salaysay

SALAYSAY1R %RWN\UND6ZHGHQ 0DUFK:20(1By the time the Lord made women, He was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appearedand said, "Why are you spending so much time on one?" And the Lord answered, "Have you seen thespecification sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts,all replaceable, have a lap that can hold three children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anythingfrom a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands."The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way! And that'sjust on the standard model?" the Angel asked.The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish.""But I can't!" the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my ownheart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hours a day."Monthly Newsletter by Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsförening i Botkyrka Org no 802404-9606c/o Zeny Abbaspour-Agdam, Tomtbergavägen 30, 145 67 NORSBORG PG 498510-7 BG 5374-2060E-post: filipinobotkyrka@hotmail.com Mobile no. +46 73 7814255Membership fee per year: 75 kr per person, 125 kr/family without kid/s or 150 kr/family with kids

SALAYSAY1R %RWN\UND6ZHGHQ 0DUFKThe Angel moved closer and touched thewoman, "but you have made her so soft, Lord.""Yes, she is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I havealso made her tough. You have no idea whatshe can endure or accomplish.""Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel.The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able tothink, she will be able to reason and negotiate."The Angel then noticed something and reachedout and touched the woman's cheek. "Ooops, itlooks like you have a leak with this model. Itold you that you were trying to put too muchinto this one.""That's not a leak," the Lord objected. "That's atear!" "What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.The Lord said, "The tear is her way ofexpressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, herdisappointment, her loneliness, her grief, andher pride."The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius,Lord. You thought of everything, for womenare truly amazing!" Yes, women have strengthsthat amaze men. They carry hardships, theycarry burdens but they hold happiness, love andjoy. They smile when they want to scream.They sing when they want to cry. They crywhen they are happy and laugh when they arenervous. They fight for what they believe in.They stand up for injustice. They don't take"no" for an answer when they believethere is a better solution. They go without, sotheir families may have. They go to the doctorwith a frightened friend. They loveunconditionally. They cry when their childrenexcel and cheer when their friends get awards.They are happy when they hear about a birth ora new marriage.Their hearts break when a friend dies. Theyhave sorrow at the loss of a family member, yetthey are strong when they think there is nostrength left. They know that a hug and a kisscan heal a broken heart.Women come in all sizes, in all colors andshapes. They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mailyou to show how much they care about you.The heart of a woman is what makes the worldspin! They bring joy and hope. They givecompassion and ideals. They give moralsupport to their families and friends. Womenhave a lot to say and a lot to give.Everyone is invited to commemorate with usInternational Women’s DayLokal Magne, FOLKETS HUS HALLUNDA, Borgvägen 1, NorsborgMarch 8 (Saturday) at 13:00 –16:00Activities:Exhibit, Information, Musical Entertainment, etcGuest speaker, Birgitta Englin, VD Riksteater2 parallel seminars on Women Empwerment/Entrepreneurship and Possibilities for Young WomenFREE ENTRANCEOrganizers:Botkyrka Kvinnoresurscenter, Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsföreningen i Botkyrka, KvinnojourenRegnbågen, Föreningen Varken Hora eller Kuvad, S Kvinnoklubb i Botkyrka and VerdandiMonthly Newsletter by Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsförening i Botkyrka Org no 802404-9606c/o Zeny Abbaspour-Agdam, Tomtbergavägen 30, 145 67 NORSBORG PG 498510-7 BG 5374-2060E-post: filipinobotkyrka@hotmail.com Mobile no. +46 73 7814255Membership fee per year: 75 kr per person, 125 kr/family without kid/s or 150 kr/family with kids

SALAYSAY1R %RWN\UND6ZHGHQ 0DUFK8-778 28 42InledningMusik gruppenÖRNGOTT, seminarier,teatern, Shirley Valentine16.00 i riksteatern.Monthly Newsletter by Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsförening i Botkyrka Org no 802404-9606c/o Zeny Abbaspour-Agdam, Tomtbergavägen 30, 145 67 NORSBORG PG 498510-7 BG 5374-2060E-post: filipinobotkyrka@hotmail.com Mobile no. +46 73 7814255Membership fee per year: 75 kr per person, 125 kr/family without kid/s or 150 kr/family with kids

SALAYSAY1R %RWN\UND6ZHGHQ 0DUFKOverseas migration has taken the face of a womanBy F. JimenezWith more than 70 percent of Filipinosworking abroad belonging to the femalegender, it has become obvious that overseasmigration has taken on a woman’s face. Thishas been the situation in the last four years.When the Philippines adopted its labor exportpolicy in the 1970s, female workers goingoverseas comprised only 12 percent of themigration pie. The share steadily becamebigger, going up to 48.2 percent in 1987, to 55percent in 1993, and even bigger to 64 percentseven years ago.Filipino women workers are scattered in 197countries as domestic helpers, caregivers,entertainers, nurses, clerical and sales workers,and professional and technical employees.The CMA said female overseas workers areexposed to domestic work, jobs that areshunned by nationals of receiving countries.“With cheaper salaries and lesser benefits, mostof these jobs are not covered by labor laws andunregulated by the host government," a CMAreport said.However, the Center for Migrants Advocacynoted that while women comprise more than 70percent of OFWs, their remittances in 2005only took up 57 percent of what the men remit.“This strongly suggests that women migrantswork in unskilled, low-paid and unprotectedjobs," the CMA said in its “2006 WorkingPaper on Overseas Migration."“Migrant women, because of the nature of theirwork and lowered status, usually end upvictims to the more serious problems ofmigration: physical and sexual abuse, drugdependence, prostitution, mysterious or violentdeaths, and trafficking in women. Othermigrant women end up on the missing personslist," the CMA said.OWWA records revealed that about 80 percentof welfare cases filed involve women OFWsworking as domestic helpers.Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, however, saiddomestic helpers comprised only 90,000, orless than 10 percent of the 1.083 million OFWsin 2006.Gov’t strategyThe Philippine government’s found a way to reduce the number of female OFWs, particularlydomestic helpers: Change the name to “household service worker" and set a new guideline in theirdeployment.The guideline, which was crafted by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, wasimplemented in March 2007. It increased the entry level or minimum salary of household workers to$400 from $200, prescribed a minimum age of 25 years old, and added a requirement to undergo skillstraining from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.Monthly Newsletter by Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsförening i Botkyrka Org no 802404-9606c/o Zeny Abbaspour-Agdam, Tomtbergavägen 30, 145 67 NORSBORG PG 498510-7 BG 5374-2060E-post: filipinobotkyrka@hotmail.com Mobile no. +46 73 7814255Membership fee per year: 75 kr per person, 125 kr/family without kid/s or 150 kr/family with kids

