WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Hundreds gathered in front of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., on a windy afternoon in early March with flags and banners in hand representing mass organizations and alliances. Pyxie Castillo, the newlyelected chairperson of GABRIELA USA, pointed towards the gated building before protesters marched onward to the World Bank and White House.
“In our fight for the liberation of our people, we are reminded of our role here in the belly of the beast,” Castillo said. “To continue to build among workingclass Filipina women, solidarity allies and the broad masses of Filipinos, striking a blow to U.S. imperialism from within.”
The demonstration was the culmination of a joint political conference between GABRIELA USA and the International Women’s Alliance from March 3-5, where working-class and migrant women charted plans to fight against American imperialism, militarism, and exploitation.
GABRIELA USA is an overseas chapter of the progressive, anti-imperialist Filipino women’s organization and alliance GABRIELA PHILIPPINES. Named after Filipina revolutionary leader Gabriela Silang, the alliance champions her revolutionary spirit in advocating for Filipino women and workers against Spanish colonization.
“In the end, we’re fighting for a
system change, but it’s for the people. Not for whoever is in power,” Castillo said.
As part of the National Democratic movement of the Philippines, which advocates for the rights of workers and peasant farmers, GABRIELA USA recognizes the unique challenges working Filipino women face, such as gender-based violence at home and the workplace, sex trafficking, and access to adequate reproductive and maternal care.
GABRIELA USA is also a member organization of the International Women’s Alliance (IWA), a broad antiimperialist global alliance of grassroots women’s organizations committed to advancing national and social liberation and gender equality, said Katie Comfort, U.S. national coordinator and global secretariat member of IWA.
“The issues that Filipina women face are not so different from the issues that women face around the world because imperialism is global,” Comfort said. “Impacts on things like forced migration. For the Philippines, it’s the labor export policy. It bears a different name in other parts of the world but serves the same interests.”
GABRIELA’s slogan for the next three years will be “Bangon Babae!” (Women Rise!). In this next era, the organization aims to further build with working-class women to improve their living conditions that worsened during the U.S.-Marcos regime between 1965 and 1986.
Since the election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in May 2022, activists say the Philippines faces a
worsening economic crisis, from the rising costs of basic commodities, low and stagnant wages, and few job opportunities. The financial situation presents even more challenges for working Filipino women.
“Everyday Filipino women are continuously exploited, put down by their employers and their families. The feudal patriarchy in the Philippines also extends to Filipino women overseas,” Castillo said. “It’s the state that puts us in this position and continues to put Filipino women, especially in the Philippines, as second-class citizens.”
Organizers hosted the joint conference in the U.S. Capitol to affirm that the issues women, particularly Black women, face in the United States are interlinked with the struggles of women abroad. As a historically Black city, Washington, D.C. has experienced generations of segregation, oppression, and militarized surveillance.
Such experiences are familiar to Luci Murphy, who was born and raised in D.C. Murphy is a community organizer with the D.C. Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, the Black Alliance for Peace, and other organizations. In the 1970s, she protested alongside Filipino and Filipino American youth against the 20-year dictatorship of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. In recent years, she has participated in demonstrations against former President Rodrigo Duterte and the extrajudicial killings of human rights defenders under his regime.
“I see the women outside of this country being treated like I was treated. Like how my mother, or my grandmother,
or my great grandmother were treated as Black women,” Murphy said.
For Murphy, attending the conference represented an expansion of the National Democratic movement for the Philippines. She especially enjoyed how Filipino activists integrated food and live music into their activism and emphasized the importance of sharing food.
“Sharing food gives us a sense of family and healing,” Murphy said. “You all have a lot to teach with your use of culture, theater and food.”
At GABRIELA USA’s Chapter Assembly on March 3, members shared campaigns that addressed the varied issues Filipino women experience due to imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism. Organizers convened at the same time the Marcos Jr. administration expedited the process of revising the country’s constitution, or charter change. The current constitution, ratified in 1987, implemented democratic safeguards for the Philippines after Marcos Sr. was ousted from power.
If the charter change successfully passes, the entire Philippine constitution will be open to amendment. This could include altering term limits for elected officials and easing restrictions on foreign ownership of land and local industries, according to GABRIELA situationer materials.
The conference also recognized the need for immigrant justice through the Alma Bowman campaign led by Malaya Movement Georgia with GABRIELA and MIGRANTE.
