Where's the Love?

 Today I learned that one of my grandma's cousins lives in the States.  Or, rather, he lived in the States.

Last month he was out for his usual neighborhood walk when he was randomly attacked. A stranger struck him in the face and he fell to the ground hitting his head. He was brought to the hospital and they initially thought he just had a few scratches but then the hospital learned that he had fractured his skull and was suffering a brain bleed. He sadly passed away a couple of days later.

Recently the media announced that they had found the suspect. (And this was when I came to learn about this incident and how he was part of my family.)  He was only a few years older than my mom; so a pretty young cousin of my grandma. He immigrated to the States in the early 00s. 

There are rumors that this was a hate-based attack -- that the suspect mistook him for someone Chinese.  And the attacker? Another minority! You would think that one visible minority would not harm another minority -- that somehow they can sympathize with one another regarding their "struggles" living in prejudiced world.  It blows me away.

It also makes me reflect on how twisted this kind of scenario is. So many of my relatives have immigrated to North America/Europe/Australia because these continents are painted as lands of great opportunity where you can be more prosperous and lead a better life than if you stayed in the Philippines. Yes, the Philippines can be dangerous, too...but prejudiced? Not so much. I would say there is not even much reverse prejudice towards "outsiders" who immigrated to the Philippines. So you move across oceans to make something more of yourself...and then you're faced with people despising you mistreating you because you "don't belong." At what point do you feel the bad outweighs the good and you come back home? Or was the net good so rewarding that the ignorance of others barely makes a mark on your happiness.

There was another article, this time a Canadian one, celebrating the first Filipino "pioneers" who came to Alberta. My dad was always considered one of those pioneers, I'm sure he would have been a great interview/addition to the piece. It talked about their excitement when more Filipino immigrants would come to the province -- they would even drive hours away to another city just to make sure the newcomers received a warm familiar greeting the minute they landed in their new home. Is that part of what made the sacrifice and risks worth it all? They all had one another even if they did not know each other back at home. How would they have acted if the racist attacks occurring today happened to them and their peers "back then?" Somehow I do not feel like they would retaliate, but I'm sure they would all keep each other safe.