Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance

Anti-Racism Education and Action for Different Generations

Vancouver, B.C. --On March 21, 2005, the International Day for the Elimination of Racism, the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance/ Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada (Ugnayan) reaffirms its commitment to effectively combat racism in all its forms.

Racism continues to pervade all aspects of life, and this is especially true for marginalized communities of colour. Ugnayan has always--and continues to--make a strong stand against racism, both on personal and systemic levels. In the first quarter of 2005 alone, young members of Ugnayan have conducted over ten anti-racism workshops, reaching out to elementary schools, high school youth, post-secondary students and community organizations.

Youth from the BC Muslim School, the Broadway Youth Resource Centre, the University of Victoria's Students of Colour Collective (SOCC) and many others have all added to the anti-racism discussion through Ugnayan's educational youth-led workshops.

Carlo Sayo of Ugnayan, admits that some of the workshops brought to grades 6 and 7 students have been the most memorable so far. "There have been elementary school teachers who are very positive about the work we've been doing with their students. The kids are great, too. We learn as much from them as they do from us."

The workshops are a product of the "Youth of Colour in Consultation Against Systemic Racism" gathering hosted by Ugnayan in March 2004. Sparked by the beating death of Mao Jomar Lanot, a 17-year old Filipino high school student at Sir Charles Tupper Secondary in November 2003, the consultation brought together individuals and organizations from various communities to discuss how systemic racism impacts entire communities, and what actions we can take to fight racism.

The workshops--all researched, organized and facilitated by youth of colour--look at the personal experiences of youth of colour with systemic racism, and connect them to larger social issues. The workshops include the historical development of racism as an ideology and Canada's racist immigration policies. "It's not enough to just talk about racism," Says Sayo. "We always try to include action plans that participants can engage in so they can empower each other and their communities to be able to combat systemic racism."

For Filipino youth, the weight of racism has been a barrier to their economic development and full participation in Canada. Youth talk about how they are profiled as troublemaking members of street gangs through the lens of Canada's judicial system. They face an education system that cannot meet their needs and does not understand their issues.

In major cities across Canada, Filipino youth hold among the highest dropout rate, next to indigenous youth. The issues of marginalized Filipinos continue to be ignored, despite the fact that the Filipino community is the 4th largest visible minority group in Canada, and the 3rd largest in BC. With these large numbers, Uganyan recognizes the high drop out rate as a systemic issue of the Canadian education system, and not an individual issue of an immigrant community.

Constant reminders of the existence of racism in the school system include the beating death of Mao Jomar Lanot in November 2003, and the displacement of 25 Filipino students from Vancouver Technical Secondary, who were targets of physical attacks and racist remarks and death threats. "Ignoring the issue and/or dispersing students to other schools to 'quell' racial tensions is no solution," Says Sayo.

"Racism is never seen as a problem within the administration, or the school board, and Ugnayan will continue to challenge that until it is recognized." Although the VanTech case was six years ago, the Filipino community is still dealing with its impacts. Some youth who have gone through the experience are some of the facilitators, bringing Ugnayan's workshops to the community. "We have a lot of support," concludes Sayo. "We'll continue to do what we do. We know it's right, and it's necessary in the fight against racism." -30-

For more information regarding these workshops or the work about the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance, please contact 604-215-1103 or ukpc_fcya@kalayaancentre.net