It was winter when they arrived in Vancouver, the third largest city in Canada.  So the first thing he bought was a jacket, Albert said.

All of the children continued their studies in Canada the next school year. But they failed the English proficiency exam so they had to complete a year of English as Second Language (ESL) course before they were able to enroll at the Dr. AR Lord School to finish their primary school.

“Yes at no lang ang alam ko nu’n eh,”(The only English words I knew then were yes and no.) he joked.

For five years, the Lopez family had to bear living in a one-bedroom flat they rented for 600 Canadian dollars (CAD) a month. The children occupied the bedroom while their parents slept in the living room.

But its not the cramped space they were living in that affected him most. Albert recalled that his mother and father would always come home late. His mother shuttled between two jobs, as housekeeper and factory worker. At weekends, she had a part time job at a supermarket. His father, on the other hand, worked as a welder.

During day time, they were left with no food. Because neither of their parents was around for them, Albert got involved in a youth gang and drug tailing. 

Systemic racism

In high school, Albert enrolled at the Vancouver Technical Secondary School. But he had no idea how hard it would be for immigrants like him.

In 1999 when he was in grade nine (equivalent to second year high school in the Philippines), a conflict between Caucasians and Filipinos arose. Caucasian students made racist comments against Filipinos such as calling them “FLIP” or fucking little island people. Written on the walls of comfort rooms were “Go back to your country!” and “All Filipinos must die!”

Caucasian males would also imitate teachers who told Filipinos, “Speak English!”

The conflict intensified breaking into violent riots every break time and after classes. Students used baseball bats, padlocks tied to handkerchiefs and ice picks during these rumbles. Albert’s eldest brother, William, was hit with a bat on his left arm when he tried to defend himself from blows. Some were brought to the hospital because of gunshot and stab wounds, he continued.

But the school administration did not address their issues, Albert said, and would only call the police who would, in turn, just ask questions. He also lamented that even the media does not acknowledge the issue of systemic racism.  Their conflicts were dismissed as a result of their being boys. “Boys will be boys,” the media would reason out.

But he said that even girls have also been involved in these conflicts.  White girls would throw stones at dark-skinned girls.

Because of the riots, 25 Filipinos were kicked out from school in 2000, including him. Filipino students who were not immediately kicked out skipped classes until they were kicked out too.

Studies conducted by the Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance (UKPC/FCYA) revealed that drop out rates of Filipino-Canadian children are high in Vancouver, Quebec and Montreal.

Being young and inexperienced, Filipino-Canadians who kicked-out from school could hardly find a job other than being crew members of fast food chains.  Many drop outs were lured into drug tailing or dealing and gangster activities in Vancouver.

Gangs and drugs

To feel a sense of belongingness, Filipino teenagers formed their own gangs like Bahala na Gang, Kahit Bastos Cute (KBC), Samahang Pilipino (SP), Made in the Philippines (MP) and Samahang Ilokano (SI).

Albert belonged to the Trese ni Hudas and he eventually became the leader. As trademark, all their members had three cigarette burns at the back.

Gang members also engaged in prohibited drug tailings. “Parang yosi lang ‘yun dun,” (There, it’s just like smoking a cigarette.) Albert said of using cocaine.

He admitted that he was using marijuana then. Because it is much cheaper than cocaine, he used to trade a small amount of recooked cocaine for marijuana sticks.

They did the the recooking in their “crack house,” a basement they rented for less than 500 CAD monthly. The crack house would serve as their second home. They would go home to their parents before dawn but most of the time they spent consecutive days in the crack house.

“Crack houses” are located mostly in the east side of Vancouver.  He compared that area to squatters’ communities in the Philippines.  He said “real” citizens lived on the west side.

Because of the discrimination, he said, “colored” people are the usual suspects of the police whenever there are troubles in the area. “Kinakapkapan kami, saka binabalibag,”(They frisked and manhandled us.) he said.

They would get 100 grams of cracked cocaine for only 800 CAD, he recounted, and would triple their investment after recooking it with baking powder. In one day, he could earn 1000 CAD.  But he said, “pero walang tulog ‘yun, hanggang 4 a.m. may bumibili pa.” (But you could not sleep as there were buyers until 4 a.m.)

His parents started to suspect his involvement in illegal activities after seeing him wearing branded shirts and watches even if he had no job.

He lived this life for one and a half years.  After seeing his friends either being sent to jail or dying of addiction, Albert decided to study again and enroll in a different school.

In school, he belonged to a barkada (group) of 20 Filipinos. But when another conflict erupted, he was among the 10 Filipino students kicked out. Albert said a student told school authorities that he was involved in the riot even if he was not. Other Filipino students quit school.

“Nag-try ako pero parang sinusundan ako ng racism,” (I tried but the problem of racism seemed to be following me around.) said Albert.

