantic and scared.

Suddenly, Dondong felt something pricked his foot. He was shocked with what he saw. He saw a small plant that quickly closes its leaves. It was the first time they ever saw such a unique plant. He stooped down to look at the plant more closely; Iska did the same thing too. They saw that the plant would open up and will close its leaves again once touched. Because of this, they believed that the plant was Maria. God made Maria into a plant to save her from those ban-dits.

Both Dondong and Iska couldn’t stop their tears from falling. As their tears dropped on the plant, they be-came little flowers that looked like little roses.

From then on, Dondong and Iska took good care of the plant. They believed and they knew that the plant was indeed their daughter Maria. Just like their daughter, the plant was also quite shy. Because of that, they called the plant “makahiya”, because they believe the plant was as shy as Maria. And from then on, the plant had been called “makahiya”. q From Alibata Philippine Mythology & Folklore

FILIPINIANA

25

The

World's Most

Expensive Cities 2010

For Americans overseas, exchange rates and cost-of-living adjustments can make living over-seas more expensive than back home.New York ranks only No. 29. If you think $43 is too much to pay for lunch, you shouldn't live in Oslo. According to "ECA International", a global human resources company, that's how much an average lunch costs in Norway's capital. But Oslo is only the second-most expensive city on ECA's ranking of 399 global locations. And while the price of an average lunch in Tokyo is a comparatively modest $17.86, other costs, such as a $22 movie ticket and an $8.47 kilo of rice, earn it the dubious honor as the world's most expensive city.ECA's ranking is based on a basket of 128 goods that includes food, daily goods, clothing, electronics, and entertainment, but not rent, utilities, and school fees, which are not typically included in a cost-of-living adjustment. ECA re-searchers and local partners gathered prices in September 2009 and March 2010 for domestic and imported brands that are internationally recognized—such as Kellogg's cereal or Sap-poro beer. While lower-priced goods and ser-vices are available in these markets, the study estimated the cost of supporting the standard of living expected by expatriate employees. Some of the cities, such as Seoul and Stockholm, jumped up in the ranking as the local currency strengthened against the U.S. dollar. While a slowdown in business may tempt employers to scale back compensation, "recessions only last so long" and retaining top talent in these places is critical to companies' success when the global economy recovers.

1. Tokyo, JapanRank in 2009: 2Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $18Can of beer from grocer: $3.37One kg of rice: $8.47One dozen eggs: $3.78Entertainment: Movie ticket: $22Appliances: Washing machine: $879The strength of the yen has brought Tokyo back to the No. 1 spot on ECA International's ranking for the first time since 2005. In addition to the costs above, rent for a two-bedroom apart-ment for expats is typically more than $5,000 per month in Tokyo, according to data from EuroCost International. While visitors need more pocket money here than in any other city, the monthly consumer price index in Tokyo's wards has actually dropped year-on-year for 14 straight months as of May 2010, based on figures from Japan's statistics bureau.2. Oslo, NorwayRank in 2009: 8Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $43Can of beer from grocer: $4.71One kg of rice: $5.66One dozen eggs: $6.72

