By Senator Leland Yee
The word family, or pamilya, is a word that I have learned from my involvement in the Filipino-American community. Being the in community I see the different meanings of the word family, in the labor of love of putting various community events together, in the gathering of seniors to get together and move their feet to music, and to dinners that celebrate an anniversary, an opening, a graduation, the list goes on.
Over the past few months, I have been joined by many friends in the community—friends that I see around often, and some that I haven’t had the chance to see in a while. I am always enamored with how time is not a matter of importance. I say this in the sense that despite not having seen one another in a while, it seems as if it was just yesterday we saw each other and we can easily pick up from where we left off. This has been apparent to me in many of these gatherings.
I recall the efforts last fall to declare the month of October as Filipino-American History Month. In working with the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), language was developed together for Senate Concurrent Resolution 48, which recounts the recorded history of Filipino Americans in the United States and in the State of California in particular. Once word spread about this effort, so did the quick outpour of support for the legislation. With the backing of Filipino-Americans all throughout the state and in other parts of the nation, as well as my colleagues in Sacramento, we were able to provide the Filipino-American community the recognition that was overdue and well-deserved.
I have great admiration for the dynamic of the Filipino and Filipino-American pamilya. It is what truly makes your community unique. The words unity, camaraderie, and friendship also ring true to your people.
I encourage you to keep the same commitment to helping one another and our community. At a time when many people are losing their jobs, their homes, their confidence, it is important that we remain and continue to be backbones for one another.
We must also not forget our brothers and sisters in countries like Haiti who are recovering from a major earthquake two weeks ago, and those in the Philippines, who are still recuperating from the aftermaths of Typhoon Ondoy which struck three months ago, that we remember them and provide them with our continued support and love. As such, it is fitting and proper that I thank you all for your many contributions to our society. And let us keep the positive momentum going in 2010.
The word family, or pamilya, is a word that I have learned from my involvement in the Filipino-American community. Being the in community I see the different meanings of the word family, in the labor of love of putting various community events together, in the gathering of seniors to get together and move their feet to music, and to dinners that celebrate an anniversary, an opening, a graduation, the list goes on.
Over the past few months, I have been joined by many friends in the community—friends that I see around often, and some that I haven’t had the chance to see in a while. I am always enamored with how time is not a matter of importance. I say this in the sense that despite not having seen one another in a while, it seems as if it was just yesterday we saw each other and we can easily pick up from where we left off. This has been apparent to me in many of these gatherings.
I recall the efforts last fall to declare the month of October as Filipino-American History Month. In working with the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), language was developed together for Senate Concurrent Resolution 48, which recounts the recorded history of Filipino Americans in the United States and in the State of California in particular. Once word spread about this effort, so did the quick outpour of support for the legislation. With the backing of Filipino-Americans all throughout the state and in other parts of the nation, as well as my colleagues in Sacramento, we were able to provide the Filipino-American community the recognition that was overdue and well-deserved.
I have great admiration for the dynamic of the Filipino and Filipino-American pamilya. It is what truly makes your community unique. The words unity, camaraderie, and friendship also ring true to your people.
I encourage you to keep the same commitment to helping one another and our community. At a time when many people are losing their jobs, their homes, their confidence, it is important that we remain and continue to be backbones for one another.
We must also not forget our brothers and sisters in countries like Haiti who are recovering from a major earthquake two weeks ago, and those in the Philippines, who are still recuperating from the aftermaths of Typhoon Ondoy which struck three months ago, that we remember them and provide them with our continued support and love. As such, it is fitting and proper that I thank you all for your many contributions to our society. And let us keep the positive momentum going in 2010.
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