Damayan Members Pack the First Workers Meeting of the Year

A screen capture of some of the 80 attendees on January 23, 2021.

Maraming salamat po sa lahat ng dumalo sa January Online Workers Meeting! Many thanks to everyone who attended the January Online Workers Meeting!

Last weekend, about 80 Damayan members, staff and supporters packed the first Online Workers Meeting of the year. We met through Zoom to build camaraderie among members, commemorate National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, take the pulse of what is concerning in the community, discuss Biden’s inauguration, and share what’s in store for Damayan in 2021.

For National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we celebrated the recent victory of MJ, a Damayan member and trafficked domestic worker who won her T-visa. She shared her gripping testimony about her experiences with her traffickers and how she endured and prevailed the hardship with the help of Damayan and our community. Her win was met with celebratory cheers and messages of support.

“With the support of Damayan and the Filipino community, I was able to escape the family (that trafficked me),” MJ said. “I now have access to support and services for survivors of trafficking (that I didn’t receive before).”

MJ’s experience demonstrates that we are stronger when we organize as a community. In a typical year, the Filipino migrant worker community that Damayan serves battles forced migration, work exploitation, and isolation. For the past 10 months, our members have struggled with the additional burden of not being able to afford rent and food, facing eviction, self-deportation, deaths, and illnesses during an economic and health crisis.

To support the community, Damayan presented resources to prevent eviction, news on the latest eviction moratorium and locations of food pantries in Queens near where our members live. While these resources may help current members survive the pandemic, one Damayan member shared her grief of losing her husband to COVID. We also remembered Damayan members Nenita Manguardia and Bernardita Fertal who passed in December and January, respectively.

Grief and worry about the coronavirus is also still prevalent among members. According to a poll conducted at the meeting, the majority of the members hoped the Biden administration prioritizes addressing immigration and the coronavirus pandemic.

Thank you again to everyone who attended this emotional and powerful gathering! Thank you Damayan members Carolina and Celso for facilitating, Jules, Linda, Lyne, and Riya for the presentations, and Mercedes, Evelyn, and another Damayan member for their uplifting performances.

Please join us for our first online public webinar of the year on Zoom and Facebook Live on Saturday, February 13, 6:00-8:30pm. We’ll be inviting speakers to discuss President Biden’s immigration plan and a health professional to talk about the COVID vaccine.

Another screen capture of some of the 80 attendees on January 23, 2021.