Journal of Politics and Society (Columbia University, New York, USA), Dec 22, 2017
Adding to the current body of research on the social meaning of remittances within labour diaspor... more Adding to the current body of research on the social meaning of remittances within labour diaspora, this research studies Filipino live-in caregiver mothers (FLCMs) in Montreal, Canada. This paper concludes that remittances act as a fee to maintain membership and as a symbolic medium of building intimacies among mothers and children, reaffirming the roles remittances play within familial and cultural norms of FLCMs. Remittances remind mothers of their membership to their family in the Philippines, fueling their sacrifices and reinforcing their responsibility towards their children. The findings suggest the need for imparting financial literacy to migrants and their families as one of the sustainable ways to combat socioeconomic inequality. This inquiry is especially insightful given the salience of contemporary political trends of global labor migration.
Non-Governmental Organizations rely on performance measurement and indicators to maximize their s... more Non-Governmental Organizations rely on performance measurement and indicators to maximize their social impact and achieve their ultimate objectives of political change. However, there is still no mutual agreement within the NGO field on the main components and measures of performance. Thus, this paper asks: to what extent are Non-Governmental Organization's successful in their specific goals of political change? What explains such success and its failure? What are indicators of success and failure for NGOs? It is argued that NGOs are successful to the extent that they are able to mobilize and empower the marginalized and vulnerable groups to become leaders of their own development. Through a comparative case study of Play it Fair programs in Montreal and in Jakarta of Equitas –International Centre for Human Rights Education, this paper finds that donor and partner NGOs must utilize three indicators: efficiency, effectiveness, and social embeddedness to determine the success or failure of their project and program. This paper ultimately demonstrates the necessity for NGOs to improve their accountability and partnership practices. Both donor and local NGOs must also bear equal responsibilities in performing its duty to sustain the program. The paper also discusses the significance of an organizational buy-in for the project's success and the role of street-level bureaucrats in project implementation.
Filipino 1st and second generation youth in Canada contradicts the finding on employment and educ... more Filipino 1st and second generation youth in Canada contradicts the finding on employment and educational outcomes of immigrant youth that shows a general pattern of upward intergenerational mobility. This paper argues that the answer to this anomaly lies in analyzing the material impacts of the labour export policy of the Philippines and the temporary employment policy of Canada, the family structure once reunited, the modes of incorporation of the Filipino diaspora in Canada, and the way Filipino-Canadian identity is constructed. This structural approach suggests that the lower educational outcomes of Filipino youths in Canada are an effect of their mother’s migration pathway through the LCP, which is inevitably exacerbated by economic, familial, social, and cultural expectations and factors that are multifaceted. They were left-behind children when they lived in the Philippines and they are then prone to becoming ‘left-behind students’ in Canada due to these intersecting factors. This idea suggests the need to bridge the gap in studying the separation of mothers to their children (left-behind) and their settlement or family reunification in Canada.
Keywords: Filipino youth, left behind, intergenerational social mobility, education.
This paper compares the extent to which two similar pro-migrant organizations succeed or fail in ... more This paper compares the extent to which two similar pro-migrant organizations succeed or fail in their goal of a collective action and migrant mobilization of domestic workers It presents a comparative case study of two NGOs namely the Mission for Migrant Workers in Hong Kong and INTERCEDE in Canada. They face similar struggles in fighting for the migrant rights, including better-working conditions, however, they use different strategies to resist. Specifically, this paper asks: why are NGOs advocating for the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong much more successful in mobilizing domestic workers in comparison to similar NGOs in Canada? What strategies do they use to mobilize effectively? To answer these questions, it applies theories of social movements, including the political process, resource mobilization, and framing process. Findings show that strategies determined whether they are more successful in their mobilizing effort in accordance with the political, social, and economic context of the territory/state they are operating in. It concludes that NGOs like the Mission in Hong Kong are more successful in collective action and mobilization because of greater political opportunities, greater organizational strength, particularly its close proximity to the Philippines, and frame migrant issues effectively, garnering broad-based and inter-ethnic coalition. NGOs in Canada like INTERCEDE started to mobilize strongly in the 1980s. Yet, due to the nature of civil society, lack of support, and Canada’s framing of immigration in economic terms, they are less effective in their mobilization and collective action. Overall, this paper problematizes the struggle for recognition, citizenship, membership, and the ‘rights to have rights’ for migrants and the state’s hegemony to assert its sovereignty on migrants.
Literature on the social meaning of remittances within the context of the labour diaspora communi... more Literature on the social meaning of remittances within the context of the labour diaspora community remains limited. I therefore conducted in-depth interviews with Filipino Live-in Caregiver mothers (FLCMs) from Montreal, Canada. Employing the 3D Human Well-being approach as a heuristic framework, the study links together structural victimization and structural constraints, by which the labour Diasporas have attached meaning to their remittances. The research ultimately concludes that remittances act as a coping strategy in response to victimization. FLCMs use remittances as a tool to resist against structural constraints, a tool which reaffirms their familial and cultural norms. It reminds them of their membership to their family in the Philippines, fueling their sacrifices, and reminding them of their responsibility towards their children. The findings suggest the need of imparting, and enhancing, financial literacy to migrants and their families, as one of the sustainable ways to combat inequality.
