The documentary about Amerasians in the Philippines Winner of the Jason Mak award for Best Social justice film at the Disorient Asian American Film festival Robert, Jr, Charlene and Margarita are Amerasians: the sons and daughters of Filipina women (often impoverished prostitutes) and American Sailors stationed at the Subic Bay US Naval Base, once the largest [...]
Archive for the ‘Human Rights’ Category
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Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora: Troubling Borders in Literature and Art
May 16th, 2011 by Fil-Am Ako
I first saw this fundraising project from our friends over at AALR and it’s a cause that is really important to me. Among my many goals on this blog is to strengthen the image of Filipinas and Asian women. There are a lot of issues out there affecting these women that saddens me like human [...]
Philippines Unites to Fight Human Trafficking
March 15th, 2011 by Fil-Am Ako
Reading the news on the Philippines fighting against human trafficking put a big smile on my face. As many of you know, I always like to post news covering the issue of human trafficking. From March 13 – 18 2011, Civil society, governments, private sector and the general public in Philippines will unite to fight human [...]
Why Rachel Loves FAJ and You Should Too
January 18th, 2011 by Fil-Am Ako
I saw this video this past month featuring a story about how Filipino Advocates for Justice changed the lives of Rachel Aceberos and her family. I’m posting this now because of the holidays and for personal reasons. My main intent in posting this is showing the great things Filipinos can accomplish when united and following [...]
Filipino Mail-Order Grooms
December 1st, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
It’s often been used for a quick laugh in a comedy sketch on sitcoms or cartoons, but mail-order grooms do exist and it is no laughing matter. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) reported that they have recently been receiving complaints from male victims of the mail order bride scheme. According to CFO reports, they’ve [...]
Kano, an American and his Harem
October 30th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Who is Kano? Kano (pronounced kä·nô’) is Tagalog slang for Amerikano. Filipinos usually refer to any caucasian, regardless of ethnicity, as kano. In the film, an American Vietnam War hero decides to spend the rest of his post-war life in the Philippines. Hundreds of women have come and stayed in his house located in a poor, remote [...]
U.S. Feds Probing Major Human Trafficking Case
October 14th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
U.S.federal authorities are investigating a major human trafficking case involving at least 11 overseas Filipino workers who have fled harsh working conditions from their hotel jobs in the resort city Biloxi, Mississippi and sought shelter at the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and Department [...]
New York: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Ends a Legacy of Discrimination
September 1st, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
On Tuesday, August 31st, housekeepers, nannies and caregivers celebrated the historic Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (A.1470B/S.2311E) bill signing in New York. This landmark legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, guarantees privately-employed nannies, housekeepers, and elderly caregivers in New York benefits such as paid leave, overtime and protection from discrimination. Bay Area [...]
Airport Workers Resolve Age Bias Case
August 17th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Filipino Advocates for Justice just released an update on Oakland Airport Workers’ campaign against Delta Air Lines Global Services for discrimination and harassment of older workers.A year from the launching of the “Justice for Manong” campaign, Hector Arcangel and Alex Lugtu’s age discrimination case against Delta Airlines Global Services (DGS) has been resolved! Hector and Alex [...]
Guestworker Teachers Fight Back
August 9th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Hundreds of Filipino guestworkers lured to teach in Louisiana public schools were cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars and forced into exploitative contracts by an international trafficking ring run by labor contractors, according to a class action lawsuit filed on August 5th by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Federation of Teachers [...]
Terminated for Speaking Tagalog
June 22nd, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
In Canada, it was because of a spoon and fork, now in the states, Filipinos are receiving unfair treatment at work for being Filipino. For four Filipina-American ex-staffers of a Baltimore City hospital, their termination still comes as a shock. In a recent reports, Corina Capunitan-Yap, Anna Rowena Rosales, Jazziel Granada and Natano were fired [...]
Unjustified Racial Profiling on Natural Born Citizen of the United States
April 27th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
“Who the hell carries their birth certificate!” writes Jack Tomas from Guanabee. This update is not relating to Filipinos or the Asian American community, but on the recent injustice committed in Arizona with the recent anti-immigration law SB 1070. Unjustified racial profiling in Arizona officially kicked off with the detainment of a Mexican-American truck driver [...]
36 Asians Working as Modern Day Slaves Rescued in Costa Rica
April 27th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Recently, 36 Asians rescued by the police in the Pacific port of Puntarenas on Apr. 10 were subjected to labour exploitation on two fishing boats. The 15 Vietnamese, 13 Indonesians, five Filipinos, two Taiwanese and one Chinese national said they were forced to work up to 20 hours a day, and were regularly flogged. They [...]
Fil-Canadian Boy Wins Spoon and Fork Case
April 25th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Back in 2006, I read an article on a Filipino-Canadian boy by the name of Luc Cagadoc, who was reprimanded at his school for eating the Filipino way, using a spoon and fork. The article infuriated me back then and it was really gratifying for me to read the recent news on this case. A [...]