Yesterday on TFC (The Filipino Channel) reported on the latest racist attacks on Filipinos in Northern Ireland. Not a surprise to me but now my parents have a really bad impression of the place, and have been asking weird questions if HopAlong's family is prejudiced because they are Protestant. Well it's obvious they aren't because they wouldn't invite me into their home if they were. At least my parents finally know why I came back and decided to get married and live in America instead of over there...
Racist attack in N. Ireland targets Filipino family
JERRIE M. ABELLA, GMANews.TV
A Filipino family in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has expressed fears for their safety after racist attacks in their Whiteabbey town on Tuesday left a part of their house and a Filipino neighbor’s car scorched.
The Philippine Embassy in London said Ishis Calungsod and his family were targeted in a racially motivated arson in their street, which involved the burning of a car owned by Arnel Verzonilla, another Filipino.
“The Embassy has been in touch with Mr. Calungsod and Mr. Verzonilla, and they and their families are safe," the Embassy said in a statement posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website.
A report by Belfast Telegraph stated 30-year-old Calungsod and his wife were sleeping with their two children, aged four and six, when Verzonilla’s car, parked at the front door of their house in Fernagh Avenue, went up in flames.
Verzonilla lives in the same building several doors up.
Another car parked on the same street, owned by an Indian family, was likewise torched, the report said.
The report said the Calungsod family learned of the fire only when firefighters broke into their house to rescue them.
Local police have ruled the burning of the cars as racially motivated, following at least three similar incidents also in Belfast recorded a day before, based on the report.
The Philippine Embassy condemned the dastardly act of hate and discrimination committed against a Filipino family and individuals belonging to other ethnic groups. It added that Embassy has made representations with the Police Service of Northern Ireland urging them to undertake action to identify and punish the perpetrators.
“Such hate crimes should be eradicated and the root causes addressed to ensure that these acts do not undermine the cross-community successes in Northern Ireland in recent years," the Embassy said in a statement.
According to the Belfast report, Calungsod moved to Northern Ireland five years ago to work. “We didn’t have any problems before but now we are thinking of moving again. We moved here because our friends live here. They said it was a nice, quiet street, good for our kids. And it had been. But now we are all scared," Calungsod was quoted as saying in the report.
Showing posts with label Filipinos in Belfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Filipinos in Belfast. Show all posts
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Thursday, February 26, 2009
My First Encounter with Racism
A few weeks after I arrived here, I had my first encounter with racism...
Craig and I took the bus home from a long day of shopping at the City Centre. We were sitting across from a young couple with their child. The little boy looked at me and started pointing. The father whispered to the kid and the kid looked at me again and blew rasberries at me. I smiled and thought nothing of it, he's just being a kid.
Our stop came up and we proceeded to head down the aisle to the exit. Just as we got up from our seats, the little boy's father said under his breath but loud enough for Craig to hear, "He must have went to Thailand." This infuriariated Craig and he turned around to give him more than a piece of his mind. Luckily, I was right behind him and I had to literally push him off the bus. Craig was more pissed off than I was. Actually, I wasn't pissed off at all. I have experienced worse in my lifetime. It was no big deal and to engage in a fight with someone who is that ignorant is really not worth it. And besides, what should I be offended about? Thailand is a beautiful country with friendly people and amazing food!
I am sort of an anomaly here and I don't exactly blend in with the locals. Because let's face it...I have brown skin and 99% of the people around me are white. People don't quite know how to peg me. I look Asian yet I have an American accent. So the first thing they see is Asian, not American. I've had one stranger come up to me mistaking me for Korean and insisting I was Korean after I told her many times I am an American w/ Filipino heritage. That was weird. Or some have automatically assumed that I am a nurse working at the nearby hospital because of the influx of Filipino healthcare workers that have emigrated to Northern Ireland the past 8 years. I've lost count on how many times I've said, "No, I'm not a nurse." I've had others with the best of their intentions, speak to me like I don't understand English and I confuse them even more when I respond back sounding like a Yank.