Entertainment: Movie ticket: $16Appliances: Washing machine: $880Oslo rose above Copenhagen as the most expensive city in Europe when the kroner strengthened against other currencies. ECA International says an upward trend in oil prices, a short recession, and Norway's reputation as a safe haven for investors contributed to the kroner's rise.3. Luanda, AngolaRank in 2009: 1Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $47Can of beer from grocer: $1.62One kg of rice: $4.73One dozen eggs: $4.75Entertainment: Movie ticket: $13Appliances: Washing machine: $912Angola's capital slipped to third place this year as the kwanza depreciated. Prices in Luanda have actually increased in the past year, but currency changes offset any inflation, according to ECA International. In addition to everyday goods, EuroCost International estimates that the average expat pays more than $3,500 per month for a two-bedroom flat in Luanda.4. Nagoya, JapanRank in 2009: 3Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $19Can of beer from grocer: $3.08One kg of rice: $9.14One dozen eggs: $3.33Entertainment: Movie ticket: $20Appliances: Washing machine: $621Japan's fourth most populous city, Nagoya is also among the country's most expensive. The city ranks No. 1 for the cost of rice: $9.14 per kilogram, according to ECA International data. As Japan's auto hub, the Nagoya area is an im-portant center of business: about 44 percent of automobiles produced in Japan are made here, according to the Greater Nagoya Initiative Cen-ter. Such companies as Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, and General Motors have headquarters, manufacturing operations, or distribution points in the Nagoya region.5. Yokohama, JapanRank in 2009: 4Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $17.39Can of beer from grocer: $3.26One kg of rice: $6.54One dozen eggs: $3.72Entertainment: Movie ticket: $19.50Appliances: Washing machine: $630About half an hour by commuter train from Tokyo, this port city has active shipping, biotechnology, and semiconductor industries. Yokohama is one of the world's most expensive cities, but companies here enjoy lower operating costs compared with the nearby capital. Nissan opened a new headquarters in Yokohama this year and reportedly will sell its office in Tokyo to cut costs.6. Stavanger, NorwayRank in 2009: 14Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $33Can of beer from grocer: $4.76One kg of rice: $5.71One dozen eggs: $6.34Entertainment: Movie ticket: $15.50Appliances: Washing machine: $749This small seaside city earned its riches from oil in the North Sea and has become known as

Norway's petroleum capital. Stavangerexpats.com says food expenses in Norway are about 50 percent higher than the EU average: A can of soda is about $2.80, and a beer at a bar can be $12.7. Kobe, JapanRank in 2009: 6Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $16Can of beer from grocer: $3.09One kg of rice: $8.57One dozen eggs: $2.81Entertainment: Movie ticket: $20Appliances: Washing machine: $470The city has one of Japan's largest ports and has become home to many heavy machinery, iron and steel, and food product companies. Ac-cording to the Japan External Trade Organiza-tion, 117 foreign and foreign-affiliated companies have offices in Kobe. As the price of Kobe beef, the style of high-grade meat named after the city, suggests, food is costly here, as are other living expenses.8. Copenhagen, DenmarkRank in 2009: 7Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $36Can of beer from grocer: $2.10One kg of rice: $4.85One dozen eggs: $6.99Entertainment: Movie ticket: $15Appliances: Washing machine: $1,196A 2009 "survey" of 73 international cities by UBS found that employees in Copenhagen have the highest income. Places with higher salaries of-ten have higher prices, but residents here enjoy good living standards overall. Some examples of the cost of living: Renting a DVD costs about $8 per night, a pair of women's jeans is more than $150, and a one-way ticket on public transport costs about $3.70.9. Geneva, SwitzerlandRank in 2009: 9Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $30Can of beer from grocer: $2.02One kg of rice: $3.81One dozen eggs: $7.64Entertainment: Movie ticket: $16Appliances: Washing machine: $1,304Geneva, home to many companies and U.N. or-ganizations, is one of the most expensive cities for food and household appliances. Food prices in Switzerland are 45 percent more expensive than in the rest of Western Europe, and the cost of electronics and appliances in Geneva is among the highest worldwide, according to a 2009 UBS report.10. Zurich, Switzerland Rank in 2009: 10Food: Lunch at a restaurant: $25Can of beer from grocer: $2.01One kg of rice: $3.36One dozen eggs: $5.81Entertainment: Movie ticket: $16Appliances: Washing machine: $974Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, is the country's main business center and the headquarters city for many financial companies, including UBS and Credit Suisse. Although Zurich had the greatest number of company bankruptcies in Switzerland last year, according to Dun & Bradstreet, the inflation rate started to increase again this year after falling in 2009.Source: “ECA International”Vanessa Wong, Business Week


ECONOMY


L e t t e r s from the OutlandsLakambini SitoyManila Times column for November 11, 2010

A blessing and a curse

A kababayan once observed that Filipinos living in Denmark generally don’t speak the Danish language as well as other immigrants, because they resort to English too often.