SALAYSAY1R %RWN\UND6ZHGHQ 0DUFKFive months after the new policy was implemented, Brion announced that deployment of domestichelpers in the Middle East dropped by 9 to 10 percent. He did not say if the decline was due to the newpolicy.Also, Labor attaché Romeo Young in Oman reported that job requests for household workersdecreased to 15 percent of the total job orders during the first quarter of the year. He said job orders inOman for Filipino workers have shifted from domestic helpers to services and technical workers.The new policy on household workers has been the subject of several hearings at the House ofRepresentatives, especially under the committee for of OFWs chaired Lagman. After three meetings,the committee failed to come up of with recommendations.Lagman said the new policy is effective.In November, Brion announced that the policy has removed the “slave-like" classification of domesticwork in Saudi Arabia. He said Filipino domestic workers are now recognized as household serviceworkers who are equipped with a set of skills, training and high school education.The cost of going abroadMigrante deplored the “policy" and accused thegovernment of exploiting OFWs to generaterevenue. (The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinasexpects that OFW remittances in 2007 throughthe banking sector will reach $14.6 billion.)The group said that aside from remittances, thegovernment earns from migrant workersthrough charges “every step of the way in thewhole migration process."Migrante said that the government collectsabout P10,000 from each of first time OFWs.Expenses for a new OFW includes $100 or itspeso equivalent (P4,200 at an exchange rate ofP42:$1) as POEA fee; the peso equivalent of$25 OWWA membership fee; and P900 forMedicare.An OFW has also to spend P2,500 for medicalexamination; P3,000 for trade test; P500 forpassport; P120 for clearance from the NationalBureau of Investigation; and P110 for a copy ofhis or her birth certificate from the NationalStatistics Office.“If everyday, 3,000 Filipinos leave to workabroad, this is a whooping P30 million per day.This does not even count the taxes that thegovernment collects from businesses related tomigration such as recruitment agencies andfinance companies," Migrante said in astatement.“When the government is in need, they turn toOFWs. However, whenever OFWs are in need,the government turns its back from OFWs,"Migrante opined.Monthly Newsletter by Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsförening i Botkyrka Org no 802404-9606c/o Zeny Abbaspour-Agdam, Tomtbergavägen 30, 145 67 NORSBORG PG 498510-7 BG 5374-2060E-post: filipinobotkyrka@hotmail.com Mobile no. +46 73 7814255Membership fee per year: 75 kr per person, 125 kr/family without kid/s or 150 kr/family with kids

SALAYSAY1R %RWN\UND6ZHGHQ 0DUFKMarch 8March 12INFORMATIONInternational Women’s Day, Folkets Hus Hallunda, Borgvägen 1, NORSBORG13:00 – 16:00 FREE ENTRANCEBAYANIHAN, The Philippine National Folk Dance Companywith traditional music, dance, costumes & folkloreMarch 12 (Wed) at 18:00 at Nybrokajen 11, Stockholm Ticket: 115 krBook your ticket now! http://www.nybrokajen11.rikskonserter.se/Marc 29(Sat) at 16:00, Föreningslokal, Bragesvägen 17, NorsborgAnnual Meeting of Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsföreningen i BotkyrkaAll members are invited to attend the meeting. Snacks will be served..free!Pls confirm your participation by E-mail: filipinobotkyrka@hotmail.com or call 0737814255Other Activities/Study Circles & Hobby Circles in MarchYouth Group (members) Multi-activities: Karaoke träff, aerobics, temakväll, etcFri 18:00 – 21:00 Föreningslokal, Bragesväg 17, NorsborgOpen Multi-activities: Cooking, Bead-making, Civic issues, Yoga or line dance, etcSat 16:00 – 21:00 Föreningslokal, Bragesväg 17, NorsborgOther information: Every Friday15:00 – 18:00 at Föreningslokal, Bragesväg 17, NorsborgMonthly Newsletter by Filippinska Kultur- & Fritidsförening i Botkyrka Org no 802404-9606c/o Zeny Abbaspour-Agdam, Tomtbergavägen 30, 145 67 NORSBORG PG 498510-7 BG 5374-2060E-post: filipinobotkyrka@hotmail.com Mobile no. +46 73 7814255Membership fee per year: 75 kr per person, 125 kr/family without kid/s or 150 kr/family with kids