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In our search to understand who and why we are, we, the Filipino community, often confine ourselves within the limiting parameters of political boundaries and ethnic categories which are too general to truly describe us, such as Filipino-Canadian or Asian Pacific Islander. In the same restrictive thinking, we look at the Filipino diaspora and see a people lacking an identity because we are no longer defined by a single nation confined to political colonial boundaries. Instead, we are a people and culture found throughout the world creating and redefining our communities in dozens of nations worldwide; and still we ask ourselves, "why we are always moving?" But, perhaps this question is nearsighted in its perspective. For when we look back into our past, we find that Filipinos are, by definition, a worldly people
Centuries ago, our ancestors traveled to the Philippines on the sea currents and trade winds from Africa, Asia, Indonesia and later from the Spanish Galleon trade from Europe. Many came to trade and sell goods while others searched for new places to call home. These cultures combined construct the Filipino culture and identity today. The influence of these cultures is evident in our Spanish and American surnames, African or Chinese physical features, or the Malay lingual tones in Filipino languages. In our movement today as we leave the Philippines and head to Europe, other parts of Asia, the Middle East, and North America on 747 jumbo jets, we are simply continuing a movement that has been in place for centuries.
By modern standards, cultural identity is linked to political identity and nationalism. So, it is argued that in our migration we lose our cultural identity because we compromise it through assimilation into the host country. In reality, our identity and national pride become stronger. The cases of Flor Contemplacion, a nanny who was sentenced to death after allegedly killing another nanny and young boy, and of Sarah Balabangan, a 16-year-old convicted for murdering her employer who had raped her, rallied together Filipinos from all over the world in the Philippines, in the United States, in Canada and in Europe to protest on her behalf. The popularity of Filipino and Philippine oriented publications, such as "Philippine News" and "Filipinas Magazine," allow us to share our concern for our fellow Filipinos whether they reside in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Davao City, Melbourne, or Daly City. As we are proud of the success of Filipinos, the Contemplacion and Balabangan cases also show the pain that we feel for the struggles of our fellow Filipinos. We, as Filipinos, do not find home in a specific place but within a people that share a common identity.
The sense of being Filipino goes beyond the immigrant generation as their children struggle to find space for their Filipino identity. The younger generation deals with questions of "What am I? Am I Filipino or am I American or Italian or Mexican or Chinese?" These questions force them to choose one part of their identity or culture over the other, instead of allowing them to accept all parts of their identity by answering, "all of the above."
As a people constructed from varied cultures from throughout the world, the Filipino diaspora is not a leaving or separation from home. It is a return to home.
Michelle Macaraeg Bautista
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