With this worry at the back of my mind, I approached my first Danish classes, and for a while my perfor-mance seemed to belie this dire prediction. I seemed to do well. I wasn’t a fast learner of the grammar, and for the longest time my vocabulary was limited to whatever appeared in our exercises and handouts. But I got so much praise for my pronunciation that I gained confidence enough to speak a few greetings in that language, when meeting my husband’s friends and family at gatherings and such. That part of the ritual over, we then shifted to English, because it was so much easier.

And so my Danish plateaued. I’d taken two basic courses in 2006. Back in the Philippines the following year, I taught Communications and English literature to college students, and wrote fiction, likewise in Eng-lish. While Danish was a trophy I could show off to my friends from time to time, it was also an annoyance that loomed over my future.

The truth was, I equated English with a high degree of education, a history of travel, and liberal thought. Danish, through an unfortunate series of personal en-counters, represented closed-mindedness, eurocen-tricism, prejudice, fear.

My Modul 5 teacher once observed that people from the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia tend to do poorly in the Danish language. The main reason is that they use English in nearly all communicative situations in Denmark. In this they are abetted by the Danes themselves, some of whom have native- or near-native speaker proficiency, and often by an in

ternational corporate culture where English is the lin-gua franca. So they live in Denmark for the duration of their job postings or their marriages, and in that span of time exist in a kind of plastic bubble, isolated from the language of the natives.

I think he meant to class me alongside North Ameri-cans, Australians and Brits – and that sure was fun, since these folks possess a cache attributable to their relative wealth and fine careers and, yes, the fact that they’re white.

But I’m Filipino and, apart from the fact that it’s the language in which I read in and express myself best in, my reasons for clinging to English are a bit more complicated.

I didn’t grow up speaking standard English. I learned to. I made a conscious choice.

Apart from a moderate amount of reading that broad-ened my vocabulary, and a great deal of private writing that sharpened my communication skills, I watched movies and did a ton of mimicry. Because I grew up literally on a university campus, I had more exposure than the average Filipino child to the English language, but it was not of a standard variety. It was Filipino English. It had to be distanced from, and overcome. I wasn’t the only one, and I know lots more people who did it much better than me – people who spoke and wrote like Americans though they had never once left the Philippines. And there were rewards: good grades for projects that were well-written and never mind the analysis, and later on, the better jobs.

Apart from that, I grew up surrounded by the notion of the Filipino – tiny, brown, you name it – as inferior, and that notion was dramatized most effectively in the inability to speak English. So I had my reasons not to let go of that language in Denmark, not the least be-ing political: When you are in someone’s home for a holiday dinner, and they remark that you can eat with a knife and fork, express surprise at the modern ma-chines in a typical Filipino home, and are consternat-ed because you know the James Bond movies, when your status is provisional, and the situation prevents you from being sarcastic, it’s so much easier to stick to English and thereby forge your connection with the most culturally powerful nations in the West.

It’s a pity that English, in all its breadth and beauty, could impede the process by which one integrates – probably in other parts of continental Europe as well. q

SPECIAL FEATURE

Veronica Pedrosa is the lead news presenter at the Kuala Lumpur broadcast centre of Al Jazeera English, a leading international news network.

She is a former news anchor of CNN International, BBC

World, who also was a former journalist at ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs.

She is the daughter of Filipino journalist Carmen Navarro Pedrosa, who wrote a tell-all biography on then-First Lady Imelda Marcos during the Marcos’ martial law-backed regime in the Philippines that led to the Pedrosa family’s exile to London.

She was named Best News Anchor at the Asian Television Awards 2004.

Filipina Tycoon

Loida Nicolas-Lewis is probably the richest Filipino living outside her home country. She is the chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc., a two-billion-dollar corporation of 64 companies based in 31 countries. TLC is a marketer of ice cream in Spain and

the Canary Islands, the leading manufacturer of potato chips in Ireland, and a prime distributor of beverage in the Netherlands,

Belgium, France and Thailand.

WOMEN OF THE WORLD


Compiled by Judy Jover

28

Virginia Cruz-Santos “The Incredible Animator”

She gave life to several animated characters like: The Cowboy Girl, Bullseye the horse and a little of Bugs and Woody in “Toy Story 2,” Forth Rant, Sally and Mike in “Monsters Inc.,” and Dory and some scenes of Nigel in “Finding Nemo.”

