General Assembly participants discussing the strategic plan

For some, the annual Women's Exchange (WE) Conference does not have any important meaning, another one of those big conferences where many women get together to commemorate the International Women's Day. But some participants at this conference are women from Burma, who are fortunate to escape from the desperate country. Others are living in Thailand or India either as refugees or migrant workers. This venue is very important for women like them. Many women at the Conference mentioned that they consider the four day WE Conference as the highlight of the year.

WE Conference is an emotional and physical space for women from all walks of life and whose lives are in daily confrontation with various struggles for survival. It is correct to say that the WE Conference has a great potential to be a breeding ground for future women's movement of Burma. The significance of such a conference as WE is that it is a place to foster sisterhood and solidarity among women's groups from different backgrounds- ethnicities, beliefs, nationalities and sectors. It is one venue where women share their coping mechanisms that they have developed while living outside of their homeland as refugees and migrants. They also receive a sense of community from this annual event.

WE Conference empowers the participants. Marginalised and disadvantaged women realise that they are not victims in the situation they are in, but the very fact that they survive in the harsh situations proves that they are, indeed, courageous women. This spirit is embedded in every undertaking of the WE programme. From the overarching theme of the event to the topic of discussions of workshop sessions, the spirit of WE is reflected. Substance wise, the plenary sessions were essential as these sessions not only provide a wealth of information about today's emerging issues concerning the participants, but these were followed by workshop sessions that shared practical information as to how to address these issues.

Migrant Assistance Programme (MAP) foundation is a member of Labour and Migration Task Force (L&M TF) of APWLD. APWLD has been, through the L&M and other programmes, supporting the WE Conference by sending resource persons for plenary sessions and workshops and by financial support.

This year's WE conference was held on March 5-8 under the theme of "Women in Transit" and the L&M TF held a sideline workshop on "Women and Remittances: Migrant Women's Contribution to their Countries of Origin and Destination". The L&M TF undertook this topic because the TF acknowledges the need to recognise the contribution of women in the migratory process. The TF also identifies the need to point out the policy vacuum around the remittances transferring and policies addressing the security of money transferring. This workshop was undertaken to shed some new light on the gender dimension of migration particularly on remittances issues. It encompassed the roles of women in migration, and their obligation to support family for the betterment of their family's social and economical status.

The workshop drew women from different sectors: some work as domestic workers, a few work in factories, while others work in construction sites. There were Filipinos, Australian, and American participants whose inputs provided new insights on how the remittance processes are taking place in other developed and more-developed countries. The participants explored the definition of remittances that goes beyond monetary terms, including emotional and morale support from the migrants to their loved ones back home, i.e. sending consumer goods and knowledge based materials such as books, dictionary, and coloring books for children. With that definition, each individual was remitting one way or the other back to their homes.

Amazing strengths of women were displayed during their sharing. Striking information like women who signed up for both night-shit and day-shift work in construction sites to maximise their earnings so they could send the money to their families for the school fees of their young ones. Some participants shared their heartbreaking stories of their remittances not being able to reach home; instead it went to illicit money changers.

The gender dimension was pronounced during the discussions. Women pointed out time and again that they remit on more regular basis than their brothers who work with them here in Thailand. Their male counterpart migrants put more emphasis on purchasing motor bikes and cell phones with their earnings, while women migrant workers send money for their family. The money sent back home is used for children's education, family health care and social activities. They were proud to share that they have been frugal with their expenses to be able to save enough to remit. Practical and useful information was shared with each other in regards to what channels they use when they send their remittances - formal or informal; what is the safe approach to take (i.e. pay upon the confirmation of the receipt of the cash in home country); what transfer service fees are available in which city of Thailand; and how much is the transfer fees. It was interesting to see that the service fees in the border towns are cheaper than that of the central part of Thailand. No one in the group advised to keep money with them as the level of security for them is poor. Armed-robbery cases in some rubber plantations where migrant workers were targeted were shared. Migrant women who work in the rubber plantations earn a decent wage compared to the Thailand standard. However, they are under threat by the local young gangsters who rob them of their earnings through fear tactics. There have been many cases where migrant workers were robbed and women migrant workers were raped when they refused to give their earnings. These cases have been unaccounted for and the perpetrators have not been held accountable.

Amidst all these obstacles, the creativity and will to survive and strive to attain a better life was reassuring. They have undertaken saving groups; implemented different styles of saving; and pool money among the group for social affairs- such as for fellow migrants' funeral expenses and costs for religious celebrations.

A shared reaction towards the banking system in Burma is alarming to the extent that neither the migrants themselves nor their families in the home country want to engage with the official bank transfer. The bureaucratic questioning, charges on the funds transferred, and long procedures of retrieving money from banks lead people to avoid the formal remitting systems. They all agreed that the informal money transferring system is precarious, and yet at the same time it is the only system that is practical and available presently. Participants were able to link up the current obstacles they face in sending money with the political situation of Burma. They noted a need for the establishment of NGO or community based organisations that could assist migrants with saving schemes, assist them with banking processes, and provide information on the best practices from other countries. Such organisations are lacking in Thailand. They all unanimously called for greater political transformation inside Burma at the structural level, and agreed to continue to struggle for the democratisation of the country.