The Ordeal of Gemma Concepcion's Family
The
Canadian
Border
Services
Agency
(CBSA)
on
January
27,
deported
Gemma
Concepcion,
a
49-year-old
migrant
worker
from
the
Philippines,
her
Filipino
husband
Enrico,
also
a
migrant
worker,
and
their
two
Canadian-born
children
--
Ricca
Mae,
12
and
Mark
Eli,
8.
The
14-year
struggle
of Gemma to build a productive life for herself and her family
in Canada came crashing down at the hands of a Canadian state that can
only be characterized as inhuman. Her struggle is not unique and
relates to the imperialist control of the world, including Gemma's
native Philippines. Workers in this imperialist world are deprived of
the rights they possess by virtue of being human. Gemma's case is a
striking example of how working people must unite and organize to
deprive the ruling imperialist elite of their power to deprive people
of their rights.
Every
single
day
more
than
6,000
workers
leave
the
Philippines
in
search
of
a
better
life
for
themselves
and
to
provide
for
the
family
members
they
leave
behind.
Gemma
Concepcion
was
one
of
them
in
2005.
Poverty
and
unemployment
of
a
Philippines'
economy dominated by foreign
imperialists and their local flunkies forced her to leave her home.
Western and Japanese imperialists have colonized and plundered the
Philippines for hundreds of years, stripping it of its social wealth
and
blocking it from developing a modern socialized economy of industrial
mass production under the control of Filipinos in opposition to
imperialist dictate. Canadian mining monopolies have long been directly
involved in the theft of the Philippines' mineral resources, engaging
in displacement of local people and expropriation of their lands and
natural resources, particularly the local Indigenous people, called the
Lumad.
Gemma
Concepcion's Struggle for Her Rights as
a Worker and Human Being
Gemma
accepted
a
job
offer
through
an
agency
in
the
Philippines
to
work
in
Canada
with
the
promise
that
she
would
become
a
Permanent
Resident
after
working
for
a
period
of
time.
For
this
promise,
the
human
traffickers
forced
her
to
hand
over to them $14,000, which she raised
through the sale of part of her family's land.
When
Gemma
arrived
in
Toronto
in
September
2005,
she
was
unaware
that
the
recruiting
agency
was
running
a
human
trafficking
operation
and
had
issued
her
a
fake
passport
to
bring
her
into
Canada.
As
soon
as
she
arrived,
a
representative
of
the
agency confiscated Gemma's
documentation, leaving her "undocumented."
Her
future
husband
Enrico,
who
had
arrived
in
Canada
the
year
before,
was
also
a
victim
of
human
trafficking.
In
Canada,
they
both
worked
for
an
agency
that
provided
custodial
services
and
met
while
employed
as
cleaners
at
the
Ontario
College
of
Arts and Design, cleaning
classrooms and studios.
They
raised
their
two
children
and
attended
a
local
church
and
contributed
to
their
community.
At
the
same
time,
they
were
always
living
in
a
state
of
terror
as
"undocumented"
workers.
Their
two
children,
born
in
Canada,
missed
several
years
of
public
schooling for fear of being
targeted as children of undocumented workers.
The
CBSA
arrested
Gemma
on
January
16,
2016,
detaining
her
for
10
days,
which
traumatized
her
family.
The
pastor
of
her
church
posted
bail
and
the
congregation
advised
her
and
her
family
to
contact
Migrante-Ontario
--
a
defence
organization
for
Filipino
migrant
workers, which is the
provincial affiliate of Migrante Canada.
The
CBSA
gave
Gemma
a
temporary
reprieve
in
March
the
following
year,
while
her
case
was
being
reviewed.
Her
legal
team
made
a
permanent
residency
application
based
on
humanitarian
considerations,
which
was
denied.
This
decision
was
sent
for
a
judicial
review
at
the Federal Court,
which went
against Gemma. In the meantime, Migrante Ontario organized fund-raisers
and public meetings to bring attention to Gemma's case.
Subsequent
to
the
Federal
Court
decision,
the
CBSA
informed
Gemma
that
she
and
her
family
would
be
deported
on
January
27.
On
January
25
an
emergency
action
was
held
in
downtown
Toronto
to
bring
attention
to
the
plight
of
Gemma
and
her
family. On the same day, her lawyer heard the outcome of
an application made to the Supreme Court of Canada to have the
deportation order stayed was unsuccessful.
Emergency rally held in Toronto in support of the Concepcion family,
January 25, 2019.
Inhumanity
Towards
the
Victims
of
Colonialism
and
Denial of Their Rights
What
happened
to
Gemma
and
her
family
was
unjust
and
unconscionable.
The
Canadian
ruling
elite
take
no
responsibility
for
creating
the
conditions
that
generate
mass
migration
from
oppressed
countries
such
as
the
Philippines
or
the
abuse
vulnerable
people
suffer
at
the
hands
of
human traffickers. The Canadian authorities turn a blind eye to the
shattered lives of victims who are criminalized and deported.
 Gemma is not being
assisted to have the $14,000 stolen from her returned
or to receive any benefits for the more than a decade of hard work both
she and her
husband did in Canada. Needless to say, resettling in the Philippines
will be difficult especially for the two children who have been torn
away from their school and friends.
The
Canadian
state
must
be
held
to
account
for
this
crime
against
Gemma
and
her
family
and
the
tens
of
thousands
of
other
migrant
workers
who
have
been
mistreated
and
had
their
rights
violated.
MacDonald
Scott
was
part
of
the
legal
team
that
supported
Gemma's
case.
Scott
says
they
informed
the
CBSA
that
Gemma
would
cooperate
in
an
investigation
into
her
case
but
received
no
response.
He
notes
that
Gemma's situation became known because various organizations stood
behind her and championed the justice of her case. Many other migrants
are just picked up, detained and deported as if they are ghosts and not
human beings with rights and historical and personal reasons for their
plight. Speaking at the January 25 rally for Gemma and her family,
Scott
pointed out that when the Liberal government was elected in 2015,
Justin Trudeau publicly stated that he was opposed to human trafficking
and pledged to do something about it. Scott called on Trudeau "to do
the right thing" in the here and now and stop the CBSA deportation
proceeding against the Concepcions, which he refused to do.
Through
programs
such
as
the
Temporary
Foreign
Worker
Program,
the
Seasonal
Agricultural
Worker
Program
and
others,
the
Canadian
state
turns
workers
throughout
the
world,
and
in
particular
from
the
poor
and
oppressed
countries,
into
vulnerable
fair
game
to
human
traffickers
and
unscrupulous
employers
in Canada, who view them as disposable objects
to exploit. The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) calls on
all Canadians to unite and work together for a new direction for the
country, where the rights of all are guaranteed without exception. We
are one humanity! The rights of all are inviolable! Organize and fight
for the New!
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 16 - May 4, 2019
Article Link:
The Ordeal of Gemma Concepcion's Family
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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