I think Art was generalizing about how Filipinos are treated in Japan. I doubt he meant to say all Filipinas are prostitutes, but rather that Japan is not a good place to go for them. It says more about the Japanese than Filipinas. He was likely trying to call attention to the problem of trafficking.
Don't jump to conclusions. He is trying to help trafficked women, not generalize about your culture. It wins you no friends to overreact. However, you may be able to call attention to what you are doing as a positive solution. Saying that you first found what he said to be offensive may get your foot in the door, as long as you give him an opportunity to explain himself.
Eric Encina <ericencina@yahoo.com> wrote:
ON FILIPINO PROSTITUTES
No nation or race in this world is perfect!
"Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by,
The men who are good,
and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I." - Robert O'shea
ONE WAY of expressing an idea in an effective way is the use of a figure of speech, like saying a part to represent a whole or a whole to mean a part.
When Art Bell said: "In Japan, Filipinos are heavilly discriminated against..." There is no doubt he means all Filipinos without exception.
Likewise, when he said, "The only Filipinos that live successfully in Japan are the Filipino prostitutes..." the effect tarnishes and debases the entire Filipino womanhood, which every Filipino who values the honor and dignity of his women folk is stabbed.
Unless one is calous or insensitive or has lost his sense of dignity as a member of the Filipino race, he could not help but feel discriminated, insulted and provoked. He should be disturbed.
To paint the color of our women in the Philipines in the shade of being a "prostitute" is to touch the sensitive part of our being because to us
Filipinos (with some exceptions) hold dear the value and thought of our women be they our mother, our wife, our sister, our daughter or anyone of our women folk.
This we observe to be untrue with other races where women are a second class citizen or regarded a property of the men, things to enjoy, maybe discarded or abused, appropriated or even murdered when convenience calls for it. In some other countries a girl is even reportedly secretly killed by the father because of certain need or belief system or tradition.
To us Filipinos who are predominantly Christians (85% of our people as statistics reveal are Christians and predominantly Catholics), our women are worth our protection and care, and even worth dying for. To us the Blessed Virgin Mary is the symbol and epitome of Filipino womanhood, worthy of respect and veneration. To Jose Rizal,
our national hero, the symbol of the Filipino womanhood in his novel "Noli Me Tangere" is Maria Clara, a paragon of what is the ideal Filipina: demure, virtuous and respectable.
Before the World War II, as testified by the old Filipinos, a man cannot even touch a woman or kiss her without being worthy of it. To dishonor a girl with a lascivious act without her consent will cost a man to restore such dishonor with a commensurate act of reparation.
The war broke that tradition, though, and changed the character of the Filipina woman mainly because of the concomitant result of war as our nation was ravaged by foreign occupational forces who had affected our sense of values, especially because of need and circumstances.
The Japanese occupation forces, as has been documented, has devalued and depreciated the virtuous
tradition for the Filipino woman, abusing them and using them to appease their call of the flesh.
The American GIs too in the post-war period took over to quench their loneliness with ready cash or GI goods to barter or offer some needy Filipino families with girls among their members.
ECONOMIC INJUSTICE, THE LACK OF MONEY, THE POVERTY:
And then came the years long after the way has ended. Being a developing nation, hugely in DEBT, controlled by IMF and WB and rich nations foreign banks, with the major priority of paying interest rather than saving the poor hunger Filipinos, and thus affected by world economic unjust system, our women had to go to other lands where dollar, yen, pounds sterling, Riyal, dinar, etc. are the current exchanges, NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF
ENTERING TRADE FLESH, but to earn an honest livelihood as employees in shops and factories or as housemaid or baby-sitters or caregivers to be able to send home some money to sustain its needs and free them from the proverbial "wolf at the door" (hunger and privations).
And in this situation abroad, our women without any relative to turn to but the authorities to give them protection and welfare, and usually these could not give them. They are exposed to the abuse of their masters or superiors or pimps. Our Filipino women in other lands have usually no choice.
From events happening to our overseas contract workers (OCWs), our Filipino women generally succumb to the desire of the opportunists and the "beasts" in their homegrounds, where the governments sometimes are hostile and uncaring, unconcerned about the plight of the foreign workers. A
striking example of this situation happened to Balabagan, a Filipino girl from Mindanao who was serving as maid to a family in Saudi Arabia. The master was forcing himself on this young Filipina maid who fought to defend her honor and stabbed her master dead. The case became an international affair that invited concern from various quarters. The girl was charged for murder and was sentenced to some years in prison, but the son of the victim pardoned her and Balabagan was free.
Now, it is said in Britain, that the word Filipina means maid or servant. For me, it depends but cannot be generalised. In Japan, Filipino women are called as "Japayoki" who are made servile in the 'FLESH TRADE". In some other parts of the Arabic countries, the Filipino maids are seldom treated better than slaves or animals.
On the other hand, our country is
cognizant of the role of the OCWs whose earnings help bolster the economy of our national government for the time being, under the bad economic system, calling them modern day heroes.
Ruing over the lamentable predicament of our women workers abroad, who to Art Bell are " Filipino prostitutes" without understanding the compelling economic reasons and circumstances behind.
I think Art Bell must study economics and monetary reform to know why there are women entrapped in prostitution. Even God does not condemn or judge the prostitutes but forgives them. God knows why.
So how can we help women be saved and delivered from the cluthes of well-syndicated and money-making prostitutions and pornography?
We are a little NGO of poor Filipino Families
working, fighting for alternative solutions for our sustainable survival. We hope for solidarity, justice and betterment for all people.
Please help us continue the most crucial and critical fight for economic and monetary justice, to save poor Filipino families and women from the traps and bondage of prostitutions because of poverty, of infinitely unjust and unfair financial-economic system, by promoting and implementing alternative solutions for respectable land sustainable living survival in the Philippines.
Thank you very miuch for reading.
Sincerely yours,
Eric V. Encina
Founder/President/Administrator
Filipino
Alternative Solutions For Sustainable Survival, Inc.
c/o Lito Alhambra Old House, Homesite, Km2, Brgy. Lawa-an,
PO Box 8, 5800 Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines
Tel. No. 0063 36 6216-454