UniPro Commends Citizenship Pathway for Families of Fil-Am WWII Veterans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Therese Franceazca Balagtas Frances.balagtas@unipronow.org

PILIPINO AMERICAN UNITY FOR PROGRESS (UNIPRO) COMMENDS OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S CITIZENSHIP PATHWAY FOR FAMILIES OF FILIPINO AMERICAN WAR VETERANS

Recommendation allows certain family members of veterans to seek parole

New York, NY, July 20, 2015 - The Obama Administration has announced an expedited pathway to citizenship for families of Filipino American war veterans. Through collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, this program allows family members of Filipino American war veterans to come to the United States under a case-by-case, parole process. This will alleviate the backlogged immigration process often due to caps on visas, which has caused wait times that can exceed more than 20 years.

“It’s refreshing to see our President acknowledging this issue among the many he’s been addressing as part of his legacy of change,” states Iris Zalun, UniPro President. “Despite decades of advocacy that Filipino Americans have invested in our veterans, this is a small step towards the full realization of the benefits and recognition they deserve.”

“While this announcement is long overdue for the Filipino American community, this is a tiny recompense for Filipino Americans who have served this country,” states Ryan Natividad, UniPro Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Research. “Many veterans have been denied benefits, and many have passed on without ever seeing what was ‘promised’ to them. The government needs to be held accountable for its inactions.”

During World War II, more than 260,000 Filipinos enlisted in the United States military. During the war, the Philippines was a Commonwealth of the United States. However, the Rescission Act of 1946, denied the Filipino American war veterans of their benefits. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 contained a provision creating the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. While 43,000 claims were filed, only 18,900 were eligible.

In 1942, Congress passed a law naturalizing aliens serving in the United States military. However, after the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation, the naturalization law expired at the end of 1946. The Immigration Act of 1990, after 45 years, restored citizenship to Filipino American veterans.

UniPro continues to advocate for the needs and well-being of all Filipino Americans, including the Filipino American veterans who have sacrificed greatly to fight for this country. We urge President Obama and Congress to provide our aging Filipino Americans veterans the rights and privileges afforded to them and to overhaul this broken immigration system.

About Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc. (UniPro) Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro) is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that envisions a unified and engaged Pilipino America. Founded in 2009, UniPro’s mission is to engage Pilipino Americans through collaboration, advocacy and education. It seeks to transform Pilipino students & young professionals into community leaders through its various programs, which incorporate professional development, history, and policy through the lens of the Pilipino experience. The organization allows Pilipino Americans the opportunity to explore their place in the community in the hope of owning their niche. Ultimately, UniPro asks Pilipino Americans to critically answer, “How do you define Progress?”

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This article was written by Ryan Natividad.

SPAM: A Story of Love and Hate

For many Pilipinos, there’s nothing like the sound of sizzling SPAM on a hot frying pan just before brunch. When I was in college, a taste of home was never far away as I always made sure that a little rectangular can of SPAM was gleefully sitting in my kitchen cabinet. On lazy Sunday mornings I would throw it over a bed of white rice and enjoy the savory smell of spiced ham wafting in the air.

My (non-Pilipino) roommates, however, did not share the same sentiments as I did. Any mention of eating SPAM was met with a grimace and a resounding: “Ew! Why?”

One of them was so disgusted at the mere presence of SPAM that she wanted to forbid me from cooking it in the apartment while she was home. Sure, I understood that SPAM had a bad rep for being artificial mystery meat, but I was still offended. To me, SPAM was more than just processed meat in a can. It was part of my family and my culture. It was a part of who I was.

My grossed out friends did make one valid point, however: Why? Why did the Pilipino side of me identify so strongly with an American brand of canned pork shoulder and ham? And why was it so despised in its own country of origin?

During World War II, SPAM became the ideal candidate for food rations because it was a cheap and nonperishable good source of protein, and masses of it were sent overseas to American troops. After the Japanese invaded the Philippines, the American soldiers stationed there were able to give their surplus food rations to fleeing Filipinos who were forced to abandon their homes, and thus the SPAM sensation began.

