August 30, 2008

20

The Grey Club

About Us

Now in its 20th year of publication, Munting Nayon News Magazine(MN) is published monthly and mailed to recipients, catering to the Filipino Community of The Netherlands, including some recipients in Belgium, Luxembourg, and other European countries as well as USA, Canada and the Philippines. MN is operated by couple Eddie Flores and Orquidia Valenzuela.
Eddie and Orquid
 

History

 
News Items
 
 
Articles
Columns
Special Announcements
Philippine Embassies
 
Tag-lamig
Manny G. Asuncion
 

Maikling salaysay tungkol sa buhay ng isang Pinoy sa Melbourne-Australia

Kanina pa siya nakatayo roon. Sa hintayan ng tram sa kanto ng Bourke Mall at Swanston Street. Pinagmamasdan ang mga taong nagdudumaling sumasakay sa mga tram patungo sa Bundoora. Waring mga ibong uwak na dumarapo sa mga dambuhalang sasakyan.

Ewan kung bakit ayaw pa niyang umuwi ganoong pagod na pagod na siya mula sa maghapong pagtatrabaho. Marahil nililibang niya ang sarili sa pagmamasid ng mga butil ng buhay na nagsasalimbayan sa kanyang paligid. Nagmamadali. Humahangos. Mga walang-pangalang mukhang waring inaanod ng hanging tag-lamig.

 
2008 NaFFAA National Empowerment Conference
 

September 26 – 28, 2008
Westin Hotel, Seattle, Washington

“Forging a New Filipino American Agenda for the 21st Century”

Conference Overview

The conference will bring together Filipino American community leaders, advocates, Filipino program administrators, and innovators of all ages to assess the current status of the Filipino Community and to move forward to the 21st Century with more vigor and a more solid presence to ensure the growth and improvement of our communities.

 
An Invitation to a REUNION
 
An Invitation to a REUNION: 75 YEARS JUBILEE WESTERN PANGASINAN LYCEUM and 2nd WESTERN PANGASINAN LYCEUM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (WPLAA) Mga Kababayans: Please come forward and be proud of your Alma Mater..   When: December 19-21, 2008 Where: Bani, Pangasinan Inquiries: Effie Marks-Mendoza WPL Class '62 Moderator and Exec. VP Email: marks_effie05@yahoo.com T el: +31648852789
 
Berghaus Girls Mini Reunion “GEZELLIG” Gathering for Norma Manangan
by Edna Mijares

A “Gezellig” gathering was held during Norma Manangan’s second stop-over visit to Holland this year after a hectic working meeting with the Kenya Alliance Against Malaria in Nairobi, Kenya.

 
 

PICNIC BULLETIN No. 10
Independence Day Picnic 2008
 
Picnic 2008:A Financial Report from the Coalition

It was fun. It was wonderful. It was truly Pinoy. That’s the Independence Day Picnic for the over 7,000 people who flocked to Spaarnwoudepark on June 7 to celebrate with their country folks the biggest and most festive annual Filipino community event in the Benelux and Germany.

The organizer of the Picnic, the Coalition - consisting of three community self-organizations: Barangay, Samahan, and UFDA - has received a tremendous amount of congratulatory messages for delivering another successful and memorable Picnic...

 
City under the Midnight Sun
William Realon
 

When Elton John belted out his rendition of his famous ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,’ at the conclusion of his recent concert in Anchorage, he must have been referring to the midnight sun that was just about to set behind the snowy mountains that embrace this small Alaskan city. It creeps along just below the horizon providing almost constant daylight and will again rise

4 hours laterslightly to the right, not far from where it just set. With about 20 hours of daylight during summer, Anchorage is the place where outdoor activities abound to compensate for the long cold and dark winter months but for some, the long daylight comes with a few inconveniences.

 
Sa Ating Wika
by Orquidia Valenzuela
 

PIKNIK NG KALAYAAN MATAGUMPAY na nairaos ng koalisyon na binubuo ng BARANGAY Sa Holland, SAMAHAN at UFDA. Masaya ang humigit-kumulang na 7000 dumalo. Maayos ang parking ng sasakyan, walang naghimpil ng sasakyan sa loob ng dinadausan ng piknik kaya hindi naging sagabal sa mga nagtayo ng tents, magkakatabi sila. Sa palengke mabiling-mabili ang pagkain at mga produktong Pilipino.

