Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Reina Montenegro, "The Glorified Perception of America," Interviewed by Donway Sy



The Immigration to America is perceived to be a glorified process in recent times. The perception of America as a “Land of Opportunity” has become so popular and accepted that it has created a seemingly concrete belief that America offers opportunities better than any other country can. And certainly this belief has proven to be true many times, however there are also cases wherein it is not necessarily true. The causes for migration have been identified as push and pull factors. Push factors are factors within the country of origin that compel an individual to leave his country. Pull factors are the attracting forces in the potential destination that encourage an individual to migrate. Over the course of time, America has implicitly promoted the idea that its pull factors are the reason behind its high influx of immigrants, but this truth may not have always been so, and perhaps may simply be a belief that resulted from America’s glorified perspective of itself. In fact, a historian by the name of James Horn concurs that during the old migration from England “Most poor did not have the luxury of considering their future in such a detached manner, and it is highly unlikely that they had sufficient information to weigh their options in such a calculated way. If they had, it is improbable that so many would have left England: the risk of early death was too great”.1

Reina Montenegro


In this interview, Reina Montenegro––a Filipina immigrant in the United States––shares her experience and perspective toward her immigration to America.


Table of Contents
1. Life in the Philippines
2. Lifestyle Difference
3. Expectation vs. Reality
4. Experience Upon Arrival
5. Immigration Challenges
6. Retirement Preference


1. Life in the Philippines

Reina grew up in a region in the Philippines wherein it was considered a 'province.' And in the Philippines, there is considerably less economic opportunity when laboring in the provinces, thus many tend to migrate into the urban cities which would usually be the Metro Manila region. In a research conducted by Maria Rosario de Guzman, she mentions that "many domestic workers in the Philippines, particularly those in urban areas, hail from far-flung provinces and migrate as a strategy for economic survival."2 Of course this behavior is not exclusive to domestic workers but also to each individual, but this strategy no longer serves well since Metro Manila is already overpopulated, thus many Filipinos have nowhere better to seek opportunity than abroad, and that includes the United States. A similar pattern can be observed in the Midlands region of England during 1607; peasants petitioned: "Wee . . . doe feele the smart of these incroaching Tirants which would grind our flesh upon the whetstone of poverty . . . [who have] depuplated and overthrown whole Townes and made thereof sheep pastures nothing profitable for our commonewealth."3 With these two events brought into perspective, it is observable that the people within their countries of origin encountered a lack of opportunity to better their financial circumstances. In Reina's case, even though she came from a more financially able background, still she comprehended this reality and thus cultivated a desire to expand her horizons and further her own potential by migrating to the United States.


2. Lifestyle Difference

In this portion, Reina compares how different the lifestyle is here in America compared to the Philippines especially in terms of work and education. She emphasizes how there is a huge disparity between the two cultures. In the Philippines, people have a more indirect disposition wherein they imply their opinions through subtle gestures rather than the more blunt method of expressing opinions in America. In terms of work and education, the culture in the Philippines tends to promote an atmosphere of competition, while it is a good source of motivation, it loses essence when the people aren't helpful to each other, which Reina describes as being "pushed to fail." On the other hand upon arriving in America, she shares how the educational system provides a more friendly environment as professors are willing to go out of their way to help students.
  3. Expectations vs. Reality

The images that people portray of things often don't match up with what actually exists; while America may be indeed opportune and great, it is not necessarily as great as people illustrate it to be. Reina contrasts her perspective of America while she was still in the Philippines to her actual experience. Initially, she thought that the people in the community, where she will reside, would be extremely friendly and that life would be "fine and dandy" in America just like a vacation. But as she shares her experience, she illustrates how she entered into a bad community in 19th Mission Street and that she "wanted to come home the day after." This inconsistency between expectation and reality was also something that was evident during the early migration. During the 1580s and 1590s, Richard Hakluyt wrote, "Many men of excellent wittes ... that are not able to live in England, may there [in America] be raised againe, and doe their contrie goodd service ... and may people waste contries to the home and forreine benefite, and to their owne more happy state."4 With the helpless estate of many peasants in England during this period, this opportunity presented unto them may be the only option they have left and thus some took the chance only to find themselves baffled by the contradiction of the actual living conditions in America to the 'sales talk' they received from the English spokespeople.

4. Experience Upon Arrival

In this segment, Reina further explicates the experiences that she encountered upon arriving in America. While many people come into America expecting a better or higher standard of living, it is not always true. As in Reina's case, she was living a more pampered life in the Philippines with her family meticulously taking care of her, and coming to America she had to learn firsthand from scratch how to take care of herself and how to be independent. A German migrant by the name of Gottlieb Mittelberger expresses his utmost regret upon his arrival in America, "How miserably and wretchedly so many thousand German families have fared, 1) since they lost all their cash means in consequence of the long and tedious journey; 2) because many of them died miserably and were thrown into the water; 3) because, on account of their great poverty, most of these families after reaching the land are separated from each other and sold far away from each other, the young and the old. And the saddest of all this is that parents must generally give away their minor children without receiving a compensation for them."5 If indeed America was always the Land of Opportunity that it was portrayed to be, then these sentiments of remorse should not have existed in the past and neither should it today

5. Immigration Challenges

As the influx of immigrants in the United States continue to increase with each passing decade, the immigration process has considerably become more difficult and requires more qualifications. While this serves to protect the American community and its constituents, this is a difficult obstacle for aspiring immigrants to become American citizens/residents. Reina narrates her own share of adversity as she underwent the process of immigration and encountered rejection in her application for a working visa.

6. Retirement Preference

Lastly, the interview concluded with a question where I asked Reina where she prefers to retire. She responded that she wanted to return to the Philippines. She elaborated how the rationale behind it was that to her America is indeed a land of opportunity and prosperity, however, it isn't a place for her to settle down. Instead, the Philippines to her holds more prospect in terms of investing the wealth and capital that she accumulates during her years of hard work here in America. Ultimately, the place where one prefers to retire depends on the individual's personal acclimation. However, her example can serve as a supplement to the possibility that immigrants today migrate not simply out of desire but more so due to necessity and that if the social and economic circumstances of the immigrants' native countries were not as dire as they were, then perhaps they might not have sought opportunity elsewhere.






1. Brooks, Joanna. Why We Left: Untold Stories and Songs of America's First Immigrants. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013), 9.

2. Maria Rosario T. de Guzman. "Yaya: Philippine Domestic Care Workers, The Children They Care For, And The Children They Leave Behind." International Perspectives In Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation 3.3 (2014): 198.

3. Brooks, Why We Left, 25.

4. Ibid., 34.

5.  Gottlieb Mittelberger. “Work and labor in this new and wild land are very hard”: A German Migrant in Philadelphia, 1750.



Bibliography:

Brooks, Joanna. Why We Left: Untold Stories and Songs of America's First Immigrants. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013. 

de Guzman, Maria Rosario T. "Yaya: Philippine Domestic Care Workers, The Children They Care For, And The Children They Leave Behind." International Perspectives In Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation 3.3 (2014): 197-214. PsycARTICLES. (accessed Nov 3 2014). 

Mittelberger, Gottlieb. “Work and labor in this new and wild land are very hard”: A German Migrant in Philadelphia, 1750.


Montenegro, Reina. "Perception of America." Interview by author. 7 April 2015.

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