Stories on racism against Filipinos

[un1z]

nakaka sad naman, dito pa lang sa atin experience ko na ito... pinagpapasensyahan ko nalang at iniisip ko na mababa ang level ng utak nila. hhe

[mariana]

this is one story from a friend of mine who is based in qatar,she was wearing a not so short dress but thing is sleeveless cia and she's pregnant,napansin nya daw may mga lady brits na talagang shorts shorts kung manamit so she opt to wear her dress which she thought na hindi naman ganun ka daring whatsoever,one local told her while she's at the supermarket "you don't have a proper dress?you wear your house dress?" and my friend was like "oh im so sorry but i dont speak your language" with a little bit of stupid stare daw  (with her american accent)sabay talikod tawa daw sya ng tawa after non pati daw yung nasa paligid natawa sa kanya narinig na lang nya yung babae "i can call the police you know" sa isip isip daw nya "ewan mga boba naman kayo ayokong makipagusap sa mga bobong katulad nyo,basta asian kung makasita kayo parang nakapatay ubod naman kayo ng bobobo"

[xtine]

I had 2 terrible experiences in Japan.

1. In tokyo station, may mga stalls kasi dun selling souvenirs and cookies. Last day ko yun sa Japan and it was a monday, meaning lahat ng tao naka office attire and nagmamadali maglakad para makasakay ng train. Syempre ako stroll lang, hanap ng souvenirs. Then may lumapit sakin police in civilian clothes asking for my passport.

Actually, it depends on what you are wearing.  Sa Ropponghi ba yun? which is the red light district of Tokyo, Pinays who are TNT swarm the area para makakuha ng customer.  I guess that's why Japs are very strict on issuing visas to Filipinos kasi karaniwan sa iba, nag TNT talaga.  Tayong mga Pinoy din ang may kasalanan. 

I remember on our flight back to Phils via Northwest.  We had a stopover in Narita, and there's this bunch of noisy japayukis.  As in tahi tahimik ng Narita at sila lang ang maingay.  Kahit ako nahihiya para sa kanila.  Kaya kami ng mommy ko, todo sa pagbebehave.  Baka kasi marepresent ng mga japayukis na to na lahat ng pilipino ganun. 

Kahit sa loob ng eroplano.  Parang akala mo sila ang may ari ng eroplano dahil sa boses nila na napalakas. 

ay oo nga japan....

several experiences -
1)  on my trip to fla, us - me stop over sa narita.  we had to leave the plane with all our things, and then fall in line, then go back to the plane.   ang nakaka inis, the japs go to the plane first, and then we (all non-japs, including caucasians and whatever else) go after them. 

I think (not so sure), because Japs are known to be systematic, pinapauna nila lahat ng citizen then yung tourists.  Since ibang way ang immigration ng citizen sa tourists.

[akthung]

ay sis yung mga ganyang "separate lines" it happens talaga. My mom, because she works for our government, travels a lot. may mga naexperience din siyang ganyan....nahinihiwalay ang pinoy.

wala din tayong magagawa kasi nga the masses (70%) will always represent the whole. ako mismo nakawitness ng mga nakakahiyang incidents involving our kababayan in international airports...nakakahiya talaga.

[laey]

This happened only in a forum (na ako'y member). It's about cost of living here in Indonesia (which is more or less the same with Pinas).

There's a girl asking, should she accept $2K (net of tax, utilities, housing, etc) offer from an International school here.  Then there’s this one guy (expat) from Japan, said that "go for it, if I were in your place I’ll go back to Indo and can even give you the 20% of that amount. Then one expat replied to him. It goes like this -- “Are you from Philippine or (another asian country) heritage? Because only people from there act the way that you do.  Or accepts that crappy salary."

My thoughts on these? Aside from being so racist, I think his sarcasm showed how threatened they are right now. You see, in time, maybe we don't need so many expats from the west since we can deliver the same, or even better results than what they are providing right now at a lower cost.

And I just realized that it's not the local people, the culture, the religion that I should be worried about here. It's the strangers like me. So full of themselves. 

