Mt. Pinatubo Holiday

During the recent 'summer' vacation (March-April-May) in the Philippines, my good friend June ('Beng') Dalisay (who illustrated Sundays in Manila) posted several pictures from her tour of the area around Mt. Pinatubo.  Mt. Pinatubo is the volcano that erupted 22 years ago this month, in June of 1991.  Upwards of 800 were killed, and many thousands lost their homes and livelihoods.  So why, I wondered, was June there on holiday.  The photos she posted showed a strange lunar landscape which they travelled over in jeeps and all-terrain vehicles.  June and her three companions had to go with a guide and driver, whom they included in the pictures.  It was an adventure tour.  I guess the Filipinos from that region, with classic Filipino fresourcefulness, are making a living from their new reality.  I had experienced that resourcefulness once in 1998 when I was teaching at the University of the Philippines Diliman.  Seeing June's photos, reminded me of the mozaic-like plaque on my office wall above my desk.  I bought it from a Filipino gentleman who came around to the offices at the Faculty Center one day, with University permission, he said.  The raised figures on the plaque are of the Blessed Mother holding the child Jesus.  Jesus is looking over his left shoulder looking decidedly frightened off into the distance.  The Mother is holding his hand close to her bosom in a protective and consoling gesture.  I still remember being a little irritated at the time, someone asking for money, but now the plaque is a prized possession.  The label on the back reads: "This product is made from the actual volcanic ash of the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines.  Handcrafted by Mt. Pinatubo Victims." 

Thanks for the pictures, June, and for the reminder. 

Filipino Nurses and Immigration

Congratulations to the Philippine Nurses Association of Illinois (PNAI), which recently celebrated its 56th Anniversary.  This event was the cover story for the April, 2013 issue of VIA Times Newsmagazine.  In fact if you click on the appropriate link on this blog's home page you will immediately see the attractive cover of this issue with the pictures of the newly elected officers of PNAI.  Check it out.

PNAI began back in 1957.  I had thought that the arrival of Filipino nurses in this country started later.  As I learned from Home Bound, a book about Filipino immigration, Filipino medical professionals began arriving after 1986.  Indeed that was the year in which the U.S. made it easier for Filipinos, particularly doctors and nurses, to immigrate to address the shortage of the home-grown variety of such professionals.  That means that the members of PNAI back in 1957 probably had to be doubly good and/or doubly determined to immigrate to this country.

Here's wishing the PNAIs a Happy 56th!  Yay!

Reading About the Philippines

I am happy to get back to the topic of "Reading About the Philippines" (nonfiction and non-military) now that Philippine Independence Day (June 12) is past and the Goodreads book giveaway (ten copies of Sundays in Manila for which there were 1010 requests) has ended and the books are en route.  I have come across two books recently that could be of some interest.

Home Bound, by Yen Le Espiritu (2003) is about the immigration of Filipinos to the U.S.  Just from reading the few chapters available on line, I learned quite a bit of new and interesting information.  For examplde, since 1986, Filipinos have been second only to Mexicans in the numbers of immigrants coming to the U.S.  What happened in 1986?  The U.S. lifted many of its limiting restrictions on Filipino immigration becaue of the need for doctors and nurses in the U.S. and the supply of well-trained medical personnel, English-speaking of course, from the Philippines.  I have put this book on my 'to-read' list. 

Another discovery is History of the Filipino People by Teodoro A. Agoncillo (1960).  I am indebted to a Filipino student who recdently signed up on Goodreads to read Sundays in Manila.  She had given five stars to this book, as had several of her friends.  Even though it was a required text for a course, she and her friends commented on how readable it is and how muich it focuses on Filipino culture and society.  Unfortunately its availability is limited in the U.S.  Amazon lists just two booksellers, where it is fairly expensive (around $32).  The other caution comes from a Goodreads review.  It states that the author is one of the three or four most important Filipino historians after World War II, but it also says that he does not use original (primary) sources enough.

Anyone else have a contribution?  Please click on 'No Comments' to comment.  Thank you.

Happy Birthday Tomorrow, June 12, The Republic of the Philippines

The Republic of the Philippines is 115 years old tomorrow, June 12, 2013.  "Kalayaan" "freedom" in many ways  expresses what the day means to Filipinos.  Among other actions, the Filipino passion for Kalayaan explains why:

Filipinos fought against Spain from 1896 to 1898;
Filipinos fought against the U.S. from 1899 to 1902;
Filipinos fought alongside the U.S. at Bataan and Corregidor in 1942 and for liberation from Japan from 1944 to 1945;
Filipinos overthrew the Marcos dictatorship in 1986 through the People Power Revolution;
Filipinos invited the U.S. to close its last military bases in their country in 1991.

Mabuhay!  Have wonderful birthday, RP.  

Philippine Independence Day: June 12 versus July 4

"Filipinos justifiably take pride in reckoning their independence from June 12, 1898.  And, given the history of Philippine-American relations, it is understandable that they would prefer to celebrate their national birthday on June 12, rather than July 4.  In 1946 the US, in classic colonial fashion, chose July 4 as the official date of Philippine independence.  In fact the RP* did recognize July 4 as its independence day from l946 to 1962 but changed it to June 12 in the latter year."

Excerpted from "A Centennial Snapshot of Philippine History," Sundays in Manila, p. 35.  Members of Goodreads can still sign up (until midnight, June 11) to win a free hard copy of Sundays in Manila.

*RP=Republic of the Philippines

A Centennial Snapshot of Philippine History

"On June 12, 1898, the elected representatives of the eight provinces of the major* island of the Philippines, Luzon, adopted the constitution of a free and independent Republic of the Philippines.  The representatives signed their Declaration of Independence from Spain.  These provinces--still commemorated by the eight rays of the sun in the Philippine flag--had been leading the fight against Spain since August of 1896."

Excerpted from Sundays in Manila, p. 33.

*The Spanish colonial government, supported by its navy and army, was centered in Manila, Luzon.

Kalayaan

June 11 is a very special day for Filipinos: Independence Day.  I was priviledged to be teaching for a semester in the Philippines at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Manila during the Centennial of Philippine Independence.  The word I kept hearing over and over was "Kalayaan."

"27.  Kalayaan (Kah-lie-ah-on): Freedom

One of my favorite keepsakes from 1998 is a little enamel lapel pin in the shape and colors of a waving flag of the RP.  On the top, against the blue backgrond, are the lines, "Philippine Centennial," "1898-1998."  Below, on the red background in larger letters is "Kalayaan," and underneath it, again in smaller letters, "Kayamanan ng Bayan."  The latter expression means, "Wealth of the Nation."  Kalayaan even by itself is a memorably lyrical word, poetic in sound and quintessentailly Filipino in sentiment."

Excerpted from Sundays in Manila, pp. 232-233.  I will be making additional posts leading up to Independence Day.  I welcome your comments on or stories about "Kalayaan."