Diaspora Giving

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‘Aerial views of aftermath of Philippines Typhoon’ The Telegraph (17 Dec 2011)

In 2011, Typhoon Nesat (Pedring) and Washi (Sendong) hit the Philippines. The devastating aftermath wrought by flooding, landslides, displacement, and disease (Leptospirosis specifically) gained international media attention. Hundreds were left dead and thousands more homeless throughout parts of Luzon  and Mindanao. Here in Winnipeg, reporters scrambled to make a local connection.

What are Filipino-Canadians doing to respond to these calamities happening at ‘home’?

According to the latest 2006 census, there are 36,825 Filipino-Canadians living in Winnipeg. Informal estimates for 2012 believe this figure to be higher, as high as 50,000. Donations drives were inevitably established with leaders from the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba (PCCM) taking charge. Winnipeg families too sought to connect with friends and relatives living in the stricken areas. Funds and support traveled via endless channels of relief networks (Philippine Red Cross, GMA / ABS-CBN foundations), adhoc organizations (Filipino-Canadian Disaster Relief Fund), church groups (National Council of Churches in the Philippines) and remittance centres (like Western Union). 


So, why do Filipino-Canadians give? Fred De Villa, Chair of the Filipino-Canadian Disaster Relief Fund, told Global News, “There is no way that we can not send money there.” (Global, 18 Dec 2011)

In the oral histories we collected, several discussions surrounded the need to support ‘family’ and ultimately ‘community’. Early migrants from the 60s and 70s, shared an important desire to reunite with loved ones through immigration policies in the 80s and 90s that made this possible. They also expressed a desire to ensure a sound quality of life for their relatives left behind (through investments in education, property and small-scale entrepreneurship in the Philippines) and for their young children (through a life in Canada). The Filipino-Canadian family therefore represented a transnational one. With connections firmly affixed in both countries and strengthened all the more through today’s social media, ‘diaspora giving’ has become ‘diaspora development’.

In 2007, Victoria P. Garchitorena, President of The Ayala Foundation, wrote an article entitled ‘Diaspora Philanthropy: The Philippine Experience‘  noting the ways Filipino transnational generosity fills development gaps in the Philippines. She notes that much research in this field is still needed, but identifies 7 interesting reasons why (in her casestudy) Filipino-Americans offer this support:

• a desire to give back to the country of their birth motivated by a sense of gratitude for the life they lived while in the Philippines; 
• compassion for the poor and underprivileged, especially in their hometowns; 
• a desire to “pay back” especially among those who were themselves poor or underprivileged before they left for abroad; 
• a wish to maintain their ties with the motherland; 
• a desire to prove that they have succeeded in their adopted country and are now in a position to be generous and share their blessings; 
• an expression of their faith which encourages sharing and giving with the less privileged
• to help victims of a natural disaster (Garchitorena, pp.5-6)

Her article should not be confused with numerous research that investigates Filipino labour migration as an economic development strategy. International organizations have again and again touted the Philippines efforts to collect remittances from its overseas workers and diaspora communities to balance its dollar deficit. (That discussion I will leave for a later post). The picture of a developing Philippines and its daily distresses coupled with the urgency of areas in emergency is an exhausting reality for Filipinos in the diaspora. The 7 points noted above merely outline such sentiments felt from afar on certain issues and disasters.

What type of Filipino-Canadian practices ‘diaspora giving’ ? Is he/she the recent immigrant with strong connections to the Philippines? Is he/she the Filipino-Canadian who has never returned? Or, is he/she the Filipino-Canadian who has yet to visit the land of his/her heritage? Perhaps as well, what other relief efforts do Filipino-Canadians participate in? And, what about the average Canadian? Is a disaster in the Philippines perceived as urgent as those found in Haiti, Japan, or at home? Does it matter? 

With the media and the internet connecting the world ever more closely, I expect that everyone will have the opportunity to witness other natural disasters in the future. I urge each witness to not forget the seriousness of the loss of life, family, hope, and home. Maybe then, this will be the only reason we need to understand diaspora giving.

Reference:
Aerial views of aftermath of Philippines Typhoon’ The Telegraph (17 Dec 2011)
Global News. ‘winnipeg’s Filipino community raising money for flood victims in Philippines’. (18 December 2011) 
Kevin Mellyn. Worker Remittances as a Development Tool: Opportunity for the Philippines. Asian Development Bank. (13 June 2003) (Cited 7 January 2012) 
Victoria P. Garchitorena. Diaspora Philanthropy: The Philippine Experience. (May 2007) (Cited 7 January 2012)