See GABRIELA USA, page 9
Doctor, lawyer, nurse, engineer. For many of us growing up, professions like these represented the ultimate measure of success — or so we were told. By obtaining this career, you were deemed successful. It also served as confirmation that your family did a good job raising you.
It is a linear journey. Get from Point A to Point B.
What did you do, and who did you have to be in order to be considered successful?
Oftentimes, one must internalize a set of characteristics to accomplish the tasks necessary to “arrive” at success or even travel on an approved “right track.”
Characteristics like compliance or the ability to produce tangible outcomes in a quick, reproducible, and profitable way. Characteristics rewarded for upholding and perpetuating capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy.
“Hold up! Are you talking about me?!” I don’t know, are we?
The COVID-19 pandemic forced people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. The desire to quit your job to do the things you love resulted in a spike of passion projects turned side hustles turned businesses. Articulating the distinction that your job is a means to earn money to pay the bills versus your work as a physical or mental effort meant to achieve results led to a collective questioning of what success may look like in the “new normal.”
It was during this time the Japanese concept of ikigai became more popular. To English speakers, ikigai loosely translates to your ‘reason for being’ or ‘life’s worth.’
Tim Tamashiro, author of “How to Ikigai: Lessons for Finding Happiness and Living Your Life’s Purpose,”
describes ikigai in his TED Talk as a treasure map that has four directions: do what you love, do what you’re good at, do what the world needs and do what you can be rewarded for. When you follow these four directions, you find your ikigai.
A cursory search on Google Images will yield a sexy Venn diagram of these aspects with ikigai in the center. Following #ikigai, you’ll find reels of people pursuing their passions and creative endeavors. “10 Rules of Ikigai” will likely pop up in your search with helpful tips to live a fulfilling life that you’ll want to like, save or share.
The Western idea of ikigai is often equated with one’s ‘professional sweet spot’ or a more meaningful way to make money – how American it is to center money on one’s life purpose. Rather, ikigai is holistic, all-encompassing and cannot be reduced to a framework or simple translation.
At the intersection of an increasing awareness of the cultural appropriation of indigenous ways of being, like ikigai, and with the journey of re-membering my indigeneity through the lens of decolonization, I began to wonder:
Is there an equivalent concept in the Philippines that existed before colonization? Historians, scholars, and students of life, please reach out and share your findings.
With the colonial legacies left behind in the Philippines, many Filipinx struggle to understand their identity and sense of self.
As an ethnic studies student at San Francisco State University, I learned about Filipino psychology.
Psychology taught in Philippine schools was predominantly Western in theory and methodology (Pe-Pua and Protacio-Marcelino). In an effort to name the colonial influence of Spain and the United States and build an understanding without foreign influence, Virgilio Enriquez created Sikolohiyang Pilipino.
Filipino psychology examines “traditional” Western psychology from a Filipino perspective (Nadal). Among the outcomes are a body of knowledge including indigenous concepts, the development of indigenous research methods and indigenous personality testing, new directions in teaching psychology, and active participation in organizations among Filipino psychologists and social scientists, both in the Philippines and overseas (Pe-Pua and Protacio-Marcelino).
Learning about Filipino psychology made me feel seen. At the same time, I also felt deep sadness, realizing how disconnected we as a people are from our indigenous ways of being, our language, and our land. While I still grieve the loss of cultural memory and its consequences, I am recommitted to the nonlinear journey of decolonization to heal myself and the culture.
Let’s take a moment to examine how the generations before us valued a linear path to success. Achieving the circumstances to live long and well enough to pass on your legacy meant success. The well-traveled path or path of least resistance often allowed for those outcomes. But we can redefine what success means and looks like. Sharing your narrative, articulating your circumstances, bearing witness to others’ transformations, allowing time to rest, and exploring what delights you are all methods to discover what makes you want to get out of bed every day.
