4/18 "Betrayal, Class Fantasies, and the Filipino Nation in Daly City"

I was very interested in Vergara’s article because it focused on the post 1965 generation of Filipino immigrants, a group that includes my parents, uncles, and aunts, and the debate between their move here as an act of betrayal to their home country and a threat to their Filipino identity. My dad immigrated here in 1985 after being petitioned by his mother to move to the U.S., then he petitioned for my mom to join him in 1992. After reading and sharing this article to my parents, I asked why they chose to raise my brother and I here, rather than in the Philippines. The opportunities here, they said, are far greater. I wouldn’t perceive their migration here as an act of betrayal, because instead of putting their own convenience first, as the article claims, it was for my brother and I’s futures that they prioritized; I would view this as an act of courage, rather than disloyalty to their country. In fact, they actively serve their homeland by regularly sending money and donating clothes back home to their relatives.

            I also found personal connections between some of Vergara’s statements and my own Filipino identity. He notes that Filipino communities are abundant in South and East Bay cities, which is where I was born and partially raised. I would also like to point out that although the article includes that language is a national symbol, I feel like my identity as a Filipino should not be questioned simply because of my inability to fluently speak and understand Tagalog or Ilocano. Overall, the article brings forth an ongoing assumption that Filipinos who leave behind their home in the Philippines establish themselves in the U.S. out of desire to grow wealthy and live more lavishly due to the materialism of America.