Wherever I am, the world comes after me. It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it. Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist. "The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver
Migration within and from Southeast Asia | A Symposium
Migration within and from Southeast Asia | A Symposium
Details
The UP Asian Center will hold the symposium "Migration within and from Southeast Asia" on 6 September 2024, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, at the Seminar Room, UP Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. The event is free and open to the public. Online pre-registration is recommended due to limited seating.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
This symposium aims to promote academic exchange and cooperation between Japanese and Filipino researchers, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, on the issues relating to the movement of people or migration flows in and around Southeast Asia. It also aims to gather researchers from both Japan and the Philippines doing Southeast Asian migration research to discuss their ongoing research, touching on various issues relating to the movement of people or human migration, diaspora, nationality/citizenship, relationships between migrants and host societies such as the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia in both domestic- and transnational contexts. Academic research on human migration/or movement of people has become an increasingly important topic in the context of globalization, not only between the West and the so-called global South but also within and from the (Southeast) Asian region.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS AND THE SPEAKERS
Thai Skilled Migrants in Japan: Elites on the Journey
Numerous studies have examined skilled migrants in Asian countries. Much of the existing research on intra-Asia skilled migration positions Chinese and Taiwanese skilled migrants as comprising a “moderate elite.” However, diverse Asian countries, including Thailand, are sending skilled migrants abroad to destinations such as Japan. This study entailed interviews with Thai skilled migrants in Tokyo to inquire about their background, motivation, and acceptance of working in Japan. With reference to the interview content, this paper reveals the inadequacy of analytical frameworks that describe Thai skilled migrants as comprising a “moderate elite” or as engaging in “lifestyle migration.” In fact, the interviewees were top elites in their home country and had a middle class or higher background. They reported satisfaction with their home and family and indicated that they have a home country to which to return. However, they said that they are seeking somewhere else to find their true selves. They have affluent cross-border job opportunities, and they attempt to utilize their cross-border experiences to change or reset their lives. Many were in their twenties or thirties at the time of the interviews, and thus, their “myth of return” remains in place. They described their sojourn in Japan as a part of their journey to find their true selves. However, the elders among them have started to settle in Japan. Research should investigate how migrants become settlers and how they can attain citizenship in both the sending and the destination country in the long term.
KAYOKO ISHII, Ph.D. College of Sociology, Rikkyo University
Sari K Ishii, Ph.D. is a Professor of Sociology, at the College of Sociology, Rikkyo University. Her main research interest is minority and globalization. Her current research topic is Thai and Asian migrants in Japan, with emphasis on their second generation. Her publications include: “Remarriage migration of women in Asia: The case of Japan,” International Migration, 61(4): 186-200, 2023. “Access to citizenship for abandoned children: how migrants’ children become ‘stateless’ in Japanese orphanages,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(5): 970-987, 2021. Marriage Migration in Asia: Emerging Minorities at the Frontiers of Nation-States, Kyoto University Press/NUS Press Singapore, 2016.
Sedentarization, Environmental Change, and Orang Asli: The Case of Batek on Mobility and Identity
The Batek is one of the Olang Asli groups, the non-Malay indigenous peoples of peninsular Malaysia. They have been known for their nomadic existence and fluid group composition. They subsisted on hunting and gathering, and trading of forest products, traveling along the river. Today, in Kelantan, Bateks use three villages established by the government in the Lebir watershed: Pos Lebir (Macang and Pasir Lenggi), Pos Aring, and Kuala Koh. However, previous studies of the Batek did not use the location name of Kuala Koh, even though there is “Kampung Orang Asli Kuala Koh (Kuala Koh Orang Asli Village)” today. So, probably these people did not exist in that specific area at that time. However, Bateks use “Batek was kol”, which means “Kuala Koh people” today and the people also identify themselves so. Where did they come from? How did they become “Batek was kol (Kuala Koh people)”?
This report aims to answer this question by tracing the history of environmental change and resettlement programs and Batek's "migration" history in the Lebir watershed in Kelantan. Until the mid-20th century, the watershed was inhabited not only by Bateks but also by Malay farmers, but during the Malayan Emergency, the Malay farmers migrated downstream. Then, the government began to implement resettlement programs for these nomads in the 1950s, and in the 1980s, the forests along the river were separated by plantation. This paper examines how these environmental changes and the establishment of villages by the government have changed their mobility and related to the formation of groups.
