For the sake of family and love
Ms. Ric
23 Dec 2009
Re: One can’t be proud to be Pinoy
Before I can say that I am an American, I am Filipino first, Pangasinense in particular, and damned proud of being one.
I can go back further and blame my brother who joined the military and swore to defend another land over his. What right did my brother have giving up a college diploma only to serve as an enlisted serviceman for another country? Who gave him permission to sacrifice living away from his family and into the bosom of America’s Navy entombed in a foreign land or worst inside a belly of a ship for months on end with no soul to call Ading, Kuya, Ama, Ina: an orphan in the midst of unknown beginnings but with a promise of a better life for his parents and siblings left in a land of uncertain endings.
Wasn’t it enough that he gave up his own citizenship? Why petition my father to desert his native land as well? My father who did not waste time rallying for his whole family to join him thousands of miles away from the only home his family has ever known. He too sacrificed living away from his family with nothing but letters penned by a wife unmindful of present heartaches but hopeful for the future: letters that somehow eased nostalgia but also intensified the loneliness of being alone.
It is because of these sacrifices that these brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers put themselves through for their family’s well being that make me a proud Filipino-American. They adopted another nationality, abandoned their own country – all for the sake of family, of love, of birthright to live a better life.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
