Under U.S. President McKinley, the United States took possession of the Philippines, and took responsibility of The Philippines. U.S. servicemen fathered children with Filipino women and then…
The Many (Forgotten) Faces of America
When the US naval bases in the Philippines closed in 1992, the military left behind thousands of Amerasian children. Since the closings, American presence still exists and -contrary to initial estimate of 52,000 – it is now estimated that there are 250,000 Amerasian children, ranging from newborn to geriatric, abandoned in the Philippines. These Amerasians are acutely vulnerable, particularly to human trafficking, and painfully stigmatized. They live in abject poverty, forcing them to continue the cycle of marginalized sub-existence and prostitution.
My grandfather served in the U.S. Army between 1921-23. I wonder if I have any aunts, uncles, or cousins that I know nothing about. These are American children.
In 1982, the United States Congress voted to grant U.S. citizenship to Amerasians from Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, and other Asian countries, in what was known as the Amerasian Homecoming Act. Although the Philippines has been a United States ally for more than a century, Filipino (and Japanese) offspring of soldiers were not included: they must be claimed by their former American G.I. fathers if they wish to claim their U.S. citizenship.
Even if I were to find family, in the Philippines, I can’t bring them home.
Written by Dale Meitzler
