Private Story
Diaspora on the Frontlines
Filipino nurses have been on the frontlines of many health crises over the years and it is not by accident. Healthcare in the Philippines was largely modeled after the American system during the U.S. occupation, which lasted 48 years. This prepared Filipinos to become nurses abroad instead of their home country.
The first large wave of Filipino immigrants began after World War II when the U.S. created the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP), which facilitated the entry of foreign nationals to help ease labor shortages. In 1948, the Philippines and the U.S. entered into an agreement for the financing of bi-national centers to coordinate educational exchange programs in various fields, including healthcare. By the 1960s, the demand for nurses increased dramatically following the passage of Medicare and Medicaid and a spike in illnesses such as the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
As Filipinos in healthcare continue to contribute their work and their lives, they cannot continue to be only statistics. My project, Diaspora on the Frontlines, documents five Filipino nursing families, making up 9 nurses, all of whom represent the large population that have been historically shaped to fill the US shortage of nurses. This project is comprised of documentary images of their lives, along with historical and present day diptychs to illustrate the missing and present day stories of these migrants contributing to the overall wellness of the world.
I started pitching this story exactly a year ago. I realized that there has not been any in-depth coverage of Filipino nurses worldwide. The colonial history that brought this diaspora to the United States is also unknown to majority of Filipinos. Since I deeply believed in this story, I decided to start this project at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, undeterred by the lack of buy-in from newsrooms. The nurses I worked with offered me a lot of trust as they let me in their homes. We all believed in the significance of this story and worked together to maintain safety between ourselves and the rest of the families.
Diaspora on the Frontlines has now been published in US based publications like National Geographic and CNN. I have also been able to advocate for this story in the largest newsrooms and networks in the Philippines, GMA News and Rappler. I have spoken on numerous panels like Al Jazeera English’s The Stream and Newsy to advocate for the safety of this community.
I believe that this project is even more important now as rates of Anti-Asian violence have spiked across the United States. Having more stories on the Asian American experience helps challenge the current dominant, lacking and damaging narratives. Asian Americans live full, loving, strong and resilient lives. I hope that people can come to know, learn and care about this community.
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