CanadaPinoys

As I ponder about myself and my intention to get immersed in this CanadaPinoys website, I ask myself - Am I proud to be Filipino?  To be honest, I have difficulty answering this question. Uprooting my family and risking everything to move to a new country to ensure a brighter future for my children does not sit well with feelings of pride for the country I left.

However, if I were asked if I am proud to be Canadian, then I would immediately say, "Yes". Just like a slogan used in a series of Molson beer commercials that ran a few years ago, I can now relate to it and say, "I am Canadian!" Our family experienced great difficulty starting out in this country. We had lost nearly everything during our first few months due to unforseen circumstances. However, our lives did improve for the better. A number of government services and programs helped us with settling down and building our lives from the ground up. Even though our early days when we could barely cover our living expenses, I can distinctly remember how much I appreciated the opportunity to live in Canada. Water is clean and readily available. (This was not the case living in Paranaque.) Electricity is reliable (we hardly experience any brownouts). The air is clean (We don't have worry about dust, and thick smog that blankets the city every day.) I feel safe and secure (I don't have to worry about being kidnapped or wrongfully ticketed by corrupt policemen). You see the picture... 

Having lived in Canada for over 9 years now, my perspectives have evolved. I have started to feel more Canadian than Filipino. When Canada hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics in February this year, I definitely felt proud to be Canadian. We won a total of 26 medals.  Canada ranked 3rd  in total number of medals won by a country. Closer to home, the recently concluded summit meetings of the G8 in Huntsville and G20 in Toronto has me thinking to myself that we (as Canadians) are real participants and leaders in dealing with global issues. Yes there are many debates about the effectiveness and accountability of these high profile meetings. There are issues about leaders' promises not fully being realized and the billion dollars spent on security for the event. My Filipino side can't help but think - where is the Philippines in the global stage? Will we be relegated to merely recipients of aid from the richer nations, or can we hope to a time when the Philippines becomes a participant and even a leader in shaping the global agenda?

The on-going FIFA World Cup Soccer games is another example of contrast. While economically speaking, the Philippines ranks 132 in terms of GDP per capita (CIA Factbook), it is surprising that many countries that rank lower in the list have been able to get very far in this sport:

Country (CIA Factbook rank)
Cameroon (138)
North Korea (139)
Ivory Coast (142)
Nigeria (144)
Ghana (153)

But the reality is I am a Filipino-Canadian. I have just begun this process of re-examining my roots. As I search the internet, I begin to remind myself and realize that there are Filipinos that have shown excellence in their chosen fields:

Manny Pacquiao (Boxing)
Efren Bata Reyes (Billiards)
Arnel Pineda (Journey)
Jabbawockeez (Dance Crew)
Allan Pineda Lindo (Black Eyed Peas)
Peter Valdes - (co-Founder Tivoli Systems, an IBM Company)
Josie Natori (Fashion)
Monique Lhuillier (Fashion)
Jonathan and Julien de Guzman (Soccer)

For now my conclusion is this - While the Philippines as a country has not shown its leadership in the global arena, there continues to be Filipinos that demonstrate excellence on a personal level. I have no passion or interest in politics, and as such, I do not foresee myself getting involved in Philippine politics.  I do want to achieve excellence in what I do, but this is a personal commitment that goes beyond being a Filipino. So am I proud to be a Filipino? I want to be.