A Filipino caregiver who had worked several years in Canada suddenly discovered that she had cancer. Her physician told her that she would have about six months to live. She decided that she would go home to die in the Philippines. “Ayokong mamatay dito. Gusto kong mamatay sa sariling bayan, sa piling ng aking mga kapatid at iba pang pamilya. She was already weak and could not travel alone. A friend accompanied her in her trip home. She had just been back a few days and she passed away surrounded by her loved ones.
Many Filipino immigrants to the United States and to Canada plan to retire in their homeland. Some go back as “balikbayan” every year during their holidays or when they are retired during the winter. Some leave instructions with their next of kin that when they die, they want to be buried in the Philippines. The homeland has a certain pull that calls back its sons and daughters no matter how far they wander and how long they have been away.
There are of course, those, who got completely settled in their new country with children and grandchildren who never knew their parents’ country of origin. They seldom, if ever, go back to their homeland.
There are those who have never gone back but maintain the old mores, customs and traditions that were in practice in the places wherein they were born and were handed down by their parents and grandparents. Some of these cultural beliefs and practices are so deeply embedded that they are brought by some immigrants and practiced in their own families and ethnocultural communities. This is true not only with Filipinos but also with other ethnocultural groups.
But culture also changes. Education and technology have brought a tremendous influence in communications that are overwhelming. The traditional tendency of listening and obeying elders have been eroded by the rise of youth power not only in the home but also in all aspects in life – in government, business, science, health and medical practices, social interaction and all other aspects of life. Tremendous changes took place during the last two decades of the twentieth century that pushed out very experienced men and women out of managerial positions and rendered them unemployed, replaced by young executives trained in modern technology. That period, up to the present has seen the rise of millionaires in their late teens and early twenties.
These are the young people who have pioneered in innovations in the computer and related technology.
The hierarchy in power that traditionally was influenced by age has been ended. This educational and technological revolution has also affected the control of traditional cultural practices in some ways.
Many cultural practices that were brought by some immigrants with them at the time of their coming to their new land may have changed in their country of origin. But these immigrants may not be aware of those changes and are still practicing them in their adopted country. The customs and traditions have fossilized and habits are not easy to break. These practices may not even be acceptable in the country wherein they now live. This way of life creates discord with family members as well as with other members of the community and the existing laws.
Immigrants who have not been back to their countries of origin or for a while may be in for shock when they go for a visit. Aside from a change in cultural practices they may be aspects of life in the home country that they may have forgotten or taken for granted that may make them uncomfortable when they come back. The warm weather that one longs for during winter in North America may be unbearable.
During the first days of the visit, the body gets acclimatized to the cold weather that it needs some days of adjustment to take the hot weather. Filipinos might have been so used to the swarms of houseflies when they were living in the Philippines but they may find these pesky insects disturbing after not having them around for a long time. The absence of hot water in most homes in the Philippines may be something that one may terribly miss in showering or taking a bath.
A friend of mine who went back to the Philippines recently was narrating to me some of her frustrations. She had to settle ownership of some property her parents had left to her and her brothers and sisters. She went to a government office for some documents. She had to wait for a long time because the person in charge was on a coffee break. At noontime, the person had to go for his lunch break. It took her several days before she was able to finish her business. “Why can’t they have someone to take over when an employee has to go for lunch? she asked.
“You know”, I laughingly reminded her. It has always been like that. You got so used to the ways here that you have forgotten how things were done in the Philippines.”
But at the back of my mind, I was also wondering. Can we not really change such practices? Can the advances in modern technology facilitate the work in government offices in the Philippines? Or are the people so used to these old ways that they accept them without question?
When some residents in Toronto complained about a number of shortcomings of the Toronto Transit Commission I recalled how scared I was when a boarded a jeep during my last visit to the Philippines when I almost fell because the driver started the vehicle before I had completely gotten inside. The platform of the jeep was quite high for me that climbing was difficult for me. Our buses have platforms that could be lowered for people like me. In the York Region, buses have transfers that can be used for two hours. I wonder if jeeps in Manila are still practicing cutting trips. Passengers aboard a vehicle for a certain destination according to the signboard. Halfway or even less, the driver announces that he has to get back because of some flimsy reasons like he is short of gas, or something is wrong with his brakes. The passengers are forced to get off the vehicle and the driver turns back to his point of origin of the trip and takes a new load of passengers. He also takes passengers who are going in the opposite direction.
People who have lived away from their native lands may feel like strangers when they come back. They have seen and experienced another way of life different from what they had when they lived in their home land. But probably that is why they decided to live in another part of the world, suffer the loneliness in a strange land, adjust and learn a new way of life stand racism and discrimination and in many cases take jobs below their education and work experience. But whether these immigrants succeed or fail in their adventure in another land, the native lands, regardless of all its flaws, remain close to their heart. ****