Journal of Politics and Society (Columbia University, New York, USA), Dec 22, 2017
Adding to the current body of research on the social meaning of remittances within labour diaspor... more Adding to the current body of research on the social meaning of remittances within labour diaspora, this research studies Filipino live-in caregiver mothers (FLCMs) in Montreal, Canada. This paper concludes that remittances act as a fee to maintain membership and as a symbolic medium of building intimacies among mothers and children, reaffirming the roles remittances play within familial and cultural norms of FLCMs. Remittances remind mothers of their membership to their family in the Philippines, fueling their sacrifices and reinforcing their responsibility towards their children. The findings suggest the need for imparting financial literacy to migrants and their families as one of the sustainable ways to combat socioeconomic inequality. This inquiry is especially insightful given the salience of contemporary political trends of global labor migration.
Non-Governmental Organizations rely on performance measurement and indicators to maximize their s... more Non-Governmental Organizations rely on performance measurement and indicators to maximize their social impact and achieve their ultimate objectives of political change. However, there is still no mutual agreement within the NGO field on the main components and measures of performance. Thus, this paper asks: to what extent are Non-Governmental Organization's successful in their specific goals of political change? What explains such success and its failure? What are indicators of success and failure for NGOs? It is argued that NGOs are successful to the extent that they are able to mobilize and empower the marginalized and vulnerable groups to become leaders of their own development. Through a comparative case study of Play it Fair programs in Montreal and in Jakarta of Equitas –International Centre for Human Rights Education, this paper finds that donor and partner NGOs must utilize three indicators: efficiency, effectiveness, and social embeddedness to determine the success or failure of their project and program. This paper ultimately demonstrates the necessity for NGOs to improve their accountability and partnership practices. Both donor and local NGOs must also bear equal responsibilities in performing its duty to sustain the program. The paper also discusses the significance of an organizational buy-in for the project's success and the role of street-level bureaucrats in project implementation.
Filipino 1st and second generation youth in Canada contradicts the finding on employment and educ... more Filipino 1st and second generation youth in Canada contradicts the finding on employment and educational outcomes of immigrant youth that shows a general pattern of upward intergenerational mobility. This paper argues that the answer to this anomaly lies in analyzing the material impacts of the labour export policy of the Philippines and the temporary employment policy of Canada, the family structure once reunited, the modes of incorporation of the Filipino diaspora in Canada, and the way Filipino-Canadian identity is constructed. This structural approach suggests that the lower educational outcomes of Filipino youths in Canada are an effect of their mother’s migration pathway through the LCP, which is inevitably exacerbated by economic, familial, social, and cultural expectations and factors that are multifaceted. They were left-behind children when they lived in the Philippines and they are then prone to becoming ‘left-behind students’ in Canada due to these intersecting factors. This idea suggests the need to bridge the gap in studying the separation of mothers to their children (left-behind) and their settlement or family reunification in Canada.
Keywords: Filipino youth, left behind, intergenerational social mobility, education.
This paper compares the extent to which two similar pro-migrant organizations succeed or fail in ... more This paper compares the extent to which two similar pro-migrant organizations succeed or fail in their goal of a collective action and migrant mobilization of domestic workers It presents a comparative case study of two NGOs namely the Mission for Migrant Workers in Hong Kong and INTERCEDE in Canada. They face similar struggles in fighting for the migrant rights, including better-working conditions, however, they use different strategies to resist. Specifically, this paper asks: why are NGOs advocating for the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong much more successful in mobilizing domestic workers in comparison to similar NGOs in Canada? What strategies do they use to mobilize effectively? To answer these questions, it applies theories of social movements, including the political process, resource mobilization, and framing process. Findings show that strategies determined whether they are more successful in their mobilizing effort in accordance with the political, social, and economic context of the territory/state they are operating in. It concludes that NGOs like the Mission in Hong Kong are more successful in collective action and mobilization because of greater political opportunities, greater organizational strength, particularly its close proximity to the Philippines, and frame migrant issues effectively, garnering broad-based and inter-ethnic coalition. NGOs in Canada like INTERCEDE started to mobilize strongly in the 1980s. Yet, due to the nature of civil society, lack of support, and Canada’s framing of immigration in economic terms, they are less effective in their mobilization and collective action. Overall, this paper problematizes the struggle for recognition, citizenship, membership, and the ‘rights to have rights’ for migrants and the state’s hegemony to assert its sovereignty on migrants.
Literature on the social meaning of remittances within the context of the labour diaspora communi... more Literature on the social meaning of remittances within the context of the labour diaspora community remains limited. I therefore conducted in-depth interviews with Filipino Live-in Caregiver mothers (FLCMs) from Montreal, Canada. Employing the 3D Human Well-being approach as a heuristic framework, the study links together structural victimization and structural constraints, by which the labour Diasporas have attached meaning to their remittances. The research ultimately concludes that remittances act as a coping strategy in response to victimization. FLCMs use remittances as a tool to resist against structural constraints, a tool which reaffirms their familial and cultural norms. It reminds them of their membership to their family in the Philippines, fueling their sacrifices, and reminding them of their responsibility towards their children. The findings suggest the need of imparting, and enhancing, financial literacy to migrants and their families, as one of the sustainable ways to combat inequality.
Uploads
Papers by Marko de Guzman
Keywords: Filipino youth, left behind, intergenerational social mobility, education.
Keywords: Filipino youth, left behind, intergenerational social mobility, education.