By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International League of Peoples´ Struggle
11 November 2012
We , the International League of Peoples´ Struggle, convey our warmest greetings of solidarity to the officers and members of the UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK on the occasion of its 13th Congress.
We congratulate you for all the achievements that you have scored since the last congress in arousing, organizing and mobilizing the migrant workers and their supporters in Hongkong in order to uphold, defend and advance the rights and interests of migrant workers in Hongkong.
Your congress provides you the opportunity to sharpen your understanding of the situation in Hongkong, assess and evaluate your experience, enhance your strengths and overcome weaknesses and difficulties and adopt the tasks and methods for further strengthening your organization.
We are confident that your congress will make clear how to realize the objectives as expressed by the theme, “Strengthen UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK! Broaden the ranks of the progressive migrant movement! Advance the national democratic aspirations of the Filipino migrants and people!”
The imperialist states and the monopoly bourgeoisie in the centers of global capitalism are responsible for the current crisis of global capitalism by knowing no bounds for exploiting the working people, extracting superprofits and overaccumulating capital under the auspices of the neoliberal economic policy.
They cannot solve the crisis but are aggravating it by clinging to the same policy and acting further to exploit the people. They continue to overaccumulate capital and press down wages and cut back on social services through austerity measures. They whip up reactionary currents, including prejudices against migrant workers. They step up war production and unleash wars of aggression.
The worsening crisis of global capitalism will generate problems for the migrant workers, further challenge and put your organization to the test and provide opportunities for strengthening and expanding your membership among the Filipino migrant workers and developing further relations of solidarity and cooperation with migrant workers from other countries.
You have been forced to take jobs abroad because of the lack of industrial development and scarcity of employment in the Philippines. And yet the foreign exchange that you earn is not used to promote national industrialization and land reform but is captured by the big compradors and the reactionary government for anti-industrial purposes. The reactionary government exacts great amounts of fees but does not render the services it promises.
It is of great importance that you uphold national democratic aspirations and strive to participate in the struggle of the entire Filipino people for national independence, democracy, national industrialization and land reform and social justice. Even as you are abroad, there are many ways by which you can contribute to the realization of your aspirations.
The International League of Peoples’ Struggle is always proud of having the UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK as a member-organization. It is an exemplary and outstanding organization in serving the Filipino migrant workers in HK, in playing a key role in the MIGRANTE International and in building the International Migrants Alliance.
It has provided important and indispensable support to the ILPS in the preparation and holding of the Third International Assembly in Hongkong and the Fourth International Assembly in Manila. We take this opportunity for expressing our gratitude.
Long live UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK!
Carry forward the struggle of the Filipino migrant workers in Hongkong!
Long live the struggle of the Filipino for national and social liberation!