[akthung]

i think he was just being --brutally-- honest sis, like all caucasians. baka na misinterpret mo lang. syempre, isipin mo lang yung pinang gagalingan nila. we have to ask, kung ano ang average salary ng isang common worker sa pinang gagalingan nila. from where i come from, its $5,000. my uncle, who has different side lines in the US earns at least $15k in a month. even pag white to whites, malaman nila na may kumikita ng 3k a month, "oh that's crap! that's low!" and so on..."go find another job!." (tsaka wala kasing tone ang pagsusulat)

pero totoo naman na marami sa asia ang kumakagat sa $2,000. why be ashamed? its big money in the Phils.

when you mingle with caucasians, the good ones ha, ang daing naman nila, lagi sila namimisinterpret. syempre case to case basis naman. pero the good ones talaga, would like everyone to be equal.

[laey]

^Yeah, he's brutally honest. But not like all caucasians are like that. My former boss was a british. I had a neighbor who's german. I had few encounters with other caucasians. And I don't think I misunderstood nor misinterpret him.

If you're in the US, then $2K salary is a real crap. But yeah, if you're in Indo and in the Phil, that could go far. But I doubt if he's earning $15K in the US, he'd bother going here.

But that's not my concern. I don't give a sh*t whether $2K is low or not. I don't care if i earn lower or higher than that either.

My concern is, why the hell in the world would he think that the one commenting is a pinoy. First, it's forum for expats in indo. More or less the people hanging out there are locals and expats. The one commenting is Expat in Japan. Second, based on his posts, he's sort of bitter about why the rates of locals and expats are way too different (they just speak english). Shouldn't you be first thinking he's Indonesian?

If that's pinoy in Japan, for sure, he'll be in GT or PEX not there.

[akthung]

okay. i know where you are at. but bosses are tied to the company and can be sued, and neighbors can't hit you and run away. i live in a multicultural society and that's petty stuff, specially when it comes from people who can "run away" after "hitting" you.

Here, i see cultural differences and ignorance everyday. like a friend of mine, who upon learning of my background in facebook, said "there are rich people in the Philippines?" "really?"

but you know, alam mo na nga mali, papatulan mo pa ba? masisira lang araw mo...lalo na kung murphy's law, mag sunod sunod yung mga ganun comments from different people. keep it cool and educate them. when i was new, naiinis talaga ako. pero at the end sino ang talo?

one thing i ALWAYS get here is "you speak english? ...people in the Philippines speak English??"

ang pambara ko is. "We're a former US Colony right? "

...naeducate na nga...barado pa. pag hindi nila alam, hiritan ko ng "you should check your World history." e di labas na bobo sila.

but at the end of the day, its just his POV. ang asar, talo. but once na educate mo na sila. okay na. i always watch Pinoys here and the "veterans" know how to step up...how to manage...whether through humor or so.

[laey]

^hehe. mukha lang akong galit pero hindi naman talaga. Just wanted to share. Naisip ko din kasi kung papatulan ko pa yun, sayang lang sa oras. At yeah, nakakasira lang ng araw.

Pero dear, your friend's comment, for me is not racist at all, i guess. It's somehow innocuous, not to demean or something. So, I think the intentions are different. (Just correct me if I'm wrong.)

[akthung]

^hehe. mukha lang akong galit pero hindi naman talaga. Just wanted to share. Naisip ko din kasi kung papatulan ko pa yun, sayang lang sa oras. At yeah, nakakasira lang ng araw.

Pero dear, your friend's comment, for me is not racist at all, i guess. It's somehow innocuous, not to demean or something. So, I think the intentions are different. (Just correct me if I'm wrong.)

i dont find my friend as racist...hence the words "cultural differences and ignorance" in my previous post. racism is a very heavy word here. you just can't use it unless you can prove it with hard evidence. though in my travels i've met people who see the philippines as a set of small islands somewhere in the pacific...and almost always poor ang impression sa atin.

i don't find your post racist too. i hear those words a lot of times, lalo na pag asia ang pinag uusapan.

with the way you write sis, i know you can handle those a..h..

OT. watch russell peters in youtube sis. stand up comedian...he would always joke about culture differences.

[laey]

I didn't say he's a racist either, but his remark was.  Well, maybe it's too strong for you, okay i'll soften my words. It's demeaning and honestly, the way he said it, it's offensive since it's unwarranted. Is it softer, already? hehe

Well, anyway, I'm in youtube right now i'll watch the videos you mentioned.

Thanks, dear.

