Schedule
Nov. 28, 2024 | 2:30–4:00 PM
Room
Rm 2, Center Ballroom
Moderator
Jocelyn Celero
University of the Philippines Diliman
F2.1
Indian Diaspora in the Philippines: Perceptions, Prejudices and Participation
Reena Marwah
University of Delhi
Southeast Asian countries are home to a significant proportion of Indian communities, due to a host of push and pull factors. Depending on their motive for migration and acquired status, these settlers have been at the receiving end of both prejudices and diverse perceptions.
By examining migration patterns, socio-economic status and cultural integration, this paper seeks to elucidate the lived experiences of the Indian diaspora in local economies and social structures in the Philippines. Utilizing a combination of historical research, sociological analysis, and empirical data, the paper aims to provide insights into the complexities of the Indian diaspora as class/community-based practices, changing perceptions and their economic and political participation. Through three sections, the paper assessed the changes that have occurred from the past to the present within the diasporic communities, especially after the influx of highly skilled Indian professionals in educational and financial institutions as well as in the IT industry. This paper attempted to explicate the manner in which Indian communities affirm their existence through the negotiation of power. It also endeavored to explain the contexts and situations in which the identity of Indians is multilayered and fluid in the Philippines. Lastly, it examined the extent to which the Indian diasporic communities are recognized/neglected by the state, media and other actors and provided recommendations for developing immigrant friendly policies that could promote constructive participation and social harmony.
F2.2
Argentine and the Philippine Connections in the Early 20th Century: The Origin of the Filipino Community in Argentina
Ezequiel R. Ramoneda
National University of La Plata
Since the last decades of the nineteenth century, Argentina became a land of opportunities, due to its rapid economic development, which attracted the world’s attention. Promoting a Western profile, large waves of migrants arrived in the South American country from several European countries. But, hidden among these great masses, the first Asian migrants appeared. The objective of this essay is to explain the origins of the Filipino community in Argentina, by studying the lives of several Filipino migrants who arrived at the end of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. From the reconstruction of these personal and family stories, some common aspects can be identified that made this group of migrants a unique case among the other Asian communities. The essay addresses the particularities that Filipino immigration had in these decades, mainly due to the common Hispanic culture, Spanish language and Christianity, which led it to be confused with the Spanish. This allowed a more harmonious insertion into the host multicultural society. The essay was based on the critical analysis of different sources, such as official documents, letters, interviews with descendants, photographs, among others.
F2.3
Systemic Racism against Filipino Americans at the University of Hawai’i
Jonathan Y. Okamura
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
My paper applies race scholar Joe Feagin’s theory of systemic racism to the experiences and status of Filipino American students and faculty at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa. As advanced by Feagin, systemic racism consists of four primary components: a) exploitative and discriminatory practices of Whites; b) resources and power institutionalized in the racial hierarchy for Whites; c) maintenance of major material and other resource inequalities by institutionalized social reproduction mechanisms for Whites; and d) racial stereotypes, representations, and narratives of the dominant “white racial frame.” My paper demonstrates how each of these different but very interrelated dimensions of systemic racism work together at the university and more generally in Hawai‘i to maintain the oppression and inequality faced by Filipino Americans, the second largest ethnic group in the state. Rather than providing equal educational opportunity, as the last bastion of White settler colonialism in Hawai‘i, I argue that the university bolsters Haole (White) power and privilege, which perpetuates the political, economic, and cultural subordination of Filipino Americans and other ethnic minorities.
As long-term victims of systemic racism, my paper shows that Filipino Americans are hugely underrepresented as students and faculty at UH Mānoa in contrast to their being the largest group of public school students in Hawai‘i. Systemic racism theory will be applied particularly to the university’s equal opportunity and affirmative action policy and its strategic plans, its maintenance of persisting socioeconomic inequality by its limited inclusion of Filipino American faculty and students, and its racist stereotyping and representations of Filipino Americans.
F2.4
Songs of Migration: A Mirror to the Dama, Danas, and Nakem of Ilocano Migrants
Jacquelyn B. Lejano
Mariano Marcos State University
Ilocanos continue to travel out of their ili (town) to fight for the welfare of their family and kin. Their personal and collective dama (emotion), danas (experience), and nakem (will) caused by their migration and adventure overseas cannot be denied and cannot be adequately expressed in statistical data alone. In this regard, this qualitative study aims to express the broad and deep experiences of Ilocano migrants by analyzing the lyrics of songs that contain the concept of immigration in Ilocano society. Unlike other forms of art that are exclusive to the upper classes, music reaches a wider audience. To strengthen or refute the interpretations of the song’s lyrics, indigenous research methods such as pannakisarsarita (interview) to those who had personal experiences with migration were utilized.
Of the several music of migration analyzed, the study revealed that the island of Hawaii is the “Kadagaan” of most Ilocanos. The Balikbayans and Hawayanos’ economic status were highly apparent with the locals, however the songs reveal much contrast to their rich individual and collective stories of sacrifice, pinagibtur, and concept of iliw, collective traits and identities that Ilocano migrants shared and formed. With continuous change in the globalized world, music as art is an important element in expressing the realities of life of Ilocano migrants in a certain time and opportunity.