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‘I dread to think the homeland is drifting away’
By Ryann Tanap As a senior in undergrad, I am not ashamed to point out the obvious: I do not know what I am doing after graduation. I am a second-generation Filipino American, and I have been confronted by the dilemma many times when my parents, titas, titos, and family friends interrogate me with the […]
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I’m proud to be Filipino because…(and win a prize)
October is Filipino American History (or Heritage) Month. To celebrate the achievements of Filipinos in America and to encourage cultural pride in our youth, The Filipino School of New York & New Jersey will be holding the “I Am… Filipino American” contest. Answer all three questions: • Why are you proud to be a Filipino […]
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IN THE MOTHERLAND: Fighting to plant the Roots of Reproductive Health in Palawan
By Laurel Fantauzzo Women here have ways of coping. They drink laundry detergent. They jump from trees, belly first. They impale themselves with probing metal rods. If they make it to a hospital, health workers may write one large word on their charts—ABORTION—and let them bleed into the mattress. Some women try to stop the […]
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EEOC rules in favor of Tagalog-speaking nurses
By Maricar CP Hampton Four Baltimore nurses, dismissed in 2010 for speaking in Tagalog, won the anti-discrimination case they filed against their employer, the Bon Secours Health System, their lawyer said. “This is a great victory, a landmark case for immigrants and cultural diversity,” said legal counsel Arnedo Valera of Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) in […]
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‘A very long and lonely journey’
By Cheryl Ocampo I received the diagnosis of autism for my daughter, Zariah, in June 2005 right before her third birthday. After the initial shock and devastation, I knew eventually that I would have to accept it so I could help her. However, I was always such a timid and introverted person, I did not […]
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How life in the White House killed Dr. Connie’s marriage
By Maricar CP Hampton In her book “The White House Doctor: My Patients Were Presidents: A Memoir” Dr. Connie Mariano writes about how the journey has been from being the daughter of a Navy Steward to being the first Filipino Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy. And then there’s being the physician to two American […]
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The resilience of Bamboo Girl: From warrior to healer
The bellicose Bamboo Girl zine editor of the late 1990s has recognizably mellowed. Margarita Alcantara is now a calmer person, an acupuncturist with a private practice and a life she concedes is not as self-obsessed. By Cristina DC Pastor TF: Where is the angry, confrontational Bamboo Girl now? MA: My fire is still there, it’s […]
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‘It truly takes a village to raise a child’
By Venessa Manzano It was something my younger, American-born sister said that got me thinking. She said, “No offense, but why should I think about helping the Philippines if I feel like I have no connection to it?” I never forgot that statement. Working closely with the Filipino American community in New York and New […]
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The day I found a carabao’s tail
By R Sonny Sampayan-Sampayan, USAF Ret. There is one memory that always brings me home to Barrio Santo Nino in Binalonan, Pangasinan. I was born into poverty with a family of seven children of which I was the third. Life was hard and food was hard to come by so we all worked together to […]