Conversations between Europeans and Asians

PARIS – There are quite a number of Filipinos who are concerned how our country fits in the so-called new world order. They will be glad to know that there are people seriously talking on region-building, and how this might be achieved in this part of our world. This will be good for the Philippines. Such is the work of Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). That was launched in 1997 when 25 countries and the European Commission met and decided to organize a program of conferences, workshops and projects between the two continents. Through such encounters, ASEF hopes Asians can learn from Europeans through dialogue and debate on the many issues that affect both regions. That would also ensure better understanding between the peoples of Asia and Europe. Francois Godermont of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), one of the co-sponsors of the conference, said in his opening speech there must be around 4,000 individuals – academics, journalists and diplomats – brought together by ASEF’s as well as their partners in this dialogue.

The speakers agreed it was an auspicious time for a conference on East Asia and Europe: Experimenting with region building with the troubling conditions of the world. To hold such a conference is this magnificent city of light was most welcome to participants. A welcoming reception was held at the top floor of the hotel with a view of Tour Eiffel at night. As one of the hosts, former Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines and now head of Asia-Europe with headquarters in Singapore, Delfin Colome said in jest his wife asked him if he had a better excuse than holding the conference in beautiful Paris. But seriously, speaker after speaker from Francois Godement of Ifri, Delfin Colome, Rodolfo Severino, formerly head of ASEAN and Gilles Andreani, Director of Policy Planning at the French Ministry were unanimous that region-building was the wave of the future. So it is not just an excuse to hold the conference in Paris but the right thing to do since it was the French who initiated the concept of organizing countries into a region that ultimately made European Union a reality. Still, no one was sure just how region-building would happen in Asia or indeed whether this would ultimately benefit Asians.

I was especially pleased to hear very frank statements from some of the participants like Jean-Pierre Lehmann of IMD Switzerland and discussant Jomo Kwame Sundaran of the University of Malaya in Malaysia. Both touched on the failure of the talks in Cancun as an important background for the Conference which discusses the advantages of a new world order fueled by successful regional groupings. Jomo Sundaran did not think the Cancun talks were a disaster. On the contrary, he said he was happy with what happened because the disagreement reflected the realities of a world order of developed and developing nations with poorer countries at a disadvantage. It is good that there were people brave enough to put these concerns on the table as points for discussion instead of keeping a blind eye to it.

As a journalist, my concern is how to translate the proceedings of a very complex subject to a readable column. Otherwise the conference would just be academic gymnastics. Discussion and debate on such an important issue as region building should translate into policies that influence real people’s lives. I had a chance to speak to Sophie Boisseau du Rocher of IFRI, one of the organizers of the conference to express that concern. I know that this was also the concern of other journalists like Nguyen Dai Phuong. World News Editor of Tien Phong Daily in Vietnam and Ukihiro Hasegawa, editorial writer of the Tokyo Shimbun. As journalists, our job was to ask questions.

Among Filipinos present in the Conference, I was surprised to see former Senator Orlando Mercado but as he explained to me he was now an academic teaching in both La Salle and UP. He will be the discussant of ‘Police Cooperation: The Case of Drug Traffic’ a subject to be taken up on the second day of the conference.

I’m still waiting for a copy of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s speech from the Philippine Embassy but I was told they did not have any copy as this was given directly to the UNESCO Press Office. (I finally received it and will write about it tomorrow) I would have taken time out to be present when she gave her speech but no one seemed to know where I could pick up my press accreditation. President Arroyo had come earlier than scheduled in Paris as she was reportedly caught in the big blackout in Rome on her way here. If they are having blackouts in such developed countries, what will happen to us if we don’t get our act together soon on our power needs and our population burgeons.

By the way, I was jolted in the middle of the night by a call from dear friend, the indefatigable Cecile Alvarez. She was here for ceremonies that designated her project ‘The Earthsavers Dream Ensemble’ as one UNESCO’s artists for peace. The group is composed of disabled persons. She told me over the phone how grateful she was to STAR publisher, Max Soliven, who was also in Paris with his wife, Precious, UNESCO Chair for the Philippines. Cecile says he gave $100 each for the disabled performers. Thanks, Max – from Cecile and the disabled.

More than twenty years ago, my husband and I came here to meet with Filipinos and see whether they could be organized as Filipinos in London. Here they were reluctant to speak to anybody, let alone a Filipino. Most of them were TNTs (tago nang tago) without working papers. After many meetings, my husband explained they could be legalized but they had to present their case. We suggested they affiliate themselves with the largest labor union if they wanted to be heard. When François Mitterand, who was supported by this union, became President, the "Filipino papers" were among the first he acted on. Filipinos living and working here and whose employers guaranteed their employment were legalized. Since then, the community has grown with their own leaders, I do not even know where to look for the original organizers. It was a job done to make them come forward and worked with us to get a respectable hearing from the French government.

We also have a personal Paris. My husband was a student here when he was younger and on one of the years of our early married life we took the entire family for a month’s stay in Paris in an apartment off Victor Hugo. The children learned conversational French at the Alliance and on weekends we had picnics in the countryside.

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