Back in the United States, getting one’s hands on fresh meat during wartime was not easy. For the same economical reasons SPAM spammed its way onto everybody’s plates and eventually became so ubiquitous that everybody grew sick of it. According to Ty Matejowsky, “it was and will always remain an unappetizing reminder of the widespread deprivation brought on by the Great Depression and World War II."

But while SPAM became associated with poverty and unrefinement in the U.S., the very fact that it was an American product ironically elevated SPAM to a foreign delicacy in the Philippines, gratifying happy consumers spanning the working class to the wealthy. Today, SPAM has become so riotously popular among Pilipinos around the world that it is now considered a staple in Pilipino cuisine and inseparable from Pilipino identity. Pilipino obsession with SPAM has reached such a level a fanaticism that there is a restaurant in Manila entirely dedicated to it called the SPAMJAM Café (featuring SPAM Burgers, SPAM Spaghetti, SPAM nuggets, and oh so much more). Maharlika, the hot modern Pilipino restaurant in New York City, flaunts preparing SPAM with a sophisticated flare, including menu choices like beer-battered SPAM fries wittily described as “fresh from the can.”

Its history has evolved SPAM into a complex cultural symbol for both Pilipinos and Americans. SPAM is a symbol of love and hate, rich and poor. It’s a symbol of America’s colonial expansion into Asia and the Pacific and also a reflection of the Pilipino colonial mentality. For many Fil-Ams like myself, eating American SPAM is strangely an expression of my Pilipino identity that clashes against my American one. And although it can sometimes represent shame, SPAM has also become a symbol of pride, rallying Pilipino communities together with gelatinous cohesion.

In all essence, SPAM is the past and the future all globbed together in one little rectangular can. And gosh darn it, it tastes great too. I love SPAM. There, I said it.

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Photo credits: 2.bp.blogspot.com, vintageadbrowser.com, thinrecipes.com, realcheapeats.com

My Family's War-Time Story

Note from the editor: As we begin this week by reflecting on the sacrifices made by Americans during times of war, we wanted to share this personal story, shared with us by contributor, Jennifer Delos Santos. May we not forget the sacrifices made around the world during fearful times, and may we all work towards a more accepting and peaceful tomorrow. Passing down war-time stories across generations.

Each person has his or her own family history. Whether it includes a divorce, a milestone, or even death, each is unique, yet relatable to someone else’s. Part of my family history involves my grandparents during World War II. Honestly, if it were not for my eighth grade history project, I would have never known the details of what my grandparents encountered. While I was learning about WWII back in eighth grade, my social studies teacher enforced the memorization of the beginning of President Roosevelt’s speech. "Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy. The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan."My grandparents experienced more than one infamous day, especially my grandfather, or as my family call him, “Tata.” If he were still alive, I would have thanked him for what he did.  I can admit that he is a source of inspiration. I’m not sure if I can do what he did if faced with a similar situation. My grandmother, “Ima,” was there the whole time too and the war justifies how brave they both were. As I learned from my mother, the Japanese were killing all of the men, but not the women.  Why? I am not sure. On top of being poor, my grandparents had to confront the Japanese. But before they reached the nipa hut of my grandparents, Tata planned ahead. He dressed up as one of the women and wore a dress along with a bandana on his head while holding a baby in his arms. I am not sure if the baby was one of my older aunts or uncles or someone else’s baby, but what matters is that he was not killed. The disguise saved his life and the Japanese only pierced the ceiling of the nipa hut with bayonets to ensure that no one was hiding. This incident was long before my mother was born and I always think about how crucial this event was. Without their sacrifice, my mother wouldn’t be here nor would I. After the war subsided, one of my older aunts traveled to the U.S. and settled in New York. She then petitioned my grandparents and other members of my family, eventually leading to the petitioning of my mother as well. Therefore, more importantly, because my grandfather survived, he was able to live in the U.S. and become a U.S. citizen.Everyone has an interesting story to be told. This is one of mine. I’m sure that I will be passing this story down to my family and beyond. It is something that my family can be proud of and proves how an act of bravery can be significant. Tata made a difference in my family by surviving the Japanese. If he hadn’t survived, I wouldn’t be here writing about it.