[port80*]

^He's in Australia, same as me.  On the contrary though, people here in my part of Australia (Perth) are always amazed that Filipinos speak English very well.  But then again, Perth is the most multi-cultural state in Australia so we're used to hearing all sorts of accents and English "versions" here   The only thing I keep hearing about my English here is that I have an American accent (I don't -- I speak English the same way everyone does in the Philippines but I suppose we do sound American on Aussie ears).

[pretinnes]

i remember a long time ago when my mom was applying for a US visa,at the embassy in manila.She came well-prepared and brought all her documents,bank accounts,etc...the consul didnt even glance at her documents and proceeded w rapid-fire questioning,and told her maybe you just want to get a visa so you can live and work in the states.He was also alluding that my mom will go TNT!...Not used to being talked down to,my mom said,"That's it sir,can i please have my passport and my documents back?taken aback,nagulat ang consul and asked her why? sabi nang mommy ko, "you know sir, my reason for trying to get a visa is to actually try to see for myself if there really is truth in what people say that the US is a beautiful country,but at this point if i'm experiencing this kind of treatment right here and now,then i don't think i would like to visit your country anymore,because you are what you represent!..and by the way,why would i want to live and work in your country when here i can live like a queen! i have my own properties,my driver and maids etc..etc...never mind, i will just tour some other countries.So pls once again,i'm asking for my passport!" ...sobrang nagulat ang puti,ayun binigyan siya ng visa! multiple indefinite! uso pa kasi yun noon!... ...lesson learned,sabi nang mommy ko,don't ever let anyone talk down on you!

napa wow ako sa mommy mo sis. very good. buti nga sa kanila. pero totoo yang racism about education. like me nung kakarating ko lang sa US, my cousins would always tell me na mahihirapan ako maghanap ng work kasi hindi naman ako sa US nag grad. sad lang kasi i'm a graduate of one of the top 3 universities in the Phils. tapos feeling ko naman mas magaling pa mga pinoy kaysa kanila. tamad kasi mga puti.

pinsan ko pala habang naglalakad sa street nila sinigawan ng mga black american "chinese, go back to china." tapos nag iintsik intsik sila. napaiyak iyong pinsan ko kasi HS pa lang siya noon. tapos one time naman pumasok sila sa isang sosyal na resto, tiningnan daw talaga sila ng mga tao kasi mukha silang dugyot dahil kagagaling lang mag swimming. para bang di nila ma afoord kumain dun.

[sugardrop]

Someone sent me a yahoo mesage. I dunno who that person is but I had a feeling that person got my yahoo id from my blog. Here's how the conversation went:

*I changed the person's yahoo ID to unknown subject and mine as me*

unknown subject:  May I ask if u are a filipina with financial needs ?
unknown subject:  I am rich and I can help u
me:  i don't need your money
unknown subject:  Yes of course u do
me:  nope
unknown subject: All of u filipinas have needs
me: au revoir, monsieur. vachement tu, tu debloque
unknown subject: So u earn money on the streets then ?
unknown subject: Sad for u
unknown subject:Sad that so many like u earn on the streets at night
me: No, so sad for you. You have to pay to get women.
unknown subject: But that is your life
unknown subject: That is ur heritage to ne a girl of the streets
me: Too bad, I have work and I don’t  have to go to the streets
unknown subject: Yes I pay to get them and I pay to keep them
me: Unlike you, you have to resort to paying money just to have women by your side. You poor thing
unknown subject: So ur business is that u send others to the streets
unknown subject: It is the same as tho u are on the streets
me: Well, it seems like your mother is someone who came from the streets based on how you were raised.
unknown subject: But all of u are like animals paid to be kept and trained like horses and dogs
me: At least not a pig like you
unknown subject: This is your heritage ; this is ur life
unknown subject:  Like the horses and dogs u are bred to be purchased and trained
me: Yeah, and your life is to forever be a prick and an arsepreying on whoever you think needs your damn money
me: I don't have time for pathetic losers like you.
me: Goodbye
unknown subject: My mother owned a stable of girls like u
unknown subject: In that respect u are accurate
me: Really, so she was also a whore like those girls?
me: Tsk
me: No wonder you talk like a male whore
unknown subject: and she trained them and bred them and bought and sold them
unknown subject: and so now I have the business I inerited
me: I see. And someone must've bought her as well
me: And you are the product
unknown subject: I did inherit my mother's wealth and her stable of street girls
me: You are the product of a street whore and someone who paid to get in her pants.
unknown subject: and so I buy more and more
unknown subject: For me it is a pleasure to buy you trade you sell you and BREAK YOU
me: Well you may want to pay the women in your family instead since it runs in your family )
me:
unknown subject: You will eventually be purchased
unknown subject: a€nd broken
unknown subject: ownership of stret sluts does run in the family
unknown subject: of street slucopts that is
me: yeah, just like your mom
me: a street slut that gets paid
me: poor you
me: pathetic
me: son of a b****
unknown subject: My family has owned street sluts like my mother and her mother and her mother and so it goes
me: and that makes you no different from her
unknown subject: and u hate us of course
me: i don't hate you. you hate yourself
unknown subject: I am like her in that we by you sell you tradfe u and break u
me: yeah, just break your own leg then
unknown subject: Someone like u I would personally enjoy breaking
unknown subject: Break your mind and your body and your spirit and your soul
unknown subject: Tnen put a harness on you and ride u until every last part of u is broken
unknown subject: Then sell u like some of them as a harnessed street slut horse
unknown subject: Let the rich ride u like a broken down old horse
unknown subject: and then send u off to HELL to be roased on a spit for 500 years
unknown subject: But now u are in ur living hELL where u will be bought broken and sold
me: go ahead, say whatever you want to say you rant like a freaking faggot
unknown subject: and you squal like a street slut who will be broken soon
me: no, you're the one who squeals like a pig

