November 13, 2019
by: the RAPS Balita Team
Matthew Schmieder is a Filipino-American Activist who represented Kabataan Alliance at FIND Dialogue 2018. The BALITA asked him for his experiences and insights on the massive gathering of Filipino-Americans from across the East Coast.
The BALITA: What is a barangay in your own words?
Schmieder: This might be a basic answer I see a barangay mostly as a community, which doesn’t necessarily look like a strict or specific thing for people. It’s just “your people” however you define that for yourself.
The BALITA: Why did you decide to go to FIND Dialogue last year?
Schmieder: I wanted to get to know and learn from people from other FIND organizations, and from what I heard of the workshops they also sounded interesting.
The BALITA: What is one lesson you took away from FIND Dialogue 2018 that you bring with you into your everyday life?
Schmieder: A powerful lesson for me was that we are all, as Filipino-Americans, facing similar struggles around our identity in different aspects of our lives such as family, the workplace, and our organizations. And in our own ways we are all doing what we can to face those challenges even if it seems like something small. It helped me understand I’m not alone in what I face.
The BALITA: How do your FIlipino roots affect your personal identity?
Schmieder: I am half Filipino and for most of my life was not very connected to Filipino culture due to where I grew up and not being around my mom’s side of the family. It was only until the past couple years where I became involved in activism in the FIlipino community through Anakbayan that I came to more deeply understand my identity as Filipino. That understanding for me is deeply rooted in how I have learned that even the identity of Fil-Am only exists because of the struggles those before us made and continue to make in our communities, workplaces, orgs and interpersonal relations that define it.
The BALITA: Where do you fit inside the Fil-Am barangay?
Schmieder: For me it is important to acknowledge both the specific nature and issues faced by being Fil-Ams as well as the fact that we are also still Filipino, and not be cast aside as simply assimilated, or with no connection to the homeland. We Fil-Ams are here in the US for the ultimately same reasons: that ourselves or our families wanted a better life. For most, the choice to migrate is not made entirely freely, but out of necessity of the systemic economic and political issues in the Philippines. Behind the struggles that forced our families to migrate, and the issues we still face in America, are the same root system of imperialism and forced migration. I situate myself and my identity in the Fil-Am barangay within this understanding.
Disclaimer: Any views or opinions represented in this post are personal and belong solely to the author as indicated by the byline and do not represent an official endorsement by the Rutgers Association of Philippine Students of the aforementioned views or opinions of the author. Any views or opinions expressed by the author are not intended to malign any person or organization. The Rutgers Association of Philippine Students is a nonpartisan student organization.
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