I offer this on your journey to redefine what success means to you and our next generation. Whether it is a linear path or you forge your own way, we are redefining success differently than past generations. Because of them, we are in a position to #FAFO. And that is how we got to be here: reading an article written by a Filipinx about being Filipinx in a Filipinx newspaper rooted in solidarity. So let’s redefine success and go #FAFO.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Casey Ticsay
MANAGING EDITOR
Nikki Abeleda
COPY EDITORS
Maia Alviar
Paulette Imperial
POETRY EDITORS
Marjorie Justine Antonio
Sunday Lim
LAYOUT DESIGN
Justin Petrola
Casey Ticsay
WRITERS
Marjorie Antonio
Angaea Cuna
Adrienne Hidalgo Esguerra
Francesca Franco
Nicole Gervacio
Kim Celine Goyena
Royvi Hernandez
Nyrene Monforte
Bernard James Remollino
Casey Ticsay
Zach Wandalowski
Caralie M. Wegeng
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Marjorie Antonio
Patricia Azurin
John Haas
Nyrene Monforte
Jen Rocha
SIKLAB Media
ILLUSTRATORS
goodwaves.studio
LOGO DESIGN
Marybeth Soriano
***
Mahalaya is a community newspaper founded by Casey Ticsay in 2022. Powered by a staff of dedicated volunteers, this monthly publication centers Filipinx voices and experiences in and beyond the Bay Area.
How people of Filipino heritage in the diaspora identify themselves has evolved over the years — Pinoy, Pinay, Pilipino, Pilipina, Pilipin@, Pin@y, Filipino, Filipina, Filipinx. Thus, the terms we publish may be used interchangeably and will vary depending on article content or a speaker’s personal experience.
***
Follow @mahalayasf on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Visit our official website at mahalayasf.org
BY FRANCESCA FRANCO, BERNARD JAMES REMOLLINO, AND CASEY TICSAY
When the Roque family arrived at Van Nuys Courthouse West on March 6, a community stood with them, demanding justice for an attack that father Gabriel, mother Nerissa, and daughter Patricia had endured ten months earlier at a fast food parking lot in North Hollywood, California.
The gathering, which drew over 100 community members and representatives from organizations across Southern California, marked the tenth time the Roques and their supporters have appeared in court to hold suspect Nicholas Weber accountable for what the Filipino American family describes as an anti-Asian hate crime. Since the incident, the Roques have had no opportunity to testify in court. The grand showing of support by the community counteracts the Roques’ intense frustrations over the slow pace of justice.
“I’m about to give up already, but when I see you, the community, and everything — I got my strength from you,” Nerissa told the crowd outside the courthouse.
With banners of solidarity and fists in the air, campaign supporters applauded Judge Neetu S. Badhan-Smith’s long-awaited decision to set a preliminary hearing date for the case. The outcome was a significant turning point for the Roque family, who would finally be able to testify their account of the incident on April 4.
“Today was a breakthrough for us. After waiting months and months and coming to court day after day, we finally have a good day,” said Sandy Roxas, the Roque family attorney.
The day comes nearly one year after the incident occurred. On May 13, 2022, Nerissa and Patricia were waiting in line at a McDonald’s drive-through on Victory Boulevard when a Jeep rear-ended them. The driver, a white male later identified as Weber, approached their vehicle, shouting threats and racial slurs.
“Kill you. Oh yeah, I want to kill you,” Weber said.
The encounter soon turned violent. While waiting for the police, Nerissa and Patricia called Gabriel,
who arrived at the restaurant shortly after. In a series of videos captured by Patricia, Weber is seen shoving Gabriel to the ground before grabbing Nerissa by the neck. A bystander subdued the assailant and remained with the Roques until law enforcement arrived an hour later, the family said. Gabriel was taken to the hospital for medical treatment and sustained multiple injuries, including a broken rib.
Weber has remained in custody since June 2022. He faces two felony battery counts with hate crime enhancements.
The assault galvanized the Filipino community in Los Angeles County. With support from the Filipino Migrant Center, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), Migrante Los Angeles, and mass organizations of Filipino youth and students across the United States, including Anakbayan and Kabataan Alliance, the community launched the “Justice for the Roques” campaign (J4R).
“At the root of it, the biggest challenge was initiating this pursuit of justice, knowing how to navigate the criminal justice system, and where to seek out help,” said Jhenine Cordero of Anakbayan Los Angeles.
Going through the intricacies of the criminal court process is expensive and time-consuming. Each court date the Roques attended resulted in lost wages from time taken off work. The inaccessibility of the justice system to working-class migrants added challenges that exacerbated the heavy emotional toll already weighing on the family.
