| Subject: Re: IMSCF Syndrome ("I'm Spanish-Chinese-Filipino" Syndrome) in America |
Author:
Maryann Uy
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Date Posted: 03/31/04 6:59am PST
In reply to:
Chris
's message, "IMSCF Syndrome ("I'm Spanish-Chinese-Filipino" Syndrome) in America" on 01/16/02 8:55pm PST
I AM Spanish-Chinese-Filipino and i live in the Philippines. 25% of me is Spanish-Filipino (or what we call mestiza), the rest is Chinese. When i go abroad on a tour and someone asks me which country i come from, i simply say, "I come from the Philippines. I am a Filipino." I am often amused at the thoughtful expressions they put on as they digest the information. They tell me, "But you don't look like a Filipino." I always end up explaining that I have Chinese blood in my veins, but I am Filipino. It is thus rather curious that in our country, with my fellow Filipinos, if I tell them that I am a Filipino, they refuse to take my statement at face value. Or rather, they take ME at face value--because i DO look Chinese. Us, Chinese Filipinos, encounter difficulty in intergrating and assimilating ourselves into the local Filipino culture. It is hard not to be able to blend in. Chinese Filipinos are often singled out--to be extorted upon, to be kidnapped, to be blamed for the pollution--even as we have formed the backbone of the Philippine economy. It is a sad fact the many Chinese Filipinos still look down on the Filipinos (the opposite also happens), even in this very country. Chinese mestizos like Jose Rizal unitedly fought with the "Indios" in the Philippine Revolution. They all called themselves simply "Filipinos." The Spaniards fed the Chinese lies about the "Indios," because they were fearful that if the two race joined forces, it would eventually topple the Spanish regime. They succeeded tremendously in their efforts, because up to this time, neither race still fully trusts the other. Does it have to matter in the end that a Filipino is aboriginal, Chinese, Spanish, Negro, or of mix ancestry? In the final analysis, it won't register as a problem if all Filipinos, even of various ancestries/heritages, find in their consciousness the love for the Philippines. It is ignorance that makes people shy away from facing who they really are. Maybe someday we could all be as brave as our National Hero and fight for the redemption of our national identity and subsequently, our pride and dignity as Filipinos.
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