Her most recent film is “The Incredibles,” which became a top gross-er in its first week in the Philippine Cinema. Among the characters that she made were: Helen Parr – dubbed by Holly Hunter, Dash, Violet and Edna Mode.

Lisa Teresita Pacheco Macu-ja-Elizalde is a Prima Ballerina. She is the first Philippine balle-rina, and first foreigner who ever joined the Kirov Ballet in 1984. She is regarded as the most phenomenal ballerina the Philip-pines has ever produced. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Di-rector of Ballet Manila and Vice-Chairman of the Philippine UNESCO National Commission. She was also the Commissioner of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. Macuja-Elizalde is also Directress and faculty member of the Ballet Manila School – a training center for ballet professionals who are steeped in the Russian Vaganova method.

Mona Pasquil has become the first woman, first Filipino American, and first Asian American to become a lieutenant governor of Cali-

fornia.

She reached the top when Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi won the 10th Congressional District special elections to replace Representative Ellen Tauscher.

The lieutenant governor’s powers stayed with her as Garamendi’s chief

of staff. These powers include deci-sions being made at the State Lands Commission, the Board of Re-gents of the California State University and University of California, and many other panels and boards.

A Filipina of many firstsDR. ELEANOR Concepcion “Connie” Mariano is an amazing woman of many “firsts.”She is the first Filipino-American to reach the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, the first graduate of the Uniformed Services University of Medicine to reach flag officer status, the first Filipino-American who became the youngest captain in the US Navy, the first woman and first Filipino-American military woman to be appointed White House Physician, and the first woman and the first Filipino-American to be the direc-tor of the White House Medical Unit. By attending to two American presidents for more than eight years, Mariano is by far the longest serving White House physician in American history

Josie Natori (born Josefina Almeda Cruz) is a Filipina fashion designer and the CEO and founder of The Na-tori Company. Natori served as a commissioner on the White House Conference on Small Business. In March 2007 she was awarded the Order of Lakandula, one of the highest civilian awards in the Philippines. [1] In April, 2007, Natori received the “Peopling of America” Award from the Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation

The Natori Company now sells lingerie, sleepwear, loungewear, underwear and other high-end women’s fashion to upscale department stores in the US, and to at least 15 countries internationally. In addition to women’s cloth-ing, the company is also in the home furnishings industry, and in May, 2008 signed a licensing deal to sell Natori perfume. The perfume debuted in the US in September, 2009, with international distribution to follow. Natori also launched towel and eyewear lines in the Fall of 2009 as well. q

ENTERTAINMENT

HI!HI!HI!HI!HA!HA!HA!HA!

A man in Scotland calls his son in London the day before Christmas Eve and says, “I hate to ruin your day but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough”.

“Dad, what are you talking about?’” the son screams.

“We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer”, the father says. “We’re sick of each other and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Leeds and tell her”.

Frantically, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone, “Like hell they’re getting divorced”, she shouts, “I’ll take care of this”.

She calls Scotland immediately and screams at her father, “You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?”and hangs up. The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. “Done! They’re coming for Christmas - and they’re paying their own way.” -----------

How to Tell the Sex of a Fly

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her Husband stalking around with a fly swatter.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Hunting Flies” He responded.

“Oh! Killing any?”She asked.

“Yep, 3 males, 2 Females,” he replied.

Intrigued, she asked. “How can you tell them apart?”

He responded, “3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone”.-----------

Hotel Related Incident

A man checks into a hotel in New York City while on a business trip and was a bit lonely.

He thought of one of those girls you see advertised in phone booths when you’re calling for a cab.

He popped into a phone booth in Times Square near the hotel and found an ad for a girl calling herself Erogonique, a lovely girl, bending over in the photo. She had all the right curves in all the right places, beautiful long wavy hair, long graceful legs...... well, you get the picture! He copied the phone number and returned to his hotel.