“I learned with the court system that there was no consideration for our time or mental and physical capacity to attend these court dates,” eldest son Patrick Roque said. “If it weren’t for the backing and help from the community, we wouldn’t have been able to keep persevering and pushing the case forward.”
The Roques’ troubles with delays extend beyond the criminal legal system.
“Sustaining ourselves has been even more difficult.
That’s a reality for immigrant families and victims who unfortunately have to endure the struggles even after the incident,” Patricia said.
Despite their efforts, the Roques say they have experienced significant delays in securing aid from two critical sources of institutional support: the Bureau of Victim Services and the Philippine Consulate General.
The Bureau of Victim Services is a division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office that provides free program services — crisis intervention, counseling referrals, and restitution assistance — to victims and witnesses of crimes, regardless of residency or citizenship status. The Roques frequently expressed dissatisfaction regarding the bureau’s handling of their case.
According to Bureau of Victim Services Director Tanisha Wright, survivors are assigned a Victims Services Advocate who helps with court support, connects individuals to mental health and therapy resources, and guides victims as they file claims to the California Victims Compensation Board (CalVCB).
Wright acknowledged the Roque family’s discontent and attributed the issue to miscommunication that resulted in a change of their assigned Victims Services Advocate, who assisted the Roques on February 14 in submitting a compensation form to CalVCB.
“Not every advocate can be a good fit for a family,” Wright said.
The Roques’ difficulties with the Bureau of Victim Services are compounded by a lack of support from the Philippine Consulate General.
On August 31, 2022, the Roque family met with representatives from the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles to discuss their eligibility for the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) program, which attends to cases involving Filipino nationals in distress. Transcripts of the meeting indicate that the Philippine Consulate does not have funds readily available and cannot provide direct legal aid or appear in court on behalf of foreign nationals. Individuals seeking
See ROQUE FAMILY, page 11
BY ROYVI HERNANDEZ
Mama’s Lumpia celebrated its third year in business in March, serving up delicious Filipino cuisine and plenty of lumpia to customers throughout Contra Costa County and the wider Bay Area.
In 2020, Haydee Carreon Delos Santos co-founded Mama’s Lumpia alongside her two children, Celina and Simon, with the help and support of her husband Romano and their eldest son Gian.
“My kids wanted to sell the lumpia that I cook because we couldn’t find something like it at the grocery store,” Haydee said.
Celina believed her mother’s culinary skills had the potential to turn into a successful food business that celebrated Filipino flavors and brought communities together.
“Our culture is very loved, especially when it comes to lumpia. We wanted to create something for the community, and we didn’t see many Filipino restaurants in the area,” Celina said.
The family business first operated from Haydee’s home but moved into its Pacheco location last year. Before obtaining a storefront and becoming an official
DoorDash merchant, Mama’s Lumpia was primarily driven by sales made through Instagram.
Growing the business and ensuring customers felt welcomed at the restaurant’s new location took time. But with each team member came unique skills and perspectives.
As the CEO of Mama’s Lumpia, Celina directs the business and administrative aspects of the restaurant. Her fiancé Chris rolls lumpia and works as a fryer and a dishwasher. Simon oversees the creative elements of Mama’s Lumpia, managing social media and merchandise, which includes charms for Crocs, Filipino art, and other accessories.
“I do what I can bring to the table and want to introduce more cultural media,” Simon said.
In addition to their signature lumpia accompanied by sweet chili or vinegar, crema Mexicana, and banana sauces, customers can relish a savory array of options, including chicken adobo wings, pancit bihon, and garlic noodles. Mama’s Lumpia also offers a thoughtfullycrafted drink menu with calamansi iced tea and limeade, Barako coffee, Gulaman refreshers, and one of their most popular items, ube milk tea.
“I was looking for something to eat for lunch and found Mama’s Lumpia on Apple Maps. As a Filipino, I thought it was a great way to try and connect with my
culture,” said first-time customer Justin Ayala.
For Ayala, the location is ideal as it’s near Diablo Valley College and convenient for students looking for a nearby dining option that is the epitome of comfort food.
“The name, Mama’s Lumpia, itself shows their intention to create a caring environment that you can’t get from a food chain,” Ayala said. “You can see that in the decorations, thoughtfulness in the gifts, the Pride flag at the door. Everything is very welcoming, and overall the menu options are great.”
Celina and Simon have devoted themselves fully to working full-time in the family business. They envision Mama’s Lumpia flourishing and becoming more than what it is today.