Ang mga propesyonal na manganganta natin dito sa sa Olanda ay nandoroon din, sina Nhelley de la Rosa, Ruth Galura at dumating pa si Alice Andico bilang pamamaalam sa kababayan. Si Alice at ang kanyang asawang si Erwin ay sa Pilipinas na maninirahan. Masaya ang mga nanonood at sinasabayan ng indak ang kanta nila.Marami ring kabataan ang nagpakitang gilas sa entablado.

 

EyeOpener
by Ber Pacheco
 

June 2008

If continuous weekly increases in oil and prime commodities cannot be stopped, social unrest might developed, peace and order will be in danger and criminality will rise because many will experience hunger. Even the middle class could feel the growing pangs of hard life. Only a segment of the population would not mind the continuous price increases.

What solution should be made in order not to further alleviate the burden of the citizenry? Many are saying to remove the VAT and other taxes on oil and other prime commodities.

 
MGA GINTONG KWENTO
ni Rene Calalang
 

Si Tata Sinto

Ang natatandaan ko kay Tata Sinto, noong panahong ang aming baryo sa bayan ng Malolos ay isa pang liblib, kubli at maalikabok na lugar ay ang mga gabing silang mga ilang katandaan ay nangakaupo sa isang bangkong kawayan sa harap ng tindahan ng Tata Mino, na aming kapitbahay.

Ito ang panahong ang mga kable at alambre ng koryente ay hindi pa naigagapang sa matagal tagal na ring naghihintay na mga tuwid, mataas at payat at hinilamusan ng itim na alkitrang mga posteng kahoy ng Meralco.

 
Ayon Kay Nene1
by Corazon Dee, PhD

Medical Insurance Coverage in the Philippines2

Dear Nene,

How are you?

First, we would like to inform you that together with other kababayans3 I miss your advisory column Ayon kay Nene very much. May I also inform you I have kept past issues of Munting Nayon and have used them several times to answer some questions of our kababayans. I am happy that your column is now available on the Munting Nayon website.

 
 
Igorots in Europe to Hold
Conference in 2009

Yvonne Belen
 

August 29, 2008

Sometime during the last quarter of 2007, I wrote an article on the conference of Igorots to be held in April 2009 in Germany. Details are more definite now.

Archive photo: 4th Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK Europe (IDBE) consultation in Dublin, 17-20th of May-2007.

The 5th Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK Europe (ICBE) Consultation, henceforth Consultation, is a biennial gathering of Igorots in Europe. Conferences were previously held in Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Ireland. The host is usually the Igorot, BIBAK or Cordillera organization in the above-mentioned countries. BIMAAK stands for the five provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR.) These are Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Abra, Apayao and Kalinga.

 
RATED PG: PARENTAL GUIDANCE IN A MULTICULTURAL LAND
Lana Kristine Flores-Jelenjev
 

A couple of years ago I read the speech “A Borderless World” given by Patricia Evangelista, who at age 19 won the International Public Speaking Competition in London on May 2004. In it she wrote about the Filipino diaspora- the voluntary and involuntary dispersion and immigration of Filipinos worldwide. To quote some paragraphs from her speech:

“There are those who disapprove of Filipinos who choose to leave. I used to. Maybe this is a natural reaction of someone who was left behind, smiling for family pictures that get emptier with each succeeding year. Desertion, I called it. My country is a land that has perpetually fought for the freedom to be itself. Our heroes offered their lives in the struggle against the Spanish, the Japanese, the Americans. To pack up and deny that identity is tantamount to spitting on that sacrifice.

Or is it? I don’t think so. Not anymore.

True, there is no denying this phenomenon, aided by the fact that what was once the other side of the world is now a 12-hour plane ride away. But this is a borderless world, where no individual can claim to be purely from where he is now...”

I, too, am a part of the Filipino diaspora along with the 11 million Filipinos scattered around the world. There are those in it for the financial and career opportunities, I, on the other hand, started out in the same path but ended up being married to a foreigner. Thus my story is of vying for permanent residency here in the Netherlands where my husband is a native of.