Even his younger brother, Stephen, was not spared from the influence of prohibited drugs. At the age of 19, he fathered a child. In 2003, he suffered from hypertension. His family is arranging for Stephen, now 22, to undergo counseling.

Albert said that many girls became young mothers because of drugs and gangs.

Youth organizing

Albert was again driven into drug dealing after failing in his attempts to lead a normal life.

In their free time, he and other Filipino drop outs played basketball at the Boys and Girls Club (BGC), an open gym where out-of-school and vice-driven youth relaxed. More than half of them were Filipinos, said Albert.

May Ferales, a BGC volunteer who is also a member of the UKPC, gave them flyers on racism and chatted with them regularly. They were also invited to join UKPC workshops and forums discussing issues faced by Filipinos in their host country, such as migration, the LCP and racism.

According to its website, UKPC, which was founded in 1995, is the result of the dynamism of Filipino youth and their desire to struggle for the empowerment and genuine development of the community by educating, organizing, and mobilizing Filipino youth.

Albert admitted they were so stubborn then that they would just walk out in the middle of a forum.

“Ano, nag-o-organize kayo di kayo marunong mag-Tagalog?” ((You organize us but do not even know how to speak Tagalog?) he criticized the organizers, “Pero buti nga matyaga talaga sila,.” (But it was good that they were persistent.) he added

When he began to listen and relate his experiences with the issues being discussed, Albert became interested and started attending UKPC activities even without his friends. In 2001, he started sharing his personal experiences and the life of his family in Canada to other participants.

“Mabuti naman, wala ka nang ginagawa sa buhay mo e,” (Its better now that you are no longer doing anything to ruin your life.) was his parents’ reaction to his involvement in the youth group. He even brings his friends and family to their activities. Sherry Ann, his youngest sibling, also became a UKPC member.

To gather the youth, they usually hold cultural nights of poetry reading and rap performances. To catch the interest of the youth, Albert said, they wrote and performed rap songs describing the difficulties they encounter living in Canada and also news about the Philippines. Their songs talked about corruption, migration, the economic crisis, and other issues as well as their dignity as Filipinos.

UKPC members also visit schools to discuss racism. The Vancouver School Board (VSB) at first turned down their request to hold discussions at schools, denying that racism is a serious problem affecting students.

The VSB began to admit the problem after Mao Jomar Lanot, an 11th grade student at the Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School, was beaten to death by students from a different ethnic group. Lanot’s mother also entered Canada through the LCP. After the incident, Albert said, the VCB allowed them to bring their campaign against racism to schools.

They also held protest actions in front of the Philippine Embassy in Vancouver. But instead of accommodating them and acting on their complaints, he said, embassy personnel even tried to intimidate them by taking photos of the protesters. The embassy, he added, also did not accept their letters describing the issues confronted by Filipino youth such as racism and the impact of the LCP on families, and killings in the Philippines.

“Why are there in the first place?” he asked shaking his head in dismay.

Albert also reaches out to his former gangster friends, especially to new recruits to get them away from drugs and other vices as early as possible.  His being fluent in Filipino is an advantage especially to newly-sponsored Filipino youngsters in Canada who are not English speakers. Within the UKPC, he teaches Canada-born Filipino youth who wanted to learn the Tagalog language through songs and poems.

He also serves as an example of a transformed “trouble maker, gangster and drug dealer” to show those who are living a life of vice that there is a better life.

Integration

Aside from being a UKPC organizer, Albert worked in a plastic factory and a warehouse. He later quit when he was not paid for overtime work. He later accepted jobs renovating houses and cleaning windows to save money for an integration program in the Philippines. The UKPC arranges integration programs for its members to their chosen sector in the Philippines. The UKPC members who undergo this program are hosted by a partner organization in the Philippines and stayed for at least six months before going back to Canada.  S/he is then expected to talk about his/her integration when s/he returns to Canada.

Arriving last December, Albert got sick for a week because of the sudden change in climate. When he left Canada, the temperature was nine degrees below zero.  When he arrived in the country he was greeted by a 30-degree temperature. Despite this, he chose to spend his time here in urban poor communities.

“Nagagalit ako sa living conditions nila,” (Seeing their living conditions angers me.) he said describing shanties made of plastic, tents or used thin wood, and jam packed in a small lot almost occupying the roads, or built near or in dump sites.

After his integration program, Albert plans to describe the struggles of the urban poor to his fellow Filipinos in Canada. Filipino Organizations in Canada conduct various campaigns on issues confronting their fellow Filipinos in the Philippines.

Last November, Canadian members of a international fact-finding team that investigated the unabated political killings in the country asked the Canadian government to re-direct its foreign aid from the Arroyo government to NGOs because of the Philippine president’s poor human rights record.

Albert believes that whether in the Philippines or in a foreign country, the people’s rights to a just society should be fought for and in no way be compromised. Bulatlat

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© 2007 Bulatlat ■  Alipato Media Center

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