This got me thinking about immigrants in Belfast who come from whatever country to build a life here like my parents did when they emigrated to the US. What is life here like for them? And what is it like for their children growing up here? Why did they choose to live here? My fiance said ever since the Celtic Tiger there has been an ever increasing number of immigrants who have come to work in Northern Ireland. A big majority of the temp workers in his company come from Poland or other parts of Eastern Europe. There are also a lot of Africans, Asians (India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia), and those from the Middle East most are students who come to study at either Queen's or University of Ulster. The Chinese have been here ever since he can remember as a kid and possibly longer. He's noticed a lot more Filipinos around the late 90's.
Out of curiosity, I look up on google the immigrant consensus of Belfast and I find pages upon pages of hits regarding various racist attacks dating back around 2003. Most of them taking place in South Belfast on Donegall Road. I am guessing this is where a large majority of ethnic groups reside. I was apalled to read about ethnic cleansing campaigns by alleged loyalist thugs. Pipe bombs thrown into people's homes. Grafitti all over houses and cars telling the Chinese and Filipino communities to get out with swastikas and right wing slogans. Sinn Fein even stepped in condemning these attacks and warned that there must be a stop to this before someone ends up being killed. In 2004, Filipino nurses had become victims of attacks at such an alarming number that even President Arroyo of the Philippines took notice and directed her Department of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the UK authorities for the protection of Filipino citizens in Northern Ireland.
The most recent racist attack was just 2 weeks ago! A Bangladeshi student was ganged up by 15 people who kicked and beat him to the ground. He ran to a nearby home for help and it took 2 and a half hours for police to respond! In a BBC article from 2004 Duncan Morrow of the Community Relations Council stated: "I think we have a lazy toleration of racism in this community and that has got to stop, because clearly people are under attack," he said. "This is now very serious, as it's becoming regular." No shit! It's now the year 2009 and it still took 2 1/2 hours for the police to respond? WTF?
Is it any coincidence that these racist attacks have been growing in number since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement? I guess they need someone else to target their aggression on if they can't target their own people. Do these loyalist thugs realize that their ancestors were also immigrants who settled from Scotland? Oh, the irony! Further proof there are ignorant assholes everywhere.
Oh, and before I forget. To the guy on the bus: If you want to be racist, get it right..."He went to CALIFORNIA not Thailand!"
Craig and I took the bus home from a long day of shopping at the City Centre. We were sitting across from a young couple with their child. The little boy looked at me and started pointing. The father whispered to the kid and the kid looked at me again and blew rasberries at me. I smiled and thought nothing of it, he's just being a kid.
Our stop came up and we proceeded to head down the aisle to the exit. Just as we got up from our seats, the little boy's father said under his breath but loud enough for Craig to hear, "He must have went to Thailand." This infuriariated Craig and he turned around to give him more than a piece of his mind. Luckily, I was right behind him and I had to literally push him off the bus. Craig was more pissed off than I was. Actually, I wasn't pissed off at all. I have experienced worse in my lifetime. It was no big deal and to engage in a fight with someone who is that ignorant is really not worth it. And besides, what should I be offended about? Thailand is a beautiful country with friendly people and amazing food!
I am sort of an anomaly here and I don't exactly blend in with the locals. Because let's face it...I have brown skin and 99% of the people around me are white. People don't quite know how to peg me. I look Asian yet I have an American accent. So the first thing they see is Asian, not American. I've had one stranger come up to me mistaking me for Korean and insisting I was Korean after I told her many times I am an American w/ Filipino heritage. That was weird. Or some have automatically assumed that I am a nurse working at the nearby hospital because of the influx of Filipino healthcare workers that have emigrated to Northern Ireland the past 8 years. I've lost count on how many times I've said, "No, I'm not a nurse." I've had others with the best of their intentions, speak to me like I don't understand English and I confuse them even more when I respond back sounding like a Yank.
