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We’re home |
ni Noel Lapuz
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Si Freedom kasama si Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman at si Anthony Reyes sa Martsa para Karapatang Pantao sa The Forks |
Magkaiba ang pananaw ng katulad kong nagkamulat sa Pilipinas at nag-immigrate lang sa Canada ng may edad na kumpara sa aking anak na siyam na taong gulang lamang nang mapadpad sa Canada at namulat ang kaisipan sa pagiging Canadian. Ganompaman, lagi niyang kinikilala at nirerespeto ang kaniyang ugat bilang Pilipino. Sa pagdiriwang ng ika-150 anibersaryo ng Canada ay pinakiusapan ko ang aking anak na si Freedom na magsulat tungkol sa kaniyang karanasan bilang Canadian. Narito ang kaniyang sinulat:
“For I never knew the kalabaw, I knew about the Moose.
For I’ve never seen the Chocolate Hills, I’ve seen Pinawa.
My home was never the pearl of the south; yet I still respect and love it unconditionally.”
When my father told me to write something about my experience here in Canada, I came out with that poem. It expresses how, even though my birthplace and roots are in the Philippines, I still feel like Canada is my home. This may seem like a bad thing, but keep reading because I am here to explain that it ain’t so bad.
I’ve lived nine years in the Philippines, and nine years here in Canada. The home country was pretty rough for me. I had no father growing up because he had to work overseas to support the family. This lead me to bond closer to my grandfather, cousins and mother. We all lived in one big land, and I enjoyed living with them. However, the Philippines has lots of challenges for me. I felt out of place at school because it was a military-based Montessori. It was pretty hard to make friends, hard to fit in, and what killed me inside is; I never knew who I was. Imagine someone asking you, “So how would you describe yourself?” and have nothing to say. It hurt. I felt like stain on society, with no label and just a burden to my mother and father. I don’t want to say that I hated it there, because I had fun too. Every time my cousins and I played video games, biked and ate; I was enjoying it. Every time my mom and I would go to arcades, I would love it. And every time I apprenticed with my grandfather when he was working on something, I didn’t want it to end. Don’t get me wrong, I never said I hated the place, but I also said never said that I love it.
When we departed for Canada, I couldn’t really comprehend what was about to happen. My mother was crying but I didn’t know why back then. My father had a big smile on his face, and I didn’t know why. Little did I know, our whole world was about to change.
The moment I stepped on Canadian land is when we had a stop at Vancouver. Not gonna lie, I was pretty intimidated by the people. They were tall, white and that goes under Filipino standards for beauty. I didn’t know a lot about anything back then, and I was scared.
We finally made it to Winnipeg, where my family gave us a warm welcome. Life changed from there.
I can confidently say that the people I met here in Canada is the reason why I have passion for the arts. I made friends in school, people who have the same interests as me. People who talked to me, and people who love me. I woke up with a smile on my face because I just couldn’t wait to go to school. My friends pushed me hard to go for my dreams. This lead to me releasing three albums with all original songs, one feature film, and it motivated me hard enough to make a website for my projects. When I came here to Canada, I finally found the voice I had been searching for half of my life. It made me the person who I am today, and I will continue to pursue my dreams. I believe this is what my parents wanted for me. I’m happy here in Canada, and I can proudly call it my home.
– Freedom Lapuz
Home. Tahanan. Ito ang naramdaman ni Freedom sa Canada. Ang bansang ito ang yumakap at kumanlong sa aming pamilya at sa ating lahat na mga imigranteng nakipagsapalaran sa buhay. Ang tahanan ay kung saan nandoon ang iyong puso. Ang tahanan ay kung saan ka nakakaramdam ng comfort, ng kapanatagan at ng refuge.
Hindi kami/tayo nagkamali sa pagdadala natin ng ating pamilya sa bansang ito dahil ito ang kanilang magiging tahanan.
Ang pagpapasalamat ko sa bansang ito ay wagas at alam kong maiintindihan din ng mahal kong Canada kung ipagtatapat ko sa kaniya na ang puso ko ay nahahati sa dalawa, si Pilipinas at siya – si Canada.
At dahil ang mukha ng Canada ay iba-iba, ito mismo ang nagde-define sa kaniya. Ang pagmamahal kong pantay sa Pilipinas at Canada ay nagpapatibay at nag-a-affirm sa pagtataguyod ng Canada sa diversity. Ito ang karangalan natin bilang mga Canadians, ito ang gantimpala ng bansang ito – ang mahalin ang iyong ugat at mahalin ang bansang kumupkop sa atin.
We’re home. We’re in Canada.
Si Noel Lapuz ay dating OFW sa Middle East (Dubai at Qatar). Nagtrabaho nang sampung taon sa City Hall ng Taguig bilang Human Resource Management Officer. Naging bahagi ng Bata-Batuta Productions bilang manunulat, entertainment host at stage actor. Nagtatag ng Kulturang Alyansa ng Taguig. Kasapi ng Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP).