Filipino American Youth Across the U.S.

Filipino American Youth Across the U.S. Come Together to Address National Issues – Build National Movement

DALUYONG: Surging to Confront the Crisis of Our Times, 3-Day Filipino American Youth Consultation

Los Angeles, CA – Filipino American youth, both immigrant and US-born, are agitated and getting ready to tell the rest of the country where they stand and how they are to respond to the current economic crisis affecting their families, their education, their work, and their rights. They are concerned over current immigration policies, race relations, exploitation of women and children, and how these and other issues are linked to the broader global economic crisis and war. They are surging forward to claim what is inherently theirs – the future.

On July 24-26, a three-day consultation bringing together grassroots Filipino American youth organizations to build mechanisms of coordination on national issues, and bridge the divide amongst the Filipino Diaspora in addressing Philippine and International concerns. The national consultation, “DALUYONG: Surging to Confront the Crisis of Our Times”, is organized by the Bagwis Collective (IL), Committee on Pilipino Issues (IL), Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (NY/NJ), and the host organization Kabataang maka-Bayan (KmB or Pro-people Youth, CA) under the auspices of the Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (Alliance Philippines). The event is also endorsed by a number of other progressive organizations across the U.S. and Canada (see complete list of current North American endorsements).

In a new era, with a growing community along with expanding issues and concerns, an African American president who promised “change” and a global economic crisis, it is essential for immigrant and US-born Filipino youth nationwide to come together to assess, share and plan the essential steps to advocate for our community’s concerns and build a broad movement and program towards fundamental and genuine change.

“Ugnayan recognizes the impact of the economic crisis on Filipino American youth locally, especially on the undocumented immigrant youth, who suffer lower wages, are denied of benefits, experience cutbacks of working days, as well as discrimination and racism in the workplace. International student graduates struggle to find a job so they stay in the US, nursing graduates are left with working on lower wages and are exploited by agencies,” said Gladys Fontanilla, a young immigrant Pinay and Ugnayan organizer. “We do not see these stories in the mainstream media… this is the venue to share our stories and come up with a plan of action for our community,” she added.

The number of Filipinos leaving the Philippines daily reached a staggering 4,100 in 2008, forced to migrate because of the chronic economic and political crisis in the Philippines. Here in the US, Filipino Americans comprise the second largest Asian population in the US, poised to become the largest Asian group by 2010, with over 100 years of significant Filipino American presence on US soil.

Other results of forced migration are the “generation gap” and the divisions in our community among immigrant Filipinos and US-born Filipinos. This consultation aims to bridge the ever growing disconnect

Filipino Americans have by building a sense of social responsibility and embracing our culture of resistance. US-born Filipino American youth have one of the highest high school dropout rates in the nation. Generally,

their levels of educational attainment yield the lowest socioeconomic returns with respect to jobs and salary levels among all racial or ethnic groups.

“In turn, we aim to open up opportunities and outlets for US-born and Filipino immigrants to unite in addressing local issues as well as to connect back to the Philippines by advocating for the interests of the Filipino people who face rampant political repression,” said Christine Araquel, Chair of KmB (Pro-People Youth), a Filipino American youth organizer born in the US.

Despite our historical and cultural contributions in this country as well as our labor supporting a century of US economic development, the Filipino American community remains economically, politically and socially marginalized.

DALUYONG will bring together organized immigrant and US-born Filipino groups from the East Coast, the Midwest and West Coast to Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles in order to address community concerns through workshops, panels sessions, cultural sessions, and group discussions to outline concrete steps in formulating a new progressive and united Filipino American movement in the United States.

For more information, please visit the official website at www.daluyong.com or contact 213.241.0906 or daluyong.filamyouth@gmail.com.

INITIAL ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS:

CHICAGO: Alliance For Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE) Center for Immigrant Rights and Community Arts (CIRCA) Chicago Pinoy Music Scene Pintig Cultural Group

LOS ANGELES: Beatrock Echo Park Community Coalition Dekada 70 Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) Mindanao Bangsamoro Caucus People’s Community Organization for Reform and Empowerment (People’s CORE) Philippine Peasant Support Network The Park’s Finest

NEW YORK: Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition DAMAYAN Migration Workers Association Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) Poptimes Magazine Sulu Series

SAN DIEGO: Hip Hop Karaoke San Diego (HHKSD) Kamalayan Collective Pnoy Apparel

USA: Gabriela Network of the Mariposa Alliance

CANADA: Kabataang Montreal

ENDS

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