My grandfather Robert Aton had migrated for economic gain and opportunities with his family to have a better chance at a better life. There were many reasons as to why him and his family migrated. some migrated because they were offered more opportunities to become successful by corporations for example, “The California packing corporation offered riches and a better life” (Aton) to my great-grandfather Marcus Tangaro Aton prompting him to pack up his family which included Robert , Rolando (His kids) , and Nimisa Aton (Marcusʻs wife) and migrate to Molokai and Oahu soon after.
Others immigrants migrated because of the economic and political problems: Spain had colonized the Philippines which spanned from 1565-1898. During this time the Spanish established a trade route on the Island Luzon which hosted the route from Manila to Acapulco which is a US port.
Due to this and many other controversies, a revolution happened in 1897. The Filipino Revolutionʻs main goal was to obtain independence from Spain (Alchin). The revolution then paved the way into the Philippine-American war otherwise known as the Tagalog war, which went on from 1899-1902. When the war had ended and everything settled the Philippines was occupied by the United States sovereignty. Nine years after the occupation Mount Taal volcano erupted which resulted in 1,335 deaths and land loss. But it didn't stop after that, a year later an earthquake had hit the Northeast Mindanao or the southern Philippines causing massive landslides which lead to serious damage to the economy: All of these significant events contributed to the high unemployment throughout the Philippines during the 1930s, Which lead Filipinos like my great grandfather to pack up and leave. Little did they know how easy it was to migrate.
The Hawaiian Sugar Planterʻs Association (HSPA) settled upon importing Filipino labor for several reasons. For starters, since the HSPA paid the Filipinos the lowest wage among the diversified and different ethnic groups in the plantations, it was cheaper to import Filipino laborers. Some but not all Filipinos were granted free fares paid by the HSPA. Second, since the Philippines was a U.S. colony due to the Tagalog War the Filipinos were technically U.S. citizens which meant, they were not covered by exclusion laws excluding the importation of the other Asian laborers (labor migration in Hawaii). Third, Filipinos were seen as an alternative labor to use against the Japanese workers who were plotting and staging strikes to improve their living conditions and labor policies in the sugar cane and Pineapple plantations. Also, the Philippines was a country that was already at growing sugar or grew up in an environment were growing sugar was a mundane thing, which lead the HSPA to think that Filipinos were the best Sakadas or farmers. The stereotype although did not complement the reality of the Filipinos. Sugar was not grown in the region of Ilocos. The results were that the Ilocos or a majority of the Filipino laborers did not have much knowledge of doing plantation labor due to not being raised in that environment. Fifth, the stereotype of Filipinos was that they were uneducated, therefore never questioned anything. The HSPA preferred to hire uneducated workers who knew nothing about their legal rights. The migrant workers faced numerous problems from the time they left the Philippines. While most of them were Ilocanos, there were also a few Visayans or Tagalogs. Upon reaching Hawaii, they had to deal with more ethnic diversity. Linguistic differences hampered the workers’ ability to communicate with each other. But the worst problem was the long hours of strenuous, back-breaking hard work (The Maka‘Āinana).each worker to labor twenty-six days, ten-hours per day.
“The first of the Filipinos who came to Hawaii was known as the “Sakadas” (Aquino). There were about 15 of them that came over on the SS. Doric. When they first arrived in Hawaii they were not at all used to the living environment in Hawaii. Because of the many Filipinos coming to Hawaii, the Tydings-Mcduffie law was passed in 1946 to provide independence for Filipinos. In 1946, a drive for new recruitments sent 7,000 Filipinos to come work on the farms.
In the plantations, the workers were treated like prisoners/indentured servants. Just like a prison there are the guards. A luna or an overseer mostly a white man was the “guard” in the prison-like plantation. In the plantations, the workers were on an upbeat schedule despite working day in and day out. 6 days a week everyone was woken up at 5:00 in the morning, rushed to the hall for a fast breakfast at 5:30 then hauled off in groups ranging from 20-30 to do a plethora of tasks (Andaya). The work only stopped for 30 minutes for a quick lunch break. The screech from the 4:30 pm whistle signaled that the work was done and it was time to head back to the camps. The few solutions to make amends with their tortured bodies was to shower in the furos or hot baths, even though the furos were communal. One of the previous workers Kusuke Oshiro said “I’d come running even if I were two or three miles away. It would make about 20 minutes difference. By the time everyone got back, I’d already taken a bath.” after the bath some would read letters from home to alleviate some of the pain they had gone through the day. But most of the workers sat on rocks and porches and talked story, nursed hands by putting them above the fire in preparation for the battle the next day. At 8:00pm a howling siren signaled it was time for bed. The lights were out at 8:30. But still, some struggled with tense bodies filled with restlessness. In the fields, the lunas would address the workers by calling them their numbers, not their names. But instead of acting out on anger. The laborers would talk about their big plans to leave the godforsaken place as soon as they had enough money. To open a store in town, move to the mainland’s, or even return home and become landowners (Takaki). This time was in the earlier 1900s. Luckily my grandfather didn’t come during those times, he came the mid-1900s when there were more laws passed helping the Filipinos. For example, the hart cellar act: a policy for immigration whose purpose or foundation was bringing immigrant families together and draw labor to the US.
Because of my grandfather’s migration to Oahu, He was able to become successful in life for himself and his family. This was a result of two major things: push and pull factors. Push factors are the reasons why people want to move out of their homelands. For example, Filipinos wanted to leave because of natural disaster, unemployment, and fear. This is where the second reason people migrate come in: pull factors. Pull factors are the reasons why people want to move to the United States. Some of those reasons were because they were in search of freedom, safety, stability, and new opportunities (Alchin). His brother Rolando Aton was also successful in life by becoming a musician, amongst other things. He is still working, unlike my grandpa, who is retired. His feelings and opinions for Oahu changed more and more as he grew up. When he was living in Oahu at a young age he thought that it was the greatest life he could ever have but now he says that “we need to change” in other words he means that the Island of Oahu needs to change its ways.
One of the more modern reasons as to why Filipinos migrate is because of a communist rebellion called the NPA. The NPA or New People's Army was established on March 29, 1968 by Jose Sison and their goal is to overthrow the Philippine government and bring forth a new state led by the common laborers and expunge the US of its influence over the Philippines these are one of the reasons that Victor Jose migrated. “there were a lot of killings, and it wasn't good for us (Jose).
In conclusion, I learned about the migration of the Filipinos. The many reasons why they migrated. I will never forget that my grandfather migrated here in search of a better life. I will pursue his dream of a better life by making my life worth all those hard-earned hours. I learned that hard work does pay off and that despite the many odds against him and his heritage. He and all the other Filipinos made it.