When back in the room he figures, what the hell, give her a call.

‘Hello,’ the woman says. God, she sounded sexy.

‘Hi, I hear you give a great massage and I’d like you to come to my room and give me one.. No, wait, I should be straight with you. I’m in town all alone and what I really want is sex. I want it hard, I want it hot, and I want it now. Bring implements, toys, rubber, leather, whips, everything you’ve got in your bag of tricks. Tie me up, cover me in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, anything you want! Now, how does that sound?’

She says, ‘That sounds fantastic, but you need to press 1 for an outside line.’

It took three hours for him to get the courage to Checkout next morning.

GEOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN

Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa : half discovered, half wild, fertile and naturally beautiful.

Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe : well developed and open to trade, especially for someone of real value.

Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain : very hot, relaxed, and con-vinced of her own beauty.

Between 36 and 40, a woman is like Greece : gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.

Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain : with a glorious and all conquering past.

Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel : has been through war, doesn’t make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.

Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada : self-preserving, but open to meeting new people.

After 70, she becomes Tibet : wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages, an adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge.

GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN

Between 1 and 90, a man is like Iran, ruled by nuts.-----------

Little Johnny Strikes again

The teacher asked the class to use the word ‘fascinate’ in a sentence.

Molly put up her hand and said, ‘My family went to my granddad’s farm, and we all saw his pet sheep It was fascinating.’

The teacher said, ‘That was good, but I wanted you to use the word ‘fascinate, not fascinating’.

Sally raised her hand. She said, ‘My family went to see Rock City and I was ‘fascinated.’ The teacher said, ‘Well, that was good Sally, but I wanted you to use the word ‘fascinate.’

Little Johnny raised his hand. The teacher hesitated because she had been burned by Little Johnny before.

She finally decided there was no way he could damage the word ‘fasci-nate’, so she called on him.

Johnny said, ‘My aunt Gina has a sweater with ten buttons, but her tits are so big she can only fasten eight.’

The teacher sat down and cried.


FILCOM-DENMARK, the united Filipino Associations in Den-mark, consisting of Babaylan-Denmark, CCC, FAD, FCCC, Filipino House, JIL, Mabuhay, Migrante Denmark, FDC, PU-

GAD, Roots & Wings, Open Gate, Sct. Anne Kirke and Baptist Church organized the coming PASKØBENHAVN 2010, the Pinoy Christmas Celebration to be held on the 18th of December at Copenhagen Con-ference Center at Englandsvej 337 in Kastrup. There will be community fair during the day from 10.00 to 17.00 and then Christmas dinner buf-fet during the evening. Tickets are available from each associations.


u Filomenita Mongaya Hoegsholm

In recent elections held in Brussels on 20 November 2010 for the gender equality network WIDE Women in Development, Globalising Gender Equality and Social Justice), Babaylan’s Founding Chair, Filomenita Mongaya Hoegsholm, repre-sentative from KULU, the Danish Plat-form of WIDE. She is one of the 5 women from various parts of Europe , who make up the Executive Committee of this highly respected feministic network.

TRANSITION

t General Consul Poul Krogh

In a cosy and warm dining room in Tivoli Divan 2, Mr. Poul Krogh was inaugurated as Consul General of the Republic of the Philippines. He has served as Honorary Consul in the last

year and from now on, will have added work area and responsibility dealing also with visa matters. He was sworn in by Her Excellency, Ms. Ambassador Elisabeth Buensuceso.

The 2nd World Conference of Women’s Shelters will take place February 27 - March 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. The conference will bring together grassroots activists and ad-

vocates working on ending violence against women. At this con-ference, delegates will receive tangible tools and knowledge from other activists, as well as collaborate with women from all over the world. Babaylan-Denmark is invited to Come and join this amaz-ing, unique conference to become a part of a global effort to end violence against women.

WAVE is a network of European women’s non-gov-ernmental organisations working in the field of com-bating violence against women and children (wom-

en’s refuges, counselling centres, SOS hotlines/helplines, organisations focusing on prevention and training, etc.).

