Babaylan Denmark
As part of the kick-off for the 10th anniversary of Babaylan Denmark, a Public Forum was held on the issue of Au Pairs in Denmark. While the phenomenon has been “old hat” in many European countries, it is relatively new in Denmark and Scandinavia.
But it is undeniable that the Filipina au pair, while a new addition to the Scandinavian horizon, is however difficult to keep under wraps, no matter how people often try to keep secret the better things in life. The statistics from the last 5 years supplied by the Aliens Directorate, also now called Immigration Service show that approximately half of ALL au pairs in Denmark are from the Philippines.
Media coverage in the last 6 months have been sensationalized, alluding to abuses by host families of the newly arrived Filipinas. As usual, a lot of rumours abound, and like the so-called Mail Order Brides of yore, the Philippine community is divided but at least there is consensus that whatever it is, thre should be support for the au pairs. Thus was a Task Force on the issue of au pairs and seafarers a reality after the Second Pulong amongst Nordic Filipinos held in Oslo under the auspices of the Philippine Embassy in Stockholm.
The Public Forum which was held on February 10th at the Global Cultural Center in Nørrebro tried to bring in at least three perspectives: from a cultural and gender/feminist view, from a development angle (brain drain), and from the labour union perspective, which is basically that of protection. . The speakers were respectively, journalist-editor Filomenita Mongaya Høgsholm from Babaylan Denmark, Janice Goodson Foerde, Chairperson of KULU, Women in Development and Jakob Bang, General Secretary of one of the major labour unions for both skilled and unskilled workers in Denmark. FOA.
The Public Forum which attracted academics, media people, migration activists, and au pairs themselves, some coming with their host families, was a fruitful meeting where people networked with each other. At the end of the day there was a concrete move on the part of FOA to form a labour union-backed network for the Filipino au pairs in cooperation with Babaylan Denmark. There will also be an initiative to offer union membership at ver reduced rates to au pairs because as Union member, they will be helped to ligitate in cases of abuse and breach of contracts, etc. Ms. Goodson Førde of KULU promised to continue to support Babaylan DK, a member organization, with this type of activity which focuses on gender aspects to development and transects, in this case, labour migration.
