A letter of a Filipino citizen

A letter of a Filipino citizen

Dear Sir or Madame,

My name is Maceio Ubane.

I’m an employee who has worked at Oakland airport for more than 10 years and was dismissed several days ago. I can not describe how frustrated we are. It doesn’t count how many letters of commendation I’ve reserved and how hard I’ve toiled in such a low-wage situation, I was fired. On Monday I took part in the protest in Oakland international airport condemning the discrimination against immigrant workers and all the ethnic minorities. Nobody can accept the reasons for our dismissing, just because of our national origin, because we are Filipino citizens, but not white? I didn’t pass the employment assessment and they classified me unqualified, though I’m able to speak, read and write English well enough and worked hard. The TSH required screeners to be U.S citizens. For us, this is apparently a racist act!

In fact, more than 80% of the security workers at these three Bay Area airports are ethnic minorities, including us- Filipino citizens. I have to make them clearly known how terrible the consequence could be. Of course I can understand the fear of the governments based on the terrorist attack on September 11^th, as soon as I heard of the bad new, I did really feel sorry. Well, but it’s completely another case, because we have nothing to do with terrorism, we didn’t kidnap the airplanes to destroy the World Trade centres. How absurd and unreasonable their decisions are! Don’t attempt to hide the truth that we are the victims of the institutionalized racism and prevent as if they are contributing to the national Aviation and Transportation Security.

How can they only forget the blunders made by their people in the last 60 years: the bloody history of the Japanese American Internment in 1942? What’s different here? Why can they have a little more confidence in us and respect the equality of all the peoples? We are human, we are the same.

One of other thousands instances: the tragedy of Vincent Chin, who mistaken for a J.A. and killed by two whites. The manslaughters have only paid 3700 instead of being arrested in prison for 15 years. Has a life only value of 3700? The ringleader is the institutionalized racism. Don’t they notice how a grievous mistake they‘re making right now? I do really hope that somebody can take it seriously and think about it. Thanks for reading.

Sincerely!

Maceio Ubane