Currently the Network focuses specifically on violence in the family and in intimate relationships. The Network sets out to promote and strengthen the human rights of women and children in general and to prevent violence against women and children in particular. Through PICUM, Platform for Intl. Undocumented Migrants in Brussels, Babaylan-Denmark was invited to participate on their 12th WAVE Conference in Warsaw, Poland last October 14-16, 2010 on Ending Vio-lence Against Women.

t

t

t

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The voice of the migrant woman must be heard

“Equality between women and men is not an end in itself. It is a prerequisite for meeting the EU’s aims for growth, employment and social cohesion”, said president of the EESC Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, Leila Kurki on launching the Eu-ropean Network of Migrant Women

(ENoMW), the first EU level organisation of migrants. EESC is a partner of the network.In an integrated Europe and in a globalised and interdependent world, diversity and difference are normal. “Equality should be mainstreamed into all policies, and the specific area here is the migrant women’s integration and fundamental rights”, Ms Kurki reiterated.

The Committee believes that integration policies must be linked to the main objectives of EU social policy and become an integral part of the Social Agenda. Women, and especially migrant women, are vulnerable to social exclusion and poverty. “It is important that gender analysis is fully mainstreamed into all of the Commission’s spheres of activity, also in the immigration policy field”, said Ms Kurki.

The Committee would like to see an effective instrument adopted, which reflects the specific features of domestic work. “EU and the Member States should combat the considerable amount of illegal work in this sector, and protect migrant women who are in irregular circumstances and suffer abuse. Inter-national conventions should be applied and should offer them protection”, said Ms Kurki.

The European Economic and Social Committee is very much in line with the ENoMW’s approach. “Employment, education, health, the fight against violence, women’s participation in public, political and business life, are our core tasks”, added Ms Kurki.

The European Network of Migrant Women is the first EU level organisation of migrants. ENoMW is also invited as a speaker to the third meeting of the European Integration Forum organised by the EESC and the European Commission.

Denmark was represented by Hakima Lasham Lakhrissi from EMKR and Babaylan’s Founding Chair Filomenita Mongaya Høgsholm, also from EMKR.

By Torben Bach Nielsen; email: [email protected]

MIGRANT WOMEN IN EU

31

Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you’re home.

~Carol Nelson



FOCUS: AU PAIR

ARTS & MEDIA

Babaylan-Denmark’s layout artist, Muir Jover, designed the lofficial ogo for the Summer Sport 2010 which is going to be an annual event for all Filipinos who would like to participate on sports particularly Beach Volleyball.

Muir has also recently designed the GO CARDs for the Danish Dental Associa-tion which will be officially used on their campaign against smoking especially for the youth.

New Guidelines on Legal... (from page 13)

BABAYLAN-DENMARK

One of the real joys of the Holiday Season is the oppotunity to say Thank You to all of Babaylan

members, friends, supporters & sponsors who made this year a successful & memorable one.

Wishing you a Joyous Christmas & a New Year filled with Peace & Happiness.

BABAYLAN-DENMARK ¤ CCC ¤ FAD ¤ FCCC ¤ FILIPINO HOUSE FILIPPINSK DANSKE GRUPPE ¤ JIL ¤ MABUHAY MIGRANTE DENMARK

FDC ¤ PUGAD ¤ ROOTS & WINGS ¤ OPEN GATE ¤ ST ANNE ¤ BAPTIST CHURCH

Sincerest wishes for hope, happiness and peace during this Holiday

Season and throughout the coming year...

from

United Filipino Associations in Denmark

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS


Liebe Nanay Gisela,

Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch in das kommende Jahr!!! Danke fur die vielen Jahre und dass Du einfach so bist, wie Du bist. Ich habe Dich soooo lieb.

Alles Liebe von Deiner Töchterli ,

Marga

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon!from Hedelyn, Ramon & Razel Reyes

Maligayang Pasko po!

from Gil, Helena, Lukas & FelizaBroncano Family

Wishing you all the Joy, Hope and Wonder of Christmas

fromHilda, Torben, Jeff & Gail

Gudmundsson Family



Documents

ABAKADA Winter Edition 2011