I was recently invited to give an inspirational message to a Filipino gathering in Wales.  It was the Family Day of the Filipino Community in Cardiff (FCiC) headed by its Founding President Hugh de la Cruz.  This was my first major speaking engagement this year as I have been avoiding too many social events since I am busy finishing writing up my PhD dissertation. 

I have been in and out of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, for almost five years now.  So far this place has been home for a big chunk of my life.  Despite my long stay I still haven’t met many Pinoys here.  This was my very first. 

There is apparently a big crowd of Pinoys in Cardiff; mostly nurses and their families.  There was a wave of entry of nurses more than a decade ago when recruiters directly went to the Philippines to handpick them to work for the hospitals in Wales.  Obviously, there was a lack of interest among the Welsh and English to become nurses and the demand was high because of the ageing population.

One of the reasons why I and many of my co-students at Cardiff University haven’t been meeting Pinoys is because there were no invitations coming in.  Apparently, there are no activities since there was no viable Filipino organization in the area.  Despite the fact that many of them work in the same hospital of which the biggest is the university hospital where I study and literally at my backyard,  no successful organization has ever been established.  I guess I wouldn’t provide the reasons why this is so.  Readers would know the behaviour of Pinoys when it comes to organizations.  Thus, for five years I just enjoyed my Pinoy university crowd.

Hugh de la Cruz, a nurse by profession, had the initiative and leadership to formally organize a Filipino organization in the city.  He thought that there is a dire need for the Pinoys to gather and work together and be stronger in fighting for their rights as migrants in this part of the world.  He had the foresight to raise the voice of the Pinoy group and to represent them in the Council decision making.  He established FCiC to provide opportunities for the Filipino community to meet, share ideas and discuss issues.  The organization links the community to the local authorities.  This way, they become active citizens and contribute to the development of the city with their children benefiting most as they will grow up knowing that this is their home.

Organizing any Pinoy organization anywhere in the world should always be encouraged.  As we live in a global and cosmopolitan world,  strengthening ties would mean ability to promote the culture of the Philippines thus gaining more visitors for the country, and to be recognized as a community locally.  It is also a venue for helping others especially fellow Pinoys.  Or, it can simply be a place for sharing and promoting neighbourliness. 



The recent bus incident in Manila was the best opportunity for many Pinoy organizations abroad to do projects to counteract the bad image of the country.  These are times when everyone was needed to act together.   As stated by one of the objectives of FCiC, they wish  to share cultural experiences and knowledge with others so as to promote awareness and project a positive image of the Filipino customs and traditions through active participation in social and cultural activities. 

Organizing of course is one.  Moving it forward is another.  With many skeptics around, Pinoy organizations always go through rough waters.  Hopefully this is not always the case.  The good thing is, there is a city council which promotes diversity and plurality within the city.  As there are many migrant groups,  the policy of the local government is to promote a harmonious co-existence among the multicultural humanity. 

I admire what FCiC stands for—Filipinos in Cardiff living together, thriving, and contributing as citizens of Cardiff.  I think wherever Filipinos go, despite the fact that they still love their homeland, they should exert effort in assimilating with the society which they adopted.  It should not only be their source of income.  They should also contribute to the development of their adopted place specially when they become citizens of that country.

I wish their organization well.  I hope they thrive.  It is in unity and common respect that they will achieve their goals as individuals, families and as a community living in a bigger society. 

 

 

 

Munting Nayon News Magazine