“We had big ambitions starting this, and our goal in the future is to have multiple locations throughout the Bay Area,” Simon said. “We don’t want to settle on feeling comfortable here in Pacheco or maybe at two locations. We want to keep expanding and spreading our influence.”
The Delos Santos family is grateful for their customers. They believe in their slogan, “Can’t have Mama’s Lumpia without U,” and recognize that their growing success would not have been possible without the community’s support from the very beginning.
Marielle Atanacio always desired to reconnect with her Filipino roots and impart that connection to her daughter. With this purpose in mind, she turned to the literary arts and embarked on her latest project, “Who Turned On the Sky?” a children’s book that introduces young readers to Philippine mythology.
During her undergraduate studies at San Francisco State University, Marielle took a Greek and Roman Mythology course, a topic she has enjoyed since childhood. The more she learned about the subject, the more questions she had about her own culture.
“I wondered if there was such a thing as Philippine mythology. I didn’t have access to blogs and other resources that are available online now. Getting that information was a far reach,” Marielle said.
The lack of accessible information prompted Marielle to dig deeper into the pre-colonial Philippines. She combed through books, searching for any piece of information that would help reacquaint her with her heritage.
“I always wondered how my ancestors navigated life. This was the first time I actually sat down and researched that on my own,” Marielle said.
Marielle began sharing her findings with her wife Laurainne, who would pose questions leading to further research and discovery. Through this experience grew an extensive book collection of various facets of Filipino culture and history.
As parents, Marielle and Laurainne mutually share the value of passing on their cultural traditions to their daughter, especially through storytelling and books. While they found many Spanish-language books on Mexican culture that honored Laurainne’s heritage, options for children’s books on Filipino culture were far more limited.
Marielle decided to create a children’s book for
readers interested in Philippine mythology and culture. She noticed her daughter’s interest in the moon and stars, so she honed in on the celestial deities of Philippine mythology.
“There are many assets of being Filipino, whether it’s enjoying songs with one’s lola, food, or monsters and goddesses. As Filipinos, we’re still working past being a monolith. I think introducing these concepts in a children’s book is the easiest way to start these conversations,” Marielle said.
Connecting with Marielle’s Filipino heritage was a significant motivator in creating “Who Turned On the Sky?” But becoming a mother was the final push that helped her bring the book to life.
“Motherhood was definitely the catalyst. Creating the book opened up this world where I met other Filipino moms who had the same sentiment,” Marielle said.
With the support of her family and peers, Marielle contributed to a movement to educate young readers about the richness of Filipino culture. Luckily for readers, she is just getting started.
Marielle is writing a manuscript for her second book and is set to illustrate a children’s book based on Ilokano American family experiences. In addition to these endeavors, Marielle is working on a series of paintings that timestamp different periods in her decolonization journey.
BY KIM CELINE GOYENA
The day I visited the “California is in the Heart” exhibit at the California Museum in Sacramento was during the series of winter storms that brought historic amounts of rain and snow across the state. It was January 7, and parts of my current hometown were underwater. The following day, my neighborhood underwent a power outage for 72 hours.
For the longest time, history to me meant before, not after, and certainly not “during.” But as I walked through the exhibit, learning about the impact of Filipino American leaders, activists, and innovators past and present, my understanding of what makes something or someone historic began to change.
Presented in partnership with the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies and with support from the Filipino American National Historical Society Museum, the “California is in the Heart” exhibit highlights the critical role of Filipino Americans in California history. It is extensive in its representation of our diverse community. Moving through the room of newspaper clippings throughout the ages and photos and mementos from private collections, I was reminded of a question posed in another exhibit: “Who gets to be remembered?”
“California is in the Heart” celebrates Filipino Americans in education, the arts and sciences, agriculture, healthcare, law and politics, and social justice movements. Visitors venture down the historical timeline, learning about the first documented presence of Filipinos who entered what is now known as the United States in 1587 and the Filipino American nurses and their sacrifice as frontline workers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are reminded of the human zoos at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition meant to glorify white superiority above all other races. Also known as the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, the spectacle showcased the Igorot people and their so-called “uncivilized” ways and traditions for the enjoyment and horror of white Americans.
