KAILUA-KONA — “To call us animals is really insulting,” says Jane Clement.
Clement is a Filipino-American, who earned her U.S. citizenship in 2009, currently residing on the Big Island’s west side and president of the Kona Visayan Club, a group dedicated to the promotion and perpetuation of Filipino culture and heritage on the island. She, like others in the Big Island community — of Filipino descent or not — are taking offense to recent comments regarding people from the Philippines made by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Trump was speaking in Portland, Maine, last Thursday when he listed the Philippines among countries he said had sent immigrants who plotted to kill Americans. Also named were Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Uzbekistan and Yemen, adding “we’re dealing with animals.”
“We’re letting people come in from terrorist nations that shouldn’t be allowed because you can’t vet them,” he said. “There’s no way of vetting them. You have no idea who they are. This could be the great Trojan horse of all time.”
Clement challenged Trump’s point, as the Filipino man referred to was an illegal immigrant who wouldn’t have been stopped by his plan to end immigration from the listed countries.
She called the statement “irresponsible and un-American,” particularly in light of the large-scale and continual involvement of Filipinos in Hawaii and across the nation.
Filipinos and part-Filipinos make up the second-largest racial group in Hawaii County, according to U.S. Census statistics, comprising 22 percent of the population. Statewide, that number rises to 25.1 percent.
The first wave of immigration to Hawaii began when Filipinos were brought in as plantation workers in the early 20th century.
Immigration continues into the islands today, according to the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Center for Philippine Study.
“The community is still largely working class, compared with other Filipino groups in the U.S., such as those on the East Coast and Midwest. But there is now a growing number of management, professional and related occupations, with slightly over a fifth of adults reportedly found in this category. Among these professionals are doctors, nurses, therapists, lawyers, engineers and business executives,” the center said analysis of Census data showed, also noting that 95 percent of the care home owners or operators in the state are Filipinos “helping the state to deal with problems of the elderly and disabled.”
U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also took issue with Trump’s statement.
In a statement issued shortly after the speech, Schatz called Trump’s words “another example of his reckless rhetoric that’s based on fear and division and further proves he is unfit to lead our country.”
On Tuesday, Hirono said “Donald Trump’s statement calling for a ban on immigration from the Philippines is ridiculous on its face, continuing his campaign based on racism, incitement and xenophobia. Attacks on Filipino immigrants and other immigrant groups have no place in our national dialogue, much less from a major party nominee for president. The America he envisions is the complete opposite of the America millions of Filipino immigrants have worked so hard to shape with Aloha and respect for others. It’s not the America my mother envisioned when she brought me to this country.”
Gabbard, who is also up for re-election, late Tuesday added “Trump suffers from ignorance, bigotry, and arrogance. This is a very bad combination. The Philippines has been one of the United States’ most reliable allies, and many Filipinos, including those who live in Hawaii, have relatives who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States to defeat imperial Japan. In fact, Filipino immigrants have historically been some of the most patriotic and hard-working who have ever set foot in the United States. Actually, we should be increasing the number of legal immigrants from the Philippines, not decreasing them.
“I will continue to do all I can to shine light upon the great contributions the Filipino people have made to Hawaii and our nation, including passing legislation I introduced to recognize the service and sacrifice of WWII Filipino veterans with the Congressional Gold Medal.”
“He has no understanding of what makes America special,” said Schatz, who is running for re-election, told West Hawaii Today during a Tuesday interview.
That includes welcoming people who enrich the social, economic and cultural fabric of the United States, he said.
Clement had a similar sentiment.
“We have contributed so much to the landscape in Hawaii and the U.S.,” she said.
Other residents of Filipino descent were also perturbed.
“It’s disappointing,” but not unexpected, said Mark Simpliciano, a first-generation Filipino-American.
It shows that Trump doesn’t understand the connection between the two nations, he said.
Filipinos, like his parents, “have been coming to the United States to live the American dream,” he said.
They work hard to build a life they can be proud of and to help their children, he said.
“They’re not just animals. They’re everyday Americans,” he said.
West Hawaii residents, not of Filipino descent, queried Tuesday did not find much truth in Trump’s statement.
Robert Liwia Mitchell, who grew up on a ranch, remembered his time spent with Filipino residents. He remembers classes with a multi-ethnic schoolroom.
“Japanese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Portugee, all were, together, our family,” he said.
And that’s continued, even as the number of native-born Filipino-Americans has increased.
“They still a part of us,” he said, pidgin slipping into his pronunciation.
Nancy Gastro found the idea of Filipinos being a “Trojan horse” for terrorists to be nonsensical.
It’s true that any nationality can generate terrorists, she said, but the problems on the island are largely caused by local people.
“People crazy nowadays,” she said, referring to an apparent increase in violent and property crimes.
On an international level tensions spiked, including a call in the legislature of the Philippines to bar Trump from entering the country.
Schatz thinks the trouble will blow over, so long as Democrats win the presidential election this fall. Military ties with the Philippines have become more important recently as the Chinese begin to increase their presence in the region. The Philippines also host a significant number of American bases.
“We will be able to maintain strong social, economic and military ties so long as the election goes well,” he said.
Messages with the Philippines consulate in Honolulu were not returned.
A message with Donald Trump’s office was not returned by press time.