This got me thinking about immigrants in Belfast who come from whatever country to build a life here like my parents did when they emigrated to the US. What is life here like for them? And what is it like for their children growing up here? Why did they choose to live here? My fiance said ever since the Celtic Tiger there has been an ever increasing number of immigrants who have come to work in Northern Ireland. A big majority of the temp workers in his company come from Poland or other parts of Eastern Europe. There are also a lot of Africans, Asians (India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia), and those from the Middle East most are students who come to study at either Queen's or University of Ulster. The Chinese have been here ever since he can remember as a kid and possibly longer. He's noticed a lot more Filipinos around the late 90's.
Out of curiosity, I look up on google the immigrant consensus of Belfast and I find pages upon pages of hits regarding various racist attacks dating back around 2003. Most of them taking place in South Belfast on Donegall Road. I am guessing this is where a large majority of ethnic groups reside. I was apalled to read about ethnic cleansing campaigns by alleged loyalist thugs. Pipe bombs thrown into people's homes. Grafitti all over houses and cars telling the Chinese and Filipino communities to get out with swastikas and right wing slogans. Sinn Fein even stepped in condemning these attacks and warned that there must be a stop to this before someone ends up being killed. In 2004, Filipino nurses had become victims of attacks at such an alarming number that even President Arroyo of the Philippines took notice and directed her Department of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the UK authorities for the protection of Filipino citizens in Northern Ireland.
The most recent racist attack was just 2 weeks ago! A Bangladeshi student was ganged up by 15 people who kicked and beat him to the ground. He ran to a nearby home for help and it took 2 and a half hours for police to respond! In a BBC article from 2004 Duncan Morrow of the Community Relations Council stated: "I think we have a lazy toleration of racism in this community and that has got to stop, because clearly people are under attack," he said. "This is now very serious, as it's becoming regular." No shit! It's now the year 2009 and it still took 2 1/2 hours for the police to respond? WTF?
Is it any coincidence that these racist attacks have been growing in number since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement? I guess they need someone else to target their aggression on if they can't target their own people. Do these loyalist thugs realize that their ancestors were also immigrants who settled from Scotland? Oh, the irony! Further proof there are ignorant assholes everywhere.
Oh, and before I forget. To the guy on the bus: If you want to be racist, get it right..."He went to CALIFORNIA not Thailand!"
Friday, July 18, 2008
A Day Out With Hop Along
After a slight row...me getting frustrated over waiting for Craig to freakin' wake up and to do something. And him getting frustrated over me expecting him to wake up because I wanted him to do something, we finally headed out the door and took the bus to the city center.
I think I am immune to the rain now or the fact that my blood was boiling thinking if I had to stay one more day in that house, I'm going to blow a gasket and will need tranquilizers, because rain or shine, I'm going OUT!!!! So in the midst of a tsunami, "Hop Along" and I, went to Marcus Music on Royal Avenue to buy my drum. But before we even reached the store, I noticed signs pointing to a place that said 'Kainan Cafe'. Kainan means eatery in Tagalog. Tagalog is national language of the Philippines. I was like, "No, this can't be!". So I shouted to Hop Along who was 20 feet in front of me to check out this place. It was a Filipino restaurant and grocery store! I can't believe it! I mean, what are the chances?!?! Apparently, there has been an influx of Filipinos who came to Belfast 5 to 7 years ago because of nurse shortages in hospitals in the UK. Due to lack of jobs and low pay in the Philippines, all health professionals had no choice but to work abroad in search for a better life, for higher wages, and more opportunity so they can send money and help family members back home. I told Craig we must eat here after I purchase my drum. It will also give him insight of what my peeps are like and I was curious what he thought.
We went to Marcus Music and he immediately reconnected with a friend of his who is an employee there. His friend is also an accomplished guitarist. After they talked shopped for awhile, because Craig also plays guitar, I finally got down to business and bought my first ever bodhran drum. The drum w/ tipper and case was around £135. It's about average for a semi-professional bodhran and it will do for practice and classes. If you're serious about learning a bodhran make sure you get the screws in the back. What you want is a tunable bodhran where you can tighten the skin by a turn key. The ones that don't have them are pure decoration and not suitable for playing. A bodhran 14-16" in diameter would suit you just fine. You don't want to go any bigger than that. The bodhrans they sell in Marcus are manufactured in Dublin. I still plan to buy a custom made bodhran here in Belfast. Eamon Maguire is supposedly a master bodhran maker in Ireland. I'll will definitely give him a shoutout before I leave. I hope he'll let me take pictures in his workshop. I'm really eager to see how the bodhran is made.