Walking through the “California is in the Heart’’ exhibit, I reflected on my own history of coming to terms with my hyphenated identity being both Filipino and American. I immigrated to the United States from Bikol, Philippines, when I was ten. My exposure to U.S. history was always under the context of “the Americans saved us from the Spaniards.” This illusion of friendship was solidified by a picture I saw in my grade school history book of American and Filipino soldiers shaking hands after World War II. I attended a private Catholic school in the Philippines where students were encouraged to speak English and Tagalog, not Bikol. I later learned how control over one’s dominant language only maintained U.S. exceptionalism and colonialism.
As I passed the exhibit highlighting the accomplishments of Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, I reflected on a college Asian American Studies class that taught me the role of Filipinos in the United Farm Workers movement. Little did I know, my first introduction to Filipino farmworkers in California was as a 5th grader reading John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” It felt like a full circle moment.
The “Filipinos in Entertainment” section features rapper Ruby Ibarra, whom I met at a Sacramento Kings game in March 2020 before the statewide lockdown. Her album Circa91 was the first time I felt a connection in my dual Filipino and American identities. Hearing Ruby Ibarra sing in multiple languages was validation that healed the homesickness I felt as a 10-year-old, learning to navigate a version of America that was more complex than the pictures in my grade school history book.
When does the present become the past? Continuing my way through the exhibit, a statement I had seen on social media, “You don’t realize you’re part of a historical event until after it has already happened,” came to mind. History is not the past but rather the present, an ever-evolving state of self and connection
as an immigrant living in a right-to-work state is particularly challenging in the South.
to kapwa where the past informs our present self and who our future self can be.
“Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makarating sa paroroonan.” This Tagalog phrase, associated with Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, is more commonly known in English as “No history, no self. Know history, know self.” Over the years, Filipinos have worked tirelessly to break generational traumas that we have inherited and make known the contributions Filipinos continue to make in this country. To borrow from artist Klassy, we are “reclaiming what’s ours, the high and the low.”
“California is in the Heart” is a declaration that Filipino American history is not only California history but U.S. history.
Bowman is a 56-year-old Filipina living in Georgia who was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for three years despite being a permanent resident. As stated in her petition, Bowman experienced medical negligence during incarceration and was denied adequate treatment while detained. At risk of deportation, Bowman was eventually released in 2020, and her legal residency status was revoked.
To this day, Bowman says she is unable to have a driver’s license, apply for health insurance, or work without paying annual fees for a worker’s permit.
According to Michelle Sauve, chapter coordinator for Malaya Movement Georgia, Bowman’s experience
With the help of grassroots community organizations, Bowman and her family acquired resources and support that the United States and Philippine governments did not offer.
“I did not know that there were organizations that could help you,” Bowman said.
Campaigns supporting working-class women are also prominent in Long Beach, California. According to Xenia Arriola, secretary general of GABRIELA South Bay, the area has a high population of Filipino migrants. The chapter assists Filipino domestic and hospital workers and currently leads a workers’ campaign for fundamental rights and protections. GABRIELA
South Bay is also advancing the Justice for the Roques campaign, which calls for justice and accountability for a Filipino migrant family who endured a racialized attack in May 2022.
“The GABRIELA Assembly just really affirmed how we are all connected together, no matter what sector you’re organizing in,” Arriola said. “Across the board, we’re just being exploited by the imperialists and capitalists who just want to profit off us.”
As the sun set on March 4, Katie Comfort, a representative of IWA, called for the unity of women in the United States and abroad.
“We have to get organized,” added Comfort, gesturing to the White House. “Otherwise, they win.”
Angaea Cuna is an inter-disciplinary artist who focuses on bookbinding, fiber arts, and creative writing to express her experiences as an undocumented Filipino immigrant in the United States. Angaea is based on the Big Island of Hawaii. Visit gaeabound.com or @gaeabound for more stories.
Write a poem about a fictional girl
And a bike she made out of bones.
Flesh out the life she ponders and the path she wanders. Draw her a river without stepping stones.
If she adorns her skin with mosaic sweat
Can she detox the poison trapped in her pores?
Say her lips can smile a genuine mile
That can escape your silly, dull chores.
When she becomes more than a locket muse
She’ll bleed blood- not black- ink from your pen. What you thought to shape her becomes thin vapor. A false identity, she remolded herself again.
Scramble her alphabet! Now that she speaks... She senses your pride begin to rewrite her story. But she is tenacious and yet still gracious
She’s absorbing wisdom from your vainglory.
