The Filipinos of Hawaii
Throughout my trip in Oahu, Hawaii, I've noticed so many Filipino influences, people, and businesses - what's the history behind Filipinos in Hawaii?
After spending some time lightly exploring around Oahu, Hawaii whilst on a vacation to visit my sister and her family, I’ve gotten to taste the local food and flavors of Hawaii, got to know some of the people, and experience some beautiful scenery. As I explored the island, I noticed how there is a thriving Filipino community with many Filipino businesses and restaurants, and food imports in supermarkets chains.
Filipinos are the fastest growing minorities in Hawaii, becoming the second-largest ethnic minority group according to Hawaii News Now. Around 23 percent of Filipinos, including mixed Filipinos, live in the State with around 70 percent of the population living in Oahu (shoutout to Bretman Rock and his family). Other than high birth rates amongst the Filipino-Hawaiians, the Philippines shares the same Pacific Ocean waters as Hawaii and so there are many Filipinos immigrating from the Philippines seeking better opportunities and a better life — chasing the “American dream” as they say, whatever that means. This notion is not unfamiliar, as this is continued since the first Filipinos came to Hawaii over a hundred years ago.
In 1906, the sakadas, also know as contract migrant workers, were first hired from the Philippines to work in the Hawaiian sugar plantations. Unlike their Japanese counterparts, they lived in terrible conditions and experienced racism and discrimination with terms used such as bukbok and flip and pinoy that Hawaiian media used to stereotype and degrade Filipinos as they were perceived to speak English with an accent.
Despite the tensions, both the Japanese and Filipino labor groups joined forces to make demands for better working conditions and higher pay (they were only getting paid 77 cents per hour). In the early 1920s, the laborers planned a strike and walked out the plantations, and submitted petitions that lists out their demands to Hawaiian Sugar Plantations Association (HSPA). The history of Filipinos in plantations is long (and dire) and won’t get too deep into it, but it’s the first step of Filipinos populating the islands.
In the 1960s, when former Philippine president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted, he fled to Hawaii and stayed at the Hickam Air Force base (which is actually right across the water from my sister’s house, where I’m currently staying) and then eventually to the suburbs of Honolulu. Here, the Marcos family lived a lavish life of luaus, as what the Hawaiians call it (it roughly translates to “feast” or “gathering”), shopping at expensive places, and waltzing around luxurious houses on the detriment of the economic suffering of the Philippines.
Since the first Filipino migrants, the Filipino community has been continuously growing and thriving with many sari-saris (“pop-up shops”) and businesses in Hawaii managed or owned by Filipino-Americans. Many foods that are popular in the Philippines is also seeing a renaissance, such as ube and mango which is on the rise in Hawaiian cuisine. Filipino-Americans in Hawaii still face racism and discrimination, but despite this I’ve noticed that the sense of community amongst the Filipino people still lingers strong.
Sources