AYA KAWAI, Ph.D. Research Institute for Languages and Cultures, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Aya Kawai, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Trained as an anthropologist, her scholarship covers dynamics, politics, and cultures of human-environment relations. She also studies the nature of modern state governance and its relationship to ethnicity, indigeneity, and territoriality. She has conducted research in a Batek community, one of Orang Asli (‘original people’) groups in Peninsular Malaysia. Her works include ‘Navigation in the Rainforest: The Case of the Batek in the Upper Lebir River Watershed, Malaysia,’ People and Culture in Oceania, 2019.
Ambulance Chasing in Southeast Asia: The Case of Filipino Seafarers
Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, has a significant number of seafarers employed on international vessels. When accidents happen, whether it is a maritime disaster, injury due to negligence, or other legal issues, Filipino seafarers and their families may be approached by legal intermediaries offering services to pursue compensation claims. This can sometimes involve aggressive tactics akin to ambulance chasing, where legal representatives actively seek out clients who may not fully understand their rights or the legal processes involved.
This paper will examine the extent of ambulant chasing in Southeast Asia particularly the case of Filipino seafarers. In particular, it will look into the effects of such action on the mobility of seafarers, and their marketability in the international maritime industry. Moreover, this paper will also document various actions employed by regulatory bodies to ensure that ethical standards are upheld in the pursuit of justice for Filipino seafarers. This includes transparency in legal processes, fair representation, and protection against exploitation in times of vulnerability
JOEFE B. SANTARITA, Ph.D. Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman
Joefe B. Santarita, Ph.D. is Professor and former Dean of the University of the Philippines’ Asian Center. In 2012, he was conferred the Doctor of Philosophy in South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore. His research interest focuses on India-ASEAN relations, data diplomacy, migration, archipelagic/maritime studies, and has published several books, chapters, and journal articles. He also served as associate editor and editorial board member of leading journals in the Philippines and as reviewers of international publications.
Lumad Displacement from their Land and Homes: The Case of Indigenous Communities in Bukidnon
The study examines the various factors in the displacement of indigenous communities in Bukidnon using an interdisciplinary political ecology perspective. In particular, it traces the historical roots of indigenous communities displacement and the social and ecological factors that affected their lives in their ancestral domain and resulting movement or mobility to other places. The roles of government and civil society vis a vis internal displacement of the lumads will also be analyzed to recommend policies and programs to assist these communities.
MARIA CECILIA T. MEDINA, Ph.D. Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman
Maria Cecilia T. Medina, Ph.D. is currently an Associate Professor at the UP Asian Center, and Associate Editor of Social Sciences Diliman. She is also an affiliate faculty of the UP Open University. She had previously served as the head of the secretariat and coordinator of the Tri-College PhD Philippine Studies Program of the University of the Philippines-Diliman and was Assistant to the Dean for Administration, Public and Cultural Affairs at the UP Asian Center. She is a regular member of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), currently the Vice President of the Philippine Sociological Society (PSS), Board member of the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC), a member of the International Sociological Association (ISA) and active in its Research Committees on Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Disasters. She is also a lifetime member of the Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in the Social Sciences and Phi Kappa Phi International Honor Society for Academic Excellence. Her publications and research interests are on Asian religions and cultures, Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic relations, Disaster and Southeast Asian Studies. She is currently president of Josefa Segovia Foundation, the social action arm of the Teresian Association in the Philippines assisting indigenous communities in Davao City.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
The Symposium/Research forum is organized by the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman through the following proponents:
Jocelyn O. Celero, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. She took her Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Her research interests include Contemporary Japa, Japan-Philippine Relations, Filipino Migration to Japan, Japan and Southeast Asia, Family and Youth Studies.
Ikuya TOKORO, Ph.D. is a professor of Cultural Anthropology at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies(TUFS). He obtained Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo. His main research field includes Islam in the maritime world of Southeast Asia (especially in Malaysia and the Philippines), migration studies, material culture studies, and so on. His publications include: Ikuya TOKORO & Hisao TOMIZAWA(eds.) Islam and Cultural Diversity in Southeast Asia (Vol3). Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa(ILCAA), 2021. Ikuya TOKORO (ed.) Islam and Cultural Diversity in Southeast Asia. Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa(ILCAA), 2015. Ikuya TOKORO 2016 “’Center/Periphery’ Flow Reversed? －Twenty Years of Cross-border Marriages between Philippine Women and Japanese Men”, Sari K. Ishii(ed)., Marriage Migration in Asia: Emerging Minorities at the Frontiers of Nation-States. pp. 105-117.Singapore & Kyoto: NUS Press & Kyoto Univ. Press.
For inquiries, please contact us atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 891-8500 loc. 3586.
The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The UP Asian Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. It also offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. As an area studies institution, the Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website.
