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NEW YORK-- Despite heavy thunderstorms, Filipino-Americans joined other immigrant communities at Union Square in New York to rally and march for immigrant rights in the United States this past Friday, May 1.
The 50+ strong NYC May Day Filipino contingent, consisting of members from the Philippine Forum, Sandiwa, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE), Anakbayan NY/NJ, New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), and BAYAN USA, marched two miles together from Union Square to Foley Square in the pouring rain.
The overall May Day march and rally at Union Square was organized by the NY May 1st Coalition, of which BAYAN USA and NAFCON founding members since 2006, when nearly 1 million New Yorkers were mobilized against the Sensenbrenner Bill (HR 4437), which called for the criminalization of undocumented immigrants, in the largest outdoor demonstration in New York City history.
Noting that 100 days have already passed in President Obama's administration, and with Obama promising to discuss US immigration policy this month, community efforts on the demand for genuine comprehensive immigration reform, including legalization of the undocumented, are intensifying. |
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Filipino contingents in New York City and across the
US, under the banners of BAYAN USA and National
Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), took to the
streets on May Day to urge President Obama to
consider immigrant workers in these next 100 days,
highlighting the importance of their work that keep
the US alive and running.
With mock prison cells behind a
"LEGALIZATION 4 ALL" banner, the Filipino
Americans in Manhattan's Union Square
brought awareness to the current situation
of raids, detentions, and deportations of
"illegal" immigrants. "With almost 1 million
TNT (tago ng tago literally translated in
Tagalog, meaning "hide and hide" in English,
a phrase to describe "undocumented"
immigrants) Filipinos in this country, many
Filipinos are paralyzed by the fear of being
deported and the possibility of people being
separated from their families here in the
US," stated Jonna Baldres, secretary
general of Anakbayan New York/New
Jersey, "Similarly, with the economic
bloodlines of many families in the
Philippines stemming from Pinoy immigrants
working in the US, the worse fear is in
abandoning transnational family
responsibilities. As the Labor Export Policy
of the Philippines continues to sell our
people off, we march on May Day to make sure
as Filipinos have served the US economy for
decades, President Obama and his
administration begin focusing on legalizing
the undocumented."
Throughout the march the Filipino community
chanted in English, Tagalog, and Spanish
with their neighboring Latino community
group, Jornaleros Unidos (United Day
Laborers) from Woodside, Queens. In April,
these two communities came together in
another action in Queens to demand basic
respect and human dignity from the New York
Police Department and ICE who violently
disrupt the lives of Mexican day laborers
along with Filipino undocumented workers
with harassment and abuse. The unity between
the Mexican and Filipino communities who
share the neighborhood gave new meaning to
the chants they shouted, "We are people! We
are not Illegal!" and "El Pueblo, Unido,
Jamas Sera Vencido!" (The People, United,
Will Never Be Defeated!, literally
translated in Spanish). This great stride to
connect communities of different ethnic
backgrounds under the same call for
immigrant and worker rights was a reality in
the Woodside, Queens contingent.
Instead of focusing on the swine flu
pandemic, marchers work masks that donned
the phrase, "No to NAFTA flu!" This slogan
point to the contradiction in the US'
principal role in free trade agreements and
their adverse reaction to immigrants that
are driven to move across borders because of
such policy.
May Day has been reclaimed by immigrant,
workers and immigrant workers alike. The
city-wide action drew hundreds of
participants in the downpour and the
long march because of the ever-important
issues that immigrants in the US face.
"Immigrant workers and their families
never forget that we are in the midst of
a crisis. We feel it in our bones, from
the longer hours we must work everyday,
from the lack of job security that keeps
our anxiety high. We have come together
to show this city that we cannot be
forgotten and we will not be quiet until
all undocumented immigrants are
legalized!" said Anne Beryl Corotan from
National Alliance for Filipino Concerns.
Category: Advocacy
Posted on 8 May 2009
