Aloha and Mabuhay: A Look Into Filipino Hawai‘i

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Filipinos are the second largest ethnicity group in Hawai‘i, right after White or Caucasian. The Filipino race and culture have become a very big part of Hawai‘i’s diverse society. In the 20th century Filipino ancestors took the risk, a gamble taken by many around the world to travel 5,445 miles from the Philippines to Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i’s elite haole were in need of laborers in the rapidly growing sugar industry, because sugar was king. The Filipinos were the last race group to arrive in Hawai‘i, and the first sakadas arrived in 1906. It was a difficult decision for many people in the Philippines to travel a great distance in order to experience Kasla Glorya Ti Hawaii . Although hopeful, many Filipinos faced challenges, obstacles, and tasks that would make living in Hawai‘i very difficult. Leaving their homes, and working hard in the plantations proved to be one of the biggest sacrifices an immigrant could make. Through the perseverance of their struggles, the migration of the Filipino race during the 1900s has contributed to the diverse society in Hawai‘i, and become a significant part of what makes Hawai‘i unique and authentic.
Before the Filipinos, the Chinese and Japanese dominated as the sugar plantation laborers and were the biggest ethnicity groups in Hawai‘i. When laws were created to prohibit the Chinese and Japanese laborers from entering Hawai‘i because of control and overpopulation of their race, the Philippines was sought out. Many laboring immigrants also returned home after their contract was over, and mixing ethnicities was crucial to preventing strikes. Ronald T. Takaki author of Pau Hana writes, “…employ as many nationalities as possible on each plantation and thus ‘offset’ the power of any one nationality.”...

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