First full day in Asia
Finally made it!! I just had my first full day in Asia. We left Maryknoll on July 7th at around 10:00 am (EST) and caught our 13 hour flight to Narita airport in Tokyo, Japan at 1:55pm. The flight was very long and tiring but I could not keep from looking out the window as we flew and finally landed in Japan. The airport was very nice and I had my first taste of Asian food. Our next flight was to Taipei, Taiwan and the layover was about two hours. When on the plane to Taipei the flight lasted about three hours. Just before landing in Taipei (the time was about 8:00 pm on July 8). We could see small lights coming from fishing boats out in the ocean. They looked like small stars. It was very pretty to see because there were so many of them.
After landing in Taipei, we met with Father Joyalito and Father Alfanso and took a bus and then a cab to the Maryknoll house in Taipei. Finnally arriving in Taipei made the whole trip total about 18 hours.
Today, we got on the high speed train in Taipei and left for Taichung which is in the center of Taiwan. The train ride was about an hour. Upon arriving in Taichung we had a Taiwanese lunch and I got to use chopsticks for the first time. I’m still trying to work on how to eat rice with chopsticks.
Our main activity for today was visiting a Maryknoll priest’s mission in Taichung. Father Joyalito has a shelter for Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan. I learned about how the migrant workers are oppressed and the struggles they face much like the migrants in the United States I have learned about in school. The Filipinos have to go through a broker system in order to get job placement in Taiwan. They have to pay their broker an extremely large amount of money (about $3,000) to be placed at a factory job and the employers pay a very low salary (about $400 a month). Plus, the migrants have to pay room and board. I met and spoke with the migrant workers at a little barbecue they held for us. They were so friendly and their stories were very interesting to hear.
These workers have gotten physically hurt at work, some have been physically abused and sexually abused by employers. If they file complaints they can get placed at a different job but it takes a long time because their brokers only care about the new migrant workers who are going to pay for the first job placement. If they go back to the Philippines and come back they will have to pay again for a broker. At least at the shelter they can stay there to wait for work or renew their visas which are good for three years while with an employer.
Much like the migrants in the United States, the Filipino workers do not get to see their children. Most of the people at this shelter were women and they can only contact their families by phone. I am still processing all that I learned and saw today. Tomorrow, we are going to go to mass with Father Joyalito and see more of the migrant workers who will be just getting off of the night shifts since they take the work that no one wants. It really struck me when Father Joyalito said that these people are the ones who make the parts in the electronics we use and they get nothing for it. Thankfully they have a shelter like this to help them. I’m excited to see them again tomorrow.
Be sure to read the Explore My Mission Blog as well for other posts and pictures of our journey so far.
Hi Danielle, Thanks for writing on your first day. I know you must be exhausted from the long trip and having to take in so much new and emotional experiences. I appreciate your writing about your trip to meet the Filipino people here. I did not know that our electronics were made by migrant workers. Lots of luck. JZ