Fair-go, pare ko
RICHARD FORD
What do I mean by ”living among Filipinos in a community setting? Or more intimately: What is it like for me, an Australian-born male married to a ”magandang” Filipina, living and breathing among other Filipino migrants with whom I give my time to in the service of the community?
I serve the public relations officer of a Filipino community organisation, as well as a director and vice-president of another. I must mention this just to let readers know where I am coming from.
All things aside, I am happy to say that I enjoy what I do among Filipinos, and I continue to be proud to be a part of their lives.
One can say that Aussies’ view of a ”fair go” is important when it comes to working together as a team to achieve our aims. And Filipinos are one of the most hospitable and accommodating people I know ~ it is one of many reasons why I married a Filipina.
Which brings me to the subject of Filipinos working together as a community. Maybe it’s because of some differences in regional cultures among Filipinos as well as different dialects, but it appears to me that these differences often become barriers and a hindrance to harmony within the community.
Yet here I am, not a Filipino but who the community knows is only seeking to help achieve my own organisations’ goals, and I get along with all of them. They know that my ultimate goal is not only to enjoy our lives here in Australia together but also to generate funds to help some families back in the Philippines who continue to struggle ~ mainly because of some corrupt politicians who mismanage the country. But that is another issue.
Right now, I would give anything to see the Filipino community break down the barriers within, to look beyond those barriers and focus on mutual goals that would make a good contribution to their new home, Australia.
Let’s give each of us a fair go, pare ko.
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Oooops I left off the begining of my comment ………
I am hoping you can answer some questions for me. I have Filipino workers staying at my business, some on work visas others have moved here.
One guest asked me how to clean the rug I said there was a vacuum cleaner in the cupboard, I am now wondering if that was lost in translation, are vacuum cleaners used in the Philippines.
The bins in the toilet are often full of toilet paper, why is it not put in the toilet and flushed away.
The Filipino people always leave outside lights on all night, can someone tell me why, it’s totally unnecessary. The all night lighting can be a problem for other guests and with the rising cost of power I would like them turned off overnight.
Naturally I appreciate the business and like the people so would not like to offend anyone so can I ask them to turn off lights at night, we are in a residential area so with street lights etc, it’s never that dark.
Are there any obvious problems that people from the Philippines have here, things I would assume people would know about. Is there an appropriate way of going through a few things without embarrassing them or myself.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for your article Richard. It is really true , more often than not Filipinos in Australia were divided simply because of different regions, dialects etc.. where we grew up from our homeland. As Filipino-Australians it is good to break this barriers to create a more cohesive, empowered Filipino-Australian community to represent us all. Good onya. mabuhay.