Facing the Challenge

With coronavirus news and missives swirling relentlessly and dire economic prognostications triggering panic attacks, we wonder how our entrepreneurial kababayans are faring. PF contributing writer Jennifer Fergesen checks in on Filipino food businesses in Europe and reports their situation in "Filipino Restaurateurs in Europe Grapple with Pandemic."

Author and balikbayan traveler Cecilia Manguerra-Brainard tells her story of how the virus trailed her in the early days of contagion when she traveled from the Philippines to LA in "CORONAVIRUS: The Beginning." 

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. This popular adage aptly describes the plight of the Alcantara sisters of Paco, Manila, whose privileged life was abruptly cut short with the advent of WWII. Ambassador (Ret.) Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. lovingly tells the story of his grandmother, mother and aunts who survived a situation so much worse than what Covid-19 has created now, in "How Linda and Her Sisters Survived the War."

Other than the pandemic, the most important issue in the US right now is the Census 2020. We urge all Filipinos in the US to stand up and be counted (by filling out the form either online or on paper). The future of your families, the communities you live in and the communities you belong to depend on your participation. To know why it is imperative, Read Again "What Fil-Ams Should Know About the 2020 Census" by Cherie Querol Moreno.

What does battling an epidemic entail? Read Again Dr. Jorge Emmanuel's riveting story of the work he did as a World Health Organization (WHO) consultant in Monrovia, Liberia during the 2014 ebola crisis in "My Battle with Ebola." 

Our Happy Home Cook recipe this week is for the ultimate Filipino comfort soup, Chicken Tinola with a new way of serving it.

Here are links for your reading enjoyment:

Philippines: Covid-19 will devastate the poor
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/philippines-covid-19-will-devastate-poor?fbclid=IwAR2KC_ucEtO9XCHZ1O1KcJqcsx6AHprBzk4z71h2MtGqNiWlXDOgY0APz7w

How this first Filipino COVID-19 patient battled the virus for 15 days and won
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/03/23/20/how-this-first-filipino-covid-19-patient-battled-the-virus-for-15-days-and-won?fbclid=IwAR2TUJMc-Q0R9hr3hEyb0PHRlpcnoCxkgrId25yAAT9FsONmdJVxadoEBOA

Metro Manila’s Most Vulnerable in the Time of COVID-19
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/specials/content/138/rick-rocamora-metro-manila-s-most-vulnerable-amid-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1VSaphXXP7N6tjqmy2dFmc_7mowQpOYYC0oGshZOPVznRHw7iLy2dS5fY

10 Things We Wish Pasig City Could Give the Entire Country
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/81448/pasig-enhanced-quarantine-a4362-20200318?utm_source=Facebook-Spot&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20200317-fbnp-newsfeatures-pasig-enhanced-quarantine-a4362-20200318-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR1535XR4Lf0zGIZpsfgYHZSSOtKwN3BOOH5gbpJ3tPbugZ5pgabjsZoapc

'Bayanihan, Musikahan': Ryan Cayabyab, Filipino artists launch FB Live concert series amid coronavirus crisis
https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/18/20/bayanihan-musikahan-ryan-cayabyab-filipinos-artists-launch-fb-live-concert-series-amid-coronavirus-crisis?fbclid=IwAR10yBiZd1SYUcKB26hgccSjWiM77LMS0XGt8RSe2wYan363U5fNtAASd_0

Cutting Our Travel Short And Trying To Get Home During The Coronavirus Pandemic
https://www.travelawaits.com/2493076/cutting-our-travel-short-and-trying-to-get-home-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/?pv=related_list&fbclid=IwAR0-AmsVUrXlUzydOyvKjp-uAbe3sDmib0rwIyniwbN0jz3l1eX1Dd8OEZg

For Videos of the Week, the Filipino Voter Empowerment Project created these public service announcements to remind Filipino Americans to be counted in the US Census. In the second episode, three of the actors, Lily De Ocampo, Jurshia Felipe, and Jamie Sophia Tubal, are also nurses in real life. They took time out to volunteer for this project before the coronavirus breakout and are now serving on the front lines of the Covid-19 crisis.

Into 2020, Darkly

Uncertainty and heartbreak. Not a good portent of things to come as we start a new decade, but we slog on.

In the US, a source of tension (or one of them anyway) in immigrant communities is the forthcoming Census, a nationwide count that happens every ten years. PF Correspondent Cherie Querol Moreno talks to FilAm community advocates of Census 2020 to assuage fears of those who are worried that the Census will lead to their deportation. The assurance: under the law the Census Bureau is prohibited from sharing data with law enforcement. More importantly, to stand up and be counted means your communities will benefit from the distribution of government services and funding. Read "What Fil-Ams Should Know About the 2020 Census" to understand the full, positive benefits of participating.

We've seen the heartbreaking photos and videos of what could be the worst fire to happen on earth, in Australia. Veteran journalist/columnist Paulynn P. Sicam, who is right now in Penrith, New South Wales visiting her family, writes a personal account of how it is in "Australia: The Fire This Time."

Switching to a more pleasant topic, PF contributor Titchie Carandang-Tiongson writes about the art of Filipina Spanish artist Maria Mari Murga, whose recent exhibit in Washington DC was hailed by art lovers. Read "All The Light That She Can See" and marvel at her works. 

After all the holiday food tripping, time for a vegan meal. Here's our Happy Home Cook recipe from Richgail Enriquez for Mushroom Pusit.

And our In The Know links, ICYMI:

A Chinese crime wave hits Duterte’s Philippines as Pogos grow unchecked
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3043542/chinese-crime-wave-hits-dutertes-philippines-pogos-grow?utm_content=article&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3k-ZFhCFy86dJzJoW8lRwYdKMHMFlNVjRhqtGC5N72N6IiKiA-Kl_eqFA#Echobox=1577411423

Sexism in the Philippines: In the Line of Fire
https://southeastasiaglobe.com/in-the-line-of-fire/?fbclid=IwAR1NRNusxZttR3IvY47Xb_173JcvSITygbr9t_-kXm-5t-H54GCVyYnkgss

#FilAmDecade: 10 Years of Filipino American History
https://www.facebook.com/notes/dr-kevin-nadal/filamdecade-10-years-of-filipino-american-history/10157817886364696/

Philippine Expressions Bookstore Owner Linda Nietes Honored By The Community
https://balitangamerica.tv/philippine-expressions-bookstore-owner-linda-nietes-honored-by-the-community/?fbclid=IwAR3BDvB3_KAj1RIxsSJbLWjDjhmtKmiYbJMzc1eb_JHJdPvufaFCLKK3EcI

For our Video of the Week, the Black Eyed Peas, along with the Voice Philippines’ Jessica Reynoso, perform at the closing ceremony of the recent Southeast Asian Games in New Clark City, Tarlac.