After Marcus music, it was off to Kainan Cafe. There were a group of Filipino men entering the cafe. They looked at us with curiosity. What is a Filipina doing with an Irishman? (Mailorder Bride?. HAHA!) And when they heard my American accent they were doubly intrigued. But they didn't make us feel like we were unwelcome. It was a relaxed atmosphere. We went in and behind the counter was a nice Filipino man who reminded me of my uncle. There were hotpots all lined up in a row. I asked him if there was a menu, he smiled and said to just look in the hotpots. He asked if I was Filipina, and I said yes but I was born in America so I don't really speak Tagalog all that well. I sheepishly said that I'm not sure what they were so he opened the lid and told me what they were:
Kare Kare - a peanut and oxtail dish which you eat with fermented shrimp paste. Sounds gross but it's oh so good!
Pork Adobo = Pork marinated and stewed in soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, and basil leaves. Hop Along said it tasted like really strong roast beef. He really liked it!
Mungo - Thick soup made with mung beans.
Diniguan - Spicy pork blood soup with tripe. Not my thing but it's good.
Sinigang - a tangy beef soup, another favorite of mine
I ordered the Kare Kare and Pork Adobo. A main dish plus generous helping of sticky rice is only £4.50 (which is average price for Chinese takeaway). It was ok in my opinion, nothing is as good as mom's cooking. But it was adequate. I was surprised Craig cleared his plate. He said he felt like Anthony Bourdain in No Reservations. LMAO!
I asked the nice cafe man how long he's been here. He said 5 years. I asked if he liked it here, he grimaced and was like, we're just here for the money. His wife is a nurse and once they have enough money they are going back home to the Philippines. I don't blame him. Coming from a tropical country, they must think Northern Ireland is the arctic circle. I browsed the shelves and saw the all too familiar ingredients that my mom uses in her kitchen and it made me long for home. :(
Filipino men were just chilling and chatting over the din of The Filipino Channel! LOL! I assumed they were waiting for their wives to get off their hospital shift. Man, it was so nice to be surrounded by the familiar. I loved listening to them speak in Tagalog. For once, I didn't feel like a stranger and I fit in, and Craig was the opposite.
After we had our meal, we headed to roast for some coffee. I still have trouble with the currency here. LOL! The man asked for £6.50 and I gave him £5.50 how embarassing. As we sat there waiting for the rain to die down. HP was fiddling with my itouch to see if there was free wifi...which there was (all Roasts do). From the time we left the house, and all the while we were at the city centre, he was checking for wifi hotspots. The man was obssessed. Whatever gets his rocks off, I guess!
HP's barber was nearby so he walked in for a haircut. I have been here once before in January. And I found it kind of funny how barbers are no fuss no muss as opposed to hair salons where you're pampered. Men sit and wait until it is their turn. They sit in a chair. Tell the barber they want their hair short, and off goes the buzzer. They pay the barber £5 and that's it. 15 minutes tops. Straight and to the point.
We then took the bus to his mom's house in the Shankill. We played with LADY! Yipeee!
And you know what else today is? It's a milestone for Hop Along and I. It's the first anniversary where we met in person! Awwww! I remember it vividly. When I first saw him, I melted like butter and my heart went a pitter pat. It was his first time in San Franciso. Him tired from the long journey and me frantic running around the city getting ready for his arrival. It was clumsy and awkward at first but the strong feelings were there and we couldn't believe how we made it come to fruition.
Never would I have guessed that I would move to some foreign country to live with someone who has touched my heart and soul, and showed me a different side of life I would have never gotten to know. It's been a great adventure thus far, and I'm sure we'll have many more for years to come!
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