Episode 149 – Contested Relations: Fil Am Experiences with Filipinos in and from the Philippines (Social Distance Series)

What are Filipino Americans’ experiences and relationships with Filipino immigrants and Filipinos in the Philippines?  Filipino Americans – Filipinos who are born and or raised in the U.S. – often have vastly different experiences from Filipinos in the Philippines and those who recently immigrate to the U.S.  Sometimes those differences clash when discussing issues of Filipino identity, culture, and politics.  And these tensions have significantly heightened over the last few years because of social media.  Why is there such a divide?  Why have we developed such different perspectives, particularly on issues such as racism, classism, and imperialism?  Are Filipino Americans considered a part of the Filipino nation?  Where can we find commonality?

In this TFAL episode, we explore the tensions between Filipino Americans and Filipinos from the Philippines.  The crew first discuss our experiences with Filipinos who recently immigrate to the United States and our views of other communities.  Then we have a great conversation with Kristoffer Pasion, a Historian and Museum Researcher at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.  Also known as the Indio Historian, Kristoffer provides us with great historical insight on these contested relations between our communities.  He points out how we can resolve many of our issues through much needed dialogue.  He also discusses the important work he is doing with the National Historical Commission.

Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

What are your thoughts on this divide?  Do you agree or disagree with what was said in the episode?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com!