Ignored his ID then.

I felt bad about having to say those stuff about his mother but it seems like that person has no respect for women, even with the way he responded about his mother. A filipina probably broke his heart.

[twentysomething gal]

this is one story from a friend of mine who is based in qatar,she was wearing a not so short dress but thing is sleeveless cia and she's pregnant,napansin nya daw may mga lady brits na talagang shorts shorts kung manamit so she opt to wear her dress which she thought na hindi naman ganun ka daring whatsoever,one local told her while she's at the supermarket "you don't have a proper dress?you wear your house dress?" and my friend was like "oh im so sorry but i dont speak your language" with a little bit of stupid stare daw  (with her american accent)sabay talikod tawa daw sya ng tawa after non pati daw yung nasa paligid natawa sa kanya narinig na lang nya yung babae "i can call the police you know" sa isip isip daw nya "ewan mga boba naman kayo ayokong makipagusap sa mga bobong katulad nyo,basta asian kung makasita kayo parang nakapatay ubod naman kayo ng bobobo"

IMO this has more to do with the fact that in Qatar women are more prone (i'm saying, more prone  but I'm not generalizing)  to be sexually harassed in broad daylight, even in public places. Maybe that's why local women there are shocked to see that your friend was able to pull of  such a "revealing" (well, to their standards  ) outfit. Makita lang kasi ang braso or any part of the body, naku, it's like an open invitation for them to harass you. I hope your friend takes this seriously for her own safety....and maybe they wanted to call the police to make sure that your friend goes home unscathed??? (i can be wrong tho)

but then again they are more discerning when it comes to causasian tourists if they are to wear those outfits. Maybe that's where the bias is more evident.

[akthung]

^He's in Australia, same as me.  On the contrary though, people here in my part of Australia (Perth) are always amazed that Filipinos speak English very well.  But then again, Perth is the most multi-cultural state in Australia so we're used to hearing all sorts of accents and English "versions" here   The only thing I keep hearing about my English here is that I have an American accent (I don't -- I speak English the same way everyone does in the Philippines but I suppose we do sound American on Aussie ears).

oo nga eh. kahit sa Uni yan din ang [textspeak!]. sometimes din kasi i joke around, do stand up comedy like conversations with friends/ group of friends...  you know...we laugh at things.

but yeah sometimes they really look down on asians....magkamali lang sa english, they can always say "you're english is poor." mabanggit mo lang ang "take out" kaysa take away..."poor" na sa english.

pero yung isang puti kong friend, nakabasa ng american english, hindi malaman kung anong ibig sabihin ng "she was issued a check" ayun....check pala ng bank, ang spelling kasi nila dito is "cheque"  kaya sabi niya dun sa teacher namin..."but oh, we're australians. american english can be confusing sometimes.." nako..pag sila nagkamali okay lang.

sis one thing i've learned din here eh magandang profession ang lawyer... minsan nasa bookstore ako at binuntutan ako nung isang sales lady. (lagi nila ako binubuntutan, kahit marami na akong nabili) eh galing akong school kaya dala dala ko yung books sa aking kamay. im not a law student but i do have a lot of law subjects. e di ginawa ko, iniwan ko yung books ko sa isang tabi...kunwari may kukunin sa ibang lugar, pero sumusulyap ako. aba...sinilip mga libro ko. nakita niya na puro law books...meron pa naman akong Australian Bar review booklets na pang supplement ko sa studies ko. ayun...alis agad. hindi na makalapit. ngi "may i help you?"  wala akong nakuha. may takot sila kasi sa abugado.

