San Francisco Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines
(Tagalog)
Mula ng ako’y musmos hanggang sa aking pagkabinata, unti-unti akong namulat sa katotohanan na hindi ako tatanda sa lupa kong tinubuan. Dumating ako sa Amerika noong 1993, katorse-anyos pa lang ako. Nauna ang aking ina at naging isang Dental Assistant. Sumunod ang tatay ko at nagdalawang trabaho siya bilang security guard at hotel manager para may mapakain sa aming mag-ina. Abogado ang tatay ko sa sarili niyang bansa, ngunit dito hanggang guwardiya lang siya sa korte. Ang nanay ko ay isang dentista na may titulo sa aming lungsod, ngunit dito hindi kinikilala ang kanyang tinapos. Sapat ang kanilang sahod kahit masasakit ang sinabi ng amo nila, tintiiis at di nagpahalata ng galit. Madaling araw sila umaalis para unahan ang trapik. Nakakauwi sila ng halos alas-diyes ng gabe. Alam ko na pinagsasamantalahan ng mga amo ng nanay at tatay ko ang kanilang alanganin na kalagayan. Ang nakasanayan nila na sistema sa Pilipinas ay huwag umimik pag sinasaktan, huwag mag welga pag inaapi. May papeles man o wala, sila’y migrante. Mga migrante na umalis sa tinubuan na lupa dahil naubos ang yaman ng bansa noong panahong Batas Militar. Migrante sila na umalis ng sawi, mga saksi sa pagsakop at paggahasa ng mga Amerikanong sundalo at militar sa bayan at sa mamayan. Migrante sila na kabilang sa mamayan ng San Francisco Bay Area. Migrante sila na nagbabayad ng buwis sa goberyno. Sila ang nagpapatakbo sa ekonomiya, subalit sila ang binibintangan ng pamahalaan at medya kapag may suliranin ang lipunan. Ang kuwento ko ay hindi nag-iisa; ito ang malungkot na kasaysayan ng mga pilitnag-a-abroad. Umalis kami dahil ang ilang mayayaman na tuta ang humahawak ng kapangyarihan sa aming bansa. Ang ugat ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao ay ang paggahasa ng Estados Unidos sa soberenya ng Pilipinas.
****************************
(English)
From childhood well into adulthood, the bitter truth I learned is that I would never be able to grow old in the country of my origin. I came to America at age fourteen in 1993. My mother went ahead of the family and took up work as a dental assistant, while my father was a security guard and a part-time hotel manager. In his homeland, my father was a lawyer; here, he was a security guard at the courthouse. My mother was a dentist with a practice in Metro Manila, but here her degrees and experience were dismissed and deemed inapplicable. They kept their dignity and worked diligently no matter how meager the pay, no matter how racist or petty the boss. Leaving for work everyday at three in the morning and coming home past ten at night left no time to eat and sit with one another as a family. I know their bosses took advantage of their status and they being accustomed to the corrupt system of the Philippines silently complied and turned a blind eye to the violation of their own rights. Legal or illegal, they are still immigrants. They are immigrants who left because the wealth and resources of their home were sold and auctioned during the time of Martial Law. They are immigrants who left with the broken hope of having to witness the ravaging of the Philippines by U.S. military occupation. They are immigrants and they are residents of the bay area who pay taxes to the government to help this economy thrive and prosper, yet are scapegoated for society’s ills and the failure of the capitalist system. I am one story in a million Diasporas of immigrants who leave their lands begrudgingly. We leave because our government is overrun by the filthy rich and puppets of U.S. interest. The root of all human rights violations is the affront of the United States to the sovereignty of the Philippines.
****************************
LEGALIZATION FOR ALL UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS!
NO TO RAIDS, DETENTIONS, AND DEPORTATIONS!
SWIFT FAMILY RE-UNIFICATION NOW!
SCRAP THE IMMIGRATION BACKLOG!
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
BAIL-OUT THE WORKERS, NOT THE BANKS!
SCRAP THE PHILIPPINE LABOR EXPORT PROGRAM (LEP)!
NO TO NEOLIBERAL TRADE POLICIES!
