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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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Finding calm in service to others
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Watching news footage of the recent tsunami devastation in South Asia, which claimed more than 150,000 lives in 11 countries, caught everyone with disbelief, pain, regret and fear. And the sad reality of the tragedy was that one-third of the fatalities were children.
Yet amid the stench of death, recovery and resettlement of those who survived nature's wrath, lurked opportunists who eyed on the helpless, weak, weary and distraught people. And another sad reality is that the children survivors were the ones vulnerable to human trafficking.
But thanks to the hard work of the United Nations Children's Fund and other non-governmental agencies. These organizations immediately instituted measures to put child traffickers on notice.
Nations came forward with monetary pledges to help affected countries particularly Indonesia and Sri Lanka. With their outpouring of support not only in monetary terms but also in relief operations, we saw how a team of global experts put their hearts and minds together towards an effective work. The response was swift and determined, and continuing.
In America, many towns and cities launched fund-raising drives as well. Jersey City, under the leadership of Mayor Jerramiah Healy, was one of those cities that immediately called its citizens to respond to a Tsunami Relief Fund.
But as pledges of support continue to pour in, there are now government officials from these countries who view such aid with suspicion as if the assistance were tied to a future payback.
Much as we are tempted to agree with their apprehension we are stirred to dismiss such false impression. We believe that in any adversity caused by no man but by some unexplainable force, people come together with common resolve despite the suffering and remorse. As mortals, fear is our enemy.
In light of a world where nations are affected and united in times like this massive tragedy, we doubt if such uneasiness posed by certain governments were true.
The most important question is: How do we lift our spirits in the midst of all these? Just as nations do, finding calm in service to others seemed to be the answer.
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The need for political transformation
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NEW YORK --- Former Jersey City Mayor Brett Schundler, a Republican, is off to his gubernatorial bid again as he launched his campaign in November at the Harborside Financial Center on the city's waterfront.
Of course, there were a handful of Filipino Americans in attendance for photo-ops and what have you. But in fairness, there were also those who believe in his leadership without hoping to get a political appointment in return.
Not to be outdone, U.S. Senator Jim Corzine, a resident of Hoboken, finally decided to run for governor, too. Again, a handful of our own Democrats were with him when he announced his bid. And just as Schundler had his photo-ops with our locals, Sen. Corzine had his local supporters as well.
I was thinking: Is this the way we show our political maturity? Or a better question would be: Are we matured politically? Have we raised our consciousness to get involve in politics?
I posed the same questions at a party last Christmas and someone corrected my observation. He explained that as a political force our community may not even have found its bearing yet. And almost everyone else in the tête-à-tête seemed jolted by his comments.
"How's that possible? We've had people deputy mayors appointed; we've also had those appointed in city and state offices, and how could there be no political clout?" countered a Jersey City old-timer.
Another one commented that if we ourselves were not even united in running our own organizations, how could we all agree to support a candidate of our choice? Someone responded: "Our organizations are not political and therefore we have our own fights. But if we decide to fight for what's best for our community, we could do that by being united in our political actions."
That should make sense. However, as there are negative experiences in the past and as there are many points of view that muddle our objective, it's not easy to make any sense at all. Reason has its own difficulties to take root in the minds of people who have no sense of reality but their own.
It seems we cannot stretch our mindset to go beyond photo-ops. We tend to dwell more on endlessly discussing minor points instead of agreeing to pursue major goals. As a result, nothing is accomplished and leaves us with nothing but disappointments.
Let's not sell ourselves short and as Zig Ziglar wrote: "Go for the power of positive projection." How do we do that? Some people may think it's not an easy task. Who says its easy? It takes time, determination and discipline.
To project our community as a political force, we must start with ourselves. On our own, we have to shift our mind into thinking that one person is like an important spoke of a bicycle wheel or one of the four tires of a vehicle. If one spoke is lacking or one tire had no air, we could not travel far nor reach our destination.
When we meet with these politicians, let's not just pull them aside for photo-ops. We must talk sense; let them know our concerns and our needs as a community, nothing personal. We need to sell our community first than our personal selves.
In any political rally or caucus, group attendance is a must. We need to listen to what politicians say and digest the impact of their plans to our community. If we need to, we must let them know why we support or oppose their plans. However, let's use tact and diplomacy in making them aware of these.
Rubbing elbows with politicians doesn't do much. We need to organize a political action committee to plan our strategy.
There are other ways for us to use the power of projection. Politicians listen to their constituents, not only because of our votes, but for what we can do to help them build a better city or town.
Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, we need to begin the process of own political transformation. That's the reality we need to face. Not just photo-ops.
Send comments to rickyxpres@aol.com or visit Website at PinoyOnBoard.com.
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The start of a new year brings hope to many and for this Manila Girl, a new direction for this space. Over the last four years, I’ve written with the voice of someone “fresh-off-the-boat,” sharing with you my views and life-experiences about being Filipino in the U.S. Many of you responded, some of you even shared your own stories for which I am grateful. However, I realize that I am no longer a newbie to these shores but rather someone who has grown accustomed to American life. But the most amazing realization is that the longer I live outside the Philippines, the more Filipino I’ve become. By this I mean that I have found deep within me what makes me Filipino, what makes me want to go on writing about our land and our people. It is that which makes me soak up our history and share our heritage and culture with the world.
And this is why this year, I embark on a new journey – into the works of Filipino (and Fil-Am, Euro-fils etc.) artists through books and movies. In an effort to promote Philippine literature (including the so-called diasporic literature), this year’s 24 (keeping my fingers crossed) columns will be dedicated to reflecting upon, and occasionally reviewing the work of our kababayans.
And what better author to start with than Jessica Hagedorn? My friend J gave me “Dream Jungle” for Christmas and I’ve enjoyed reading it. You’ll have to wait till next week to read that article though. For now, I’ll share with you my thoughts on “Closer to Home” –the movie by Joseph Nobile (www.elibonfilms.com).
Closer to Home is about two people drawn together for different reasons — basically, a poor young provinciana named Dalisay travels to New York from Quezon (?) to marry Dean, an ex-marine. It’s a simple enough “mail-order bride” story but the filmmaker manages to make Dean and Dalisay’s story touching through scenes that are part-travelogue (the opening Pahiyas fiesta is beautifully shot), part-soap opera (complete contrabidas on both sides of the globe.) The actors are effective and the girl who plays Dalisay is so “pure” one wonders why she never ended up a working movie actress in the Philippines (could it be because of her very kayumanggi/indio features?) I’ve never met an actual mail-order bride but I know only too well that the economic situation that drives naïve young Filipinas to sign up with agents promising a better future married to some foreigner in America or wherever, is real.
I was especially moved by the scene where Dalisay and her family are riding a jeep on their way to the airport, and a Smokey Mountain (Ryan Cayabyab’s music) song is playing in the background. With no dialogue involved, I could relate to Dalisay’s feelings of fear and excitement about leaving home just by looking into those deep-set eyes.
Fortunately for me, my journey has been happy – blessed with a wonderful home and family. But I know for Dalisay and many others like her, their journeys don’t have happy endings. (Visit www.missingmangoes.com, e-mail me at manilagirl01 [at] hotmail.com)
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