Try. Write a poem about a fictional girl. She’ll escape no matter what outcome. On that bike of bones and the flesh she owns Her farewell ride beyond your thumb.
through plants rooted on a hillside on Ohlone land between three oaks surviving drought and atmospheric rivers
we speak it into the garden and laugh it into the soil as we pull at dead roots unearth shadows to breathe as we shake them loose shake the earth from old pathways and re-seed weeds & medicines
we listen with our eyes listen with our hands listen with our fingertips with our bodies as we step through singing grasses where I remember my grandfather as we dance with brambles, pull thistle from the soft of their stems, taproot intact retrieve climbing vines smothering olive trees untangle messes, follow trailing thoughts
we listen in milliseconds exhale and release
we find resolve taste the light sweetness of small wild strawberries lip stained, smiling
we feel in microscopics and nuance
plant seeds of grief
cast seeds of dreams, of futures honor the cleansing wind and rain the anger and the fires that incite new growth
nicole gervacio is an artist in occupied Ohlone territory, Huchiun - also known as Oakland, California. they are inspired by bodies, memory, permanence versus impermanence, are driven by a fear of forgetting, and navigate with ancestors and future generations. nicolegervacio.com
my grandmother rises a mountain sits on a plastic blue chair in our bath delicate thin freckled skin softened brown against plastic eggshell walls and tub running waters from the faucet i fill the tabo with warmth lift it over her shoulders to wash down in waterfalls over her breasts, down her arms, wrinkles and belly, thighs and legs, to wash away at the shores of her feet
we are quiet i am careful she lathers over land that has lived a quieted volcano eroded at her edges sunken moments and overflows overlapping pumping veins of raised rivers where i would trace my fingertips instead of listening to sermons at mass on sundays
it’s beautiful to re-member where we come from –as i was a seed in my mothers womb within my grandmothers womb swiming in the lining of memory within memories –and that i was blessed to nurture the mountain that once nurtured me
consideration for assistance must submit a petition for support to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.
The lack of movement with CalVCB and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila has done little to assuage the Roques’ lingering anxieties as they organize with their community for justice.
“Government institutions both here in the U.S. and the Philippines have a responsibility to take care of their constituents and must ensure people are provided with resources to help them live happy and fulfilling lives,” Cordero said. “It’s jarring to think about how there are so many issues on the local level alone with housing, healthcare, and education becoming increasingly unaffordable. People need help now more than ever.”
In the absence of adequate institutional support, Cordero emphasizes the critical power of collective grassroots organizing to meaningfully address the shortcomings of the criminal legal system.
“I want community members to feel emboldened to demand their human rights, justice, and the resources and social services they deserve because they’re human beings and contribute to the overall functioning of our society,” Cordero said.
The Interconnected Reality of Forced Migration and Anti-Asian Hate
Racialized violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members, though not new in the United States, has continued to rise since the onset of the pandemic. Between 2020 and 2022, the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center received nearly 11,500 reported incidents of anti-AAPI hate, violence, harassment, and other forms of discrimination. According to the report, the number is just the tip of the iceberg.
Language barriers, immigration status, and hesitancy to report to police combined with a lack of resources, funding, and data collection requirements amongst law enforcement agencies have led to significant underreporting of anti-Asian bias incidents and hate crimes.
“The issues we started to see so much more clearly since starting the Justice for the Roques campaign were the root issues of forced migration. Filipinos, and many other migrants, have to leave their home countries to seek a supposed better life, only to face more oppression and exploitation. It just looks a little different from what it did in the Philippines,” Cordero said.
An estimated nine million Filipinos, or 10 percent of the Philippine population, work overseas. In 2019, these Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) sent US$33.5 billion in remittances back home to support their families and bolster the Philippine economy. This relationship between the Philippine state and
its diasporic workers has long-historical precedents rooted in inherited patterns of colonial exploitation and neoliberal globalization.
The United States has relied on Filipino labor since the beginning of the twentieth century. Philippine independence in 1946 did little to sever these ties.
In 1973, the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. formalized a balikbayan policy that lionized OFWs, portraying them as reliable, resilient workers. The representations obscured the reality of migrants’ experiences and overlooked the inadequate support from Philippine government agencies. Filipino migrant workers, especially women, are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in the workplace and endure acute feelings of loneliness due to family separation that have only heightened with growing anti-Asian bias incidents and hate crimes.
