Since mid-1970s, solidarity activities for the Philippines have been undertaken in the various European countries. Until the mid-1980s the solidarity groups grew in number and spread to other European countries, and the number of groups within each country also grew. After that, the number of groups leveled out and later slightly decreased.
At present, there are groups doing Philippine solidarity work in 14 countries in Europe: from Finland to Italy, from Austria to Ireland. The capacity, stresses, and constituencies of these groups and networks, vary from country to country. Overseas Filipinos, either as individuals or organizations, have come to comprise a major part of the network that undertakes solidarity activities.
The Philippine Solidarity Network in Europe has had a long history of coordinated activities and campaigns. In the early '80s, during the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship, the groups started to coordinate their activities in the Campaign Against Militarization in the Philippines (CAMP). This was anchored and coordinated by KSP from 1981-85. After the fall of Marcos and Aquino's rise to power, new forms of activities were undertaken. From 1988 to the early '90s, these focused on Europe-wide campaigns in support of people's organizations and their alternative programs and the increasing development aid from Europe to the Philippines. In recent years, coordinated activities among groups from various countries were undertaken on current issues such as sustainable development, the environment and indigenous peoples.
Although the Philippine solidarity network had a long experience in functioning as a network, it took quite a while before it realized that a formal network could have more impact. In the solidarity conference of 1993, the Philippine Solidarity Network in Europe (PSNE) was finally 'formalized'. It is composed of the different Philippine solidarity formations in Europe. The formalization is also a concrete expression of commitment by the groups to continue having coordinated activities together under a changed global situation. This commitment is articulated in a 'Declaration of Solidarity' or the Leusden Declaration which was formulated during the 1993 European Solidarity Conference on the Philippines.
Although there was a slight decline in the number of Philippine solidarity groups in the early '90s, the majority of them were able to survive. This is remarkable, given the overall decline in interest on Third World, country-specific solidarity in Europe. This is due to a number of reasons: In the first place, the solidarity network was able to establish strong relations with partner organizations in the Philippines. The groups here in Europe have been working to connect Philippine issues with contemporary issues in their own countries. Since the early '80s, there has been the realization in the Philippine network that solidarity should be mutual, and not a one-way affair. Often, experiences from the Philippine progressive movement have been connected with local struggles such as the anti-nuclear struggle, peace movement, the women's movement, the agricultural sector, progressive church sector and lately the environment movement.
Another development is that through the years Philippine solidarity activists found work in NGOs, in church-related agencies and even in government-related agencies which are involved with issues such as development aid, development education, environment, sustainable development and human rights. This means that in several countries it is much easier now to reach out to other institutions than before. This has laid the basis for joint campaigns with these NGOs on Philippine issues and to introduce Philippine issues in their campaigns.
Despite a drop in the interest for the Philippines by the end of the '80s and early '90s, Philippine-related formations in several European countries have revived interest among groups and individuals in Europe to visit the Philippines for research, study exchange programs and cultural and political exposures programs, by providing opportunities for linkages with Philippine organizations.
The presence of half a million Filipinos in the various countries of Europe is yet another factor behind the continuing vibrance of Philippine solidarity work. The Filipinos in Europe are present in all countries, and they are usually quite organized; many of them are active in a whole range of activities in support of partners in the Philippines. There is also a good supply of Filipinos available to speak at local activities, and participate in Philippine-related activities.
All these factors give us hope that, although the Philippines is no longer among the poorest or the most repressive countries in the world, solidarity with its grassroots organizations will continue and thrive for years to come.