CYCLES OF CARE
2011, Documentary by Lizza May David and Claudia Liebelt, 52 min.
Filipina Care Workers in Israel Return to Manila.
This documentary traces five women who have returned to Manila from migration to Israel, where they took care of children and the elderly in private homes. As carers, they were part of the large exodus of Filipinas, who leave their country to gain access to strong currencies and search for ‘greener pastures’ within a highly gendered global economy. Back in Manila, they struggle to make a living and reintegrate into families, whom they left many years ago. On the background of the humdrum of their everyday lives in the capital, they reflect on the outcomes of their journeys and remember their lives in Israel.
Speaking Hebrew and indulging in memories of pilgrimages to holy sites, Kibbutz life and employers in the midst of homes that bear witness to their vast journeys, these women speak of the crossing of boundaries not merely in a geographical sense. Taking care of their elderly mothers or grandchildren of daughters, who have now replaced them as breadwinners of the extended family, they are part of an ongoing cycle of care.
The project was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK); Diasporas, Migration & Identities Programme; Keele University (UK) and University of Hull (UK). For more information, please contact me through email or please see Foot Steps Project website.
See full film here.