The deep work of Filipino community organizations like Migrante USA fills this need by OFWs to be seen, heard, and empowered to self-advocate.
Patrick felt a deep commitment to promoting the rights, welfare, and dignity of overseas Filipinos vulnerable to wage theft, human trafficking, and abuse in the workplace. In 2018, he joined the Los Angeles chapter of Migrante USA, an alliance of Filipino workers and migrant organizations dedicated to fighting for migrants’ rights and social change in the Philippines and the United States.
“During my time in Migrante, I’ve learned that it’s through collective action and People Power that change is possible because we as a people, the masses, are capable of making change as evident from history itself,” Patrick said. “There’s no better feeling than being around the people you love and the people you’re going to meet in the future through organizing.”
Migrante USA is not alone. It works alongside NAFCON to address and alleviate the structural pressures fueling anti-Asian hate.
As a national alliance of service institutions, businesses, and grassroots organizations, NAFCON plays a critical role in advocating for community members directly impacted by police brutality and anti-Asian violence. In addition to the Roque family’s case, NAFCON actively organizes justice campaigns in support of Angelo Quinto and his family in Antioch, California, the Makibeki NYC3 in New York, and Nicanor Arriola and Julienne Ochengco in Sacramento.
“With these campaigns, we’re exploring what and who this justice system really stands for and who it is protecting,” said Karen Roxas, campaigns manager at Filipino Migrant Center and newly elected NAFCON Vice President. “What does it mean for us, Filipino families and community members, to seek justice and accountability in a system that inherently deters immigrants, marginalized sections of society, and everyday working people from attaining justice?”
For the Roque family and others similarly affected
by the intensifying intersections of abusive migrant labor brokerage, racialized violence, and institutional impediments in the United States and the Philippines, the answer requires envisioning alternative approaches to justice and accountability.
“Policing isn’t the type of protection we want,” Roxas said. “The solution to anti-Asian hate is not an increase in law enforcement. Many community members don’t feel safe with law enforcement, especially as we’ve seen incidents of police brutality on persons of color coming to light in the more recent years and the criminalization of migrants.”
In Roxas’ view, healing cannot be realized exclusively within existing structures of accountability. Rather, it must also rely on communities committed to amplifying the voices and strengthening the resolve of its most vulnerable members.
“For many immigrants, there is already a lot of pain in migration. But there’s also resilience – not in a romanticized sense but as a means of survival. We’re fighting for a world where immigrants and migrant workers don’t have to be afraid to speak up against injustice,” Roxas said.
The Roques understand that their struggle extends beyond their individual experience. They hope this case sets a precedent for others to demand justice, report bias incidents and anti-Asian hate crimes, and find comfort in their community’s commitment to mutual aid.
“Justice doesn’t stop at my family winning the case. Justice doesn’t stop with my family getting compensation for what happened or however that may look like. You also have to take into account victims of anti-Asian hate. People have gone through the same experiences as us and, unfortunately, have not gotten the justice they deserve,” Patricia said.
This acknowledgment of shared struggles motivated Patricia to take action and develop her skills as a community organizer. Amidst her involvement in the J4R campaign, Patricia co-founded Pilipino Youth Kollective (PYK), a student and youth collective that focuses on issues specifically in the San Fernando Valley.
The J4R campaign is laying bare the massive shortcomings in the U.S. criminal legal system. It also creates opportunities for communities to pose solutions that do not perpetuate patterns of racialized and gendered violence. In these spaces, youth collectives like PYK are rejuvenating reservoirs of hope and optimism, sustaining organizers on the long road to justice.
“This is a collective effort and struggle,” Patricia said. “As youth, it’s in our hands to shape the way we live, the way we live tomorrow, and how our society functions in the future.”
AAPI HATE AND VIOLENCE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTS FILIPINA WOMEN AS THEY ACCOUNT FOR 55% (247) OF THE REPORTS IN CALIFORNIA.* But that darkness cannot dim our light. Proudly burn bright to lead our community. If you have experienced or witnessed an incident of anti-Asian hate, bigotry, bias, or discrimination, report it at STOPHATE.CALCIVILRIGHTS.CA.GOV or CALL 833-8-NO-HATE (833-866-4283).
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
