Two Paths, one Dream: The History and Adventures of Filipino Migrants.

Kline’s proposals of an economic “push and pull” factor that suggest nurses seeking better wages and working conditions along with employment opportunities were two of the main influences for Filipino migration during the 1970s. However, these two factors did not influence the Bihis and Mitu family because both families were seeking change and a new beginning. “Oral history is a powerful tool for examining migration history and sheds light… on… experience(s) that might otherwise be neglected.” [Ronquillo et al 2011: 262] Through oral history, this article will examine the “historical records” [Wickwire 1994] of the Mitu and Bihis family in order to comprehend the sacrifice of education and the importance of survival in a new environment through their migration stories.

The “decision-making process” [Ronquillo et al 2011: 262] on whether to pursue immigration was based on family dynamics and cultural pressure. This high pressure resulted in two possible outcomes, to either become a nurse or stay in the Philippines. This tended to be very difficult for Filipinos since it had some negative factors that included sacrifices, and possible risks of being unhappy in the nursing field. However, with many people struggling to survive at 2 dollars a day, Filipino citizens were determined to find a way to immigrate to Canada since it was the only possibility of supporting themselves or even their families. The Bihis family was in this exact predicament because this family had a hard time supporting themselves after the death of the father in 1970. The mother, Paciencia Bihis, raised ten children, comprising five sons and five daughters. Before marriage, Pacencia was an elementary school teacher in Manila. Through Chris Bihis, one of Pacencia’s ten children, I am able to obtain some important insights into her family’s migration patterns. These insights will help examine the struggles the Bihis family encountered financially and socially.

The two eldest daughters, Elizabeth and Tita Bihis decided that their primary goal was to bring the whole family to Canada because they believed that Canada would be the best place to encounter new experiences and set aside the mourning of their father. Both sisters withdrew from university during their fourth year of studies in the Philippines, migrated to Canada on February 1974, and started working two jobs each in order to sponsor the entire family’s move. Working at McDonald’s and at a seniors home as a nurse’s aid, the sisters were able to inform the rest of the family that they would be permitted to immigrate to Canada in two years. With funds only enough for six people, Pacencia and five out of the eight siblings prepared to migrate to Canada. The two other siblings had to wait a year until the family was settled in Canada before migrating. A common question to ask someone entering a new country usually concerns his or her emotions towards the change. When asking Chris Bihis and Rodel Mitu, both gave different perspectives with regards to change and regret:

Chris Bihis: Well… I was 11 when we were about to migrate. I didn’t have an

exact emotion to feel. I was excited, scared, confused, and sad. I had

no regrets though. I knew that moving would be better for us

Rodel Mitu: I wasn’t sure whether I was going to like it or not. I was hesitant…

Actually, all my siblings were. We didn’t know what to expect.

Regrets? Umm… yeah, I had second thoughts of coming here

because all my friends were in the Philippines. I didn’t know what it

would be like to live in another country without knowing anyone

besides my brother and sisters.

Moving to a new country can evoke thoughts about whether or not the decision is right and can occasionally cause a person to be hesitant whether the new residence is for a short or long period of time. The interviewees in this paper migrated at a young age (with Mr. Mitu migrating at the age of eighteen) and the emotions as seen from Ms. Bihis of migrating seemed to be very dependent on the maturity level with respect to age.

The Bihis family migrated to Canada on March 27th, 1976 by airplane and resided in a three bedroom apartment rented by Elizabeth and Tita Bihis. Chris Bihis mentions during our interview “ we we’re under housed. There were seven people in a three bedroom apartment. We had to hide from the landlord so he wouldn’t kick us out.” As stated earlier, sacrifice was one of the factors that made migration a difficult decision. For both the Mitu and Bihis family, continuing their educational studies and being temporarily away from a few of their family members were a couple of the biggest sacrifices they had to encounter. One of the family members of the Bihis family decided to not migrate to Canada because he had just started his own family and because he took into consideration that his four eldest siblings discontinued their studies in university once migrating to Canada because they had to work in order to support the family. This also led to the matriarch of the family working for the first time since becoming a housewife in the laundry department at University of British Columbia. “ My mom worked hard, she had a tough life. Its sad because I wish we would appreciate it more when were younger. As I got older, the sacrifices that my mother did for us, was for the sake of love and family” reported Chris Bihis regarding her mother. Four of the kids were able to go to elementary school at David Lloyd George in Vancouver, and the other attended high school. The Mitu family unfortunately had no members continue their studies after the move to Canada despite having been enrolled in university at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila ranging from second to fourth year. Because no members pursued school in the Mitu family compared to the amount of family members that attended school in the Bihis family was primarily because the youngest family member when migrating was at 18 years. The youngest age of the Mitu family became a beneficial statistic to my article because this was the legal age to decide whether to pursue school or work. Along with the legal age, the tendency for both families with siblings over the age of 17 decided to work in order to support the family.

Ronquillo focuses her paper on the bias of Filipino nurses as the commonality of migration during the 1970s. Maria Chita Siapno Mitu, a sister of Rodel Mitu was able to prove this