@laey, yep im from aus. earth's butt.

[xtine]

Someone sent me a yahoo mesage. I dunno who that person is but I had a feeling that person got my yahoo id from my blog. Here's how the conversation went:

I think the person's simply a perv and just wants to randomly insult someone. 

Also, we cannot avoid the insults.  In some countries, Filipinas are shipped as mail order brides, Japayukis in Japan and well known as domestic helper in Hongkong.  We cannot avoid the connotation.  We can, however, educate these ignorant people that Japayukis, domestic helpers and such does not represent the Filipino people as a whole.  We can even be as good as these people OR BETTER.

Anyway, cultural differences are everywhere.  Even I am guilty of calling indians as bumbay or naiinis sa koreans kasi maiingay sila.

Even chinese people sa divisoria, don't we call them chekwa?  Filipinos also tend to be prejudiced.  We can't feel the racism here in Phils because majority are Filipino, but in other countries, wala tayo choice kasi we're just part of the minority.

Racism is just present everywhere.

[sugardrop]

There is racism here in the Philippines from our fellow pinoys. In some stores (the small ones), the staff are so nice towards the foreigners but they instantly become snotty and antipatika/o with pinoy customers.

[laey]

There is racism here in the Philippines from our fellow pinoys. In some stores (the small ones), the staff are so nice towards the foreigners but they instantly become snotty and antipatika/o with pinoy customers.

dittoed this.

Utak kolonyal (tama ba to?)  Sa airport/airlines din (natin ha) napapansin ko mas accomodating ang ibang crew dun sa mga foreigner kesa sa kapwa Pinoy. 

@laey, yep im from aus. earth's butt.

Based sa mga comments niyo dito, parang di naman pala maganda tumira dyan.  JK. Yung dati kong friend kasi, napagusapan namin dati na dyan na lang daw kami kesa ako dito. Dyan kasi siya nag-Uni. Sobrang papuri kasi sa Australia yun, na tipong di nagtatagalog baka mawala na daw yung accent niya. E yung tagalog naman niya mas magaling pa sa level pagiinggles ko.

[akthung]

Thanks port80*.

I do get people (mostly white) who are surprised to hear me speak English well, but I don't think I've ever come across someone who was surprised that Filipinos actually spoke any English period. And I travel a lot plus my business in tourism has me interacting with people from different countries nearly every single day. So I'm really surprised that akthung said that he ALWAYS gets that.

That really gives me the impression that race discrimination is still a big issue in Australia, despite what people have been telling me. This hits home because I've been planning to live/work in that country. As I've said in my first reply to this thread, I have experienced far too much discrimination (race, gender, color, social status, financial status, you name it) in my life that I don't think I can take any more. If Australia is still backward-thinking when it comes to race, I have to seriously consider a different country to migrate to.

If Perth is so multi-cultural, shouldn't being able to speak English with everyone (no matter what accent) be considered a normal thing and not something to be even amazed about? Why do they still find it amazing that Filipinos speak English so well?

Sis, i think, R.D. is less or maybe almost non existent in the highly populated cities (melbourne, Sydney, etc) and "more" in the provinces. May mga lugar pa talaga kasi na uber konti ang asians. and yung mga asians na nakikita nila most often eh skilled worker at barok mag english. so the low level thinkers, generalize.

yung mga educado at kulturado, usually umaalis sila for the big cities, kasi nandun din ang opportunities. mostly yung mga makikitid, yun yung low level. wala pa akong namemeet na professional, well educated tapos ganun.

ang perth naman kasi, well...ganito yan. 10% of the population of Australia is in Western Australia, and the 10% of that is in Perth. So 1% lang. hehe sobrang konti ang tao doon.

but for me, the best pa din, kung magmimigrate, US/Canada.