Pinoy immigrants mahalaga sa US economy

LOS ANGELES – Matapos mag-viral ang isang video ng racist slur, iginiit ng isang Filipino-American group na hindi ninanakaw ng mga Pinoy ang trabahong para sa mga Amerikano.

“Filipino immigrants play a vital role in building the economy of the United States by providing healthcare and education through employed Filipino doctors, nurses and teachers,” sinabi ni Aquilina Soriano Versoza, executive director ng Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) sa Los Angeles.

“In fact, most Filipinos take jobs that Americans cannot fill such as caregiving and other forms of domestic work. By taking care of the elderly or the children, the Americans are able to go out and have jobs of their own,” diin ni Versoza sa pahayag na ipinadala sa Balita.

Magugunita na kumalat sa Internet ang video ng isang matandang babae na kinukutya ang isang pamilyan FilipinoAmerican sa isang grocery store sa Daly City, sa katimugan ng San Francisco.

Matapos ang childish talk, sinabi ng matandang babae na: “You don’t want me to talk to Philippine?”

“Come on, come on, come on! Look at all the groceries they buy. Steal our food, steal our money, our jobs,” sabi ng babae.

“So racist. Oh My God,” maririnig na sinabi ni Jenny Veladera.

“We got a family to feed,” dugtong ng mister ni Jenny.

Ngunit sumagot ang babae na: “So what? Go back to your country.” “This is our country!” giit ni Jenny. “You’re lying, you’re lying, you’re lying! Just how you got here,” sagot ng matandang babae.

Batay sa datos mula sa U.S. Census Bureau nitong 2015, tinatayang 3.9 milyong katao sa US ang may lahing Pinoy.

“We believe that all immigrants have the right to a healthy and dignified quality of life,” ani Lolita Lledo, PWC associate director.