Scalabrinians start survey on family and migration in Southeast Asia:
Scalabrini Migration Center in Manila undertakes research on parents and children divided by migration in the Philippines and Indonesia. The goal is to offer material for reflection to the authorities, civil society groups and Church bodies pastorally involved in an area that affects millions of children.
Manila (AsiaNews) - The Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC), a Philippine-based Catholic institute, has started a research project to learn more about migrants’ scenarios during the pandemic, especially in Southeast Asian countries.
Focus is on two countries, the Philippines, the largest Catholic country in Asia, and Indonesia, the largest Muslim majority country in the world.
The Health and Migrant Parents in Southeast (CHAMPSEA) study set out to collect data in 2023 on new migrant families and children and compared them with similar research carried out in 2008.
The goal was to contribute to the discussion on a possible "crisis of care" in the area, as more and more parents leave their children to work elsewhere.
Indonesia's net migration rate in 2023 is -0.376 per 1,000 people, up from 0.27 per cent in 2021.
With an estimated 5.4 million migrants around the world in 2019, the Philippines is one of the top countries of origin of migrants. This number includes about 2.3 million migrant workers, also known as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW).
Dr Lucy Jordan of the University of Hong Kong (UHK) leads the CHAMPSEA study project working group, while Drs Maruja Asis and Sukamdi, respectively from the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC) and the Center for Population and Policy Studies, University of Gadjah Mada (CPPS-UGM), Indonesia, are the country coordinators.
UHK and SMC conducted training programmes from 10 to 18 April for the teams that will collect the data in Bulacan and Laguna. The Bulacan team began interviews with families on 13 April, while the Laguna team will do so in late April or early May.
The results of the study will help formulate migration policies and can be used by government, academics, NGOs and civil society groups, as well as help church bodies develop pastoral plans and programmes for migrants and their families.
Founded in 1987, the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC) is a research organisation whose goal is to study international migration and understand the many facets of migration in the Asia-Pacific region.
In order to advance the rights and dignity of immigrants and create inclusive societies, the SMC raises public awareness about migration and public policies, creating solidarity with migrants and stakeholders.
Its initiatives include the publication of the academic quarterly Asian and Pacific Migration Journal and monographs, the organisation of conferences and the management of a library centred on migration in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo was founded in 1887 in Italy by Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini of Piacenza. Known also as Scalabrinian Missionaries, the Catholic religious order has a specific charism devoted to the pastoral assistance of migrants.
Its facility in Manila is linked to the network of Scalabrini Migration Study Centers (SMSCs) and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN), which bring together research institutes and support facilities for migrants set up around the world by the Scalabrinians.
“Although border closures and mobility restrictions are no longer in place, migration has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels,” says Anna Triandafyllidou, a sociologist and migration expert at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada.
There are many persistent and emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities beyond the crisis stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is good to know the spaces for the migrant agency in the post-pandemic context.
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