Name
of film: Modern Heroes, Modern Slaves
Countries included: Philippines,
Singapore and Saudi Arabia
Subject: Pain of Migration
Director: Marie Boti, Productions
Multi-Monde, National Womens Studies Association
Date of film: 1999
Length: 45 minutes
URL: http://www.filmakers.com/indivs/ModernHeroes.htm
Info on Film: Each day, thousands of women
leave under developed countries like the
Philippines to seek work as domestics in more
prosperous places. What little money they earn
they send home to their families. This crucial
source of revenue to their country's economy has
prompted the Philippine government to call these
contract workers "modern day heroes."
Starting from the case of Flor Contemplacion, the
Philippine maid hanged in Singapore for the
killing of her abusive employer, this film shows
the human and sometimes tragic side of this
organized labor trade: failed marriages, family
break ups, and exploitation and abuse at the hands
of unscrupulous employers. The film also takes us
to a shelter in Saudi Arabia where abused
domestics seek refuge. These women will ultimately
return home penniless.
The Philippine government sponsors training
courses for young women to become nightclub
dancers abroad, and facilitates their
transportation. When it comes to human rights
violations, however, the government is reluctant
to pressure foreign governments for fear of losing
revenue. This leaves women migrant workers
vulnerable to exploitation.
Name of Film: Say I Do
Type: Drama
Country: Philippines
Director/Writer: Arlene Ami
Date of Film: 2003
Length: 56 minutes
Contact: Red Storm Productions
URL: http://www.filmakers.com/indivs/Say_I_Do.htm
Info on Film: A documentary chronicling the journey of four women, from their lives in the Philippines, through the mail-order bride system to their experiences as wives, mothers, and women in a foreign land. Excellent.
Name of Film: Sisters and Daughters
Betrayed
Countries included: Phillipines,
Thailand, Nepal
Subject: Slavery in Prostitution
Director: Chela Blitt, Producer
Date of film: 1995
Length: 28 min.
Contact information: orders@globalfundforwomen.org
URL: www.globalfundforwomen.org
(Click on resources for sale)
Cost: $25 for individual use, discounts for
students and activists
Info on Film: Sex trafficking is a global -
and especially Asian - crisis of growing
dimensions. Millions of women and young girls have
been illegally transported from rural to urban
areas and across national borders for the purpose
of prostitution. This compelling video explores
the social and economic forces that drive this
lucrative underground trade, and the devastating
impact it has on women's lives.
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