Boris Jelenjev And Lana Flores With Daughter Katie

As the world become borderless, relationships too became borderless. Nowadays families with multicultural origins are common. A good example is that of my immediate family now. My husband is born Dutch but his roots come from half Russian and half Serbian ancestry. His older brother is married also to a Dutch lady but of Afghani origin. The youngest sibling is now based in Spain living with a Spanish partner.

 
 
Bayanihan Foundation’s 3-Day Course on “Intercultural Communication within a Relationship” a Success
 

Utrecht-The Netherlands
by: Diana Oosterbeek-Latoza
Coordinator/social cultural worker
Bayanihan Foundation-The Netherlands

Filipinas in bi-cultural relationship pointed out that the most common problems they encounter are language & cultural problems. The differences and ignorance of each other’s culture could put a strain to one’s relationship that could lead to domestic violence. This difference in culture is the main cause of divorce between a Filipina and a Dutch partner.

The participants, trainer and organisers, - course on interculturele communicatie binnen relatie in Utrecht

These findings are based from Bayanihan’s experience as a self-help women organisation assisting Filipinas who are in problem-situations for 17 yrs. and also from sharing experiences with other Filipino organisations. The ways the Filipinas and their Dutch partners communicate are different. The Filipino way of dealing with one another is characterized by avoiding conflicts or confrontation & doing things in an indirect way in order to maintain a harmonious relationship. This is in contrast with the Dutch way which is direct and sometimes confronting. This leads to misunderstanding. That’s why it is a necessary to follow a course on intercultural communication within a relation. This is also a preventive way of dealing with relation problems.

 
PISTA SA PARIS 2008 at PAGDIRIWANG ng IKA-110 ANNIVERSARYO NG KALAYAAN NG PILIPINAS
 

Balita nina Ms. Marivic Maluyo, Mr. Richard Villanueva at Ms. Sheila Senense
Mga Larawang kuha ni Jacob Tundagui (Official Photographer-Pista sa Paris 2008
Paris-July 6, 2008

Nagkaisang muli ang lakas ng Filipino community at ng mga kawani ng Embahada ng Pilipinas sa pamumuno ni Ambasador Jose Abeto Zaide sa araw ng Pista sa Paris noong ika-6 ng Hulyo 2008. Ang pagdiriwang na ito na may temang Katutubong Pilipino ay kaalinsabay din ng paggunita ng ika-110 aniversaryo ng kalayaan ng Pilipinas.

Embassy Choir Leads Singing Of Philippine National Anthem
MUTYA NG KALAYAAN From left...Kim Caron (Kabayan Association), first runner-up, Ms.Muslima Dido (F.M.C.I.F), Mutya ng kalayaan 2008, Nathalie Perraud (Hiligaynon Association), 2nd runner-up, Janet Romero (Golden hands), 3rd runner-up

Nag-umpisa ang pagdiriwang sa isang parada mula Trocadero hanggang Stade La Muette ng mga ipinagmamalaking katutubong kultura na yaman ng bansa.Naging makulay ang parada dahil sa mga arkong pinalamutian ng bawat asosasyon ng mga Pilipino at lalo pang pinatingkad ito ng mga naggagandahang dalagang Pilipina na kumakatawan sa bawat grupo.

 
FESTIVAL PARIS CINEMA 2008 UNVEILS FILIPINO FILMS
 

By: Marivic S. Maluyo
Photos: Marivic S. Maluyo
July 1 – 12, 2008, Balitang Paris

The Festival Paris Cinema unveiled over 40 Filipino Films last July 1-12, 2008 in Paris,France. The Philippine movies were screened in various Paris Theaters.

Juday And Sharon At The Screening Of Ploning

Among the films screened were the Caregiver of Sharon Cuneta directed by Chito Rono at MK2 Biblioteque on July 4, while the Dekada ‘70 of Piolo Pascual by director Chito also was screened back-to-back with the movie Ploning of Judy Ann Santos directed by Dante Nico Garcia at Balzac Cinema on July 5.

Piolo Pascual Being Interviewed In Paris Just Before Screening Of His Movie Dekada 70

The three big stars attended the screening of their movies and extended their gratitude to all Filipinos in Paris as they showed their support to them.