Five Amerasians finally leave for new life in US

ANGELES CITY — As Americans prepare to observe Independence Day tomorrow, five Amerasians finally flew to the United States yesterday to find greener pastures and to assert the right of Amerasians to recognition by the US government.

"For the first time in their lives, five adult Amerasians will have the opportunity to celebrate the 4th of July in the land where they were supposed to have been a long time ago," said the Philippine Children’s Fund of America (PCFA), an non-profit agency established by Filipino-Americans soon after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.

The five Amerasians left behind some 56,000 others in the Philippines, most of whom live in areas that had hosted US military bases.

Heather Joy Steinruck, 20, of Angeles City; Talena Cee Ann Puskas, 21, of San Fernando, Pampanga; Christopher Smith, 21, also of Angeles; Sydney Lee Lucas, 21; and Ralph Steven Martin, 21, both of Olongapo City, have one thing in common: their mothers are Filipinos, while their fathers are Americans whom they hardly knew.

Save for Puskas whose American father died when she was only three years old, the rest were abandoned by their fathers when they were much younger.

PCFA helped the five Amerasians comply with all requirements set by the US Embassy, paid for their fare, and will house them for at least six months at its "shelter" in Sacramento, California until they find the means to support themselves.

"More importantly, they have vowed to help fellow Amerasians they left behind in the Philippines who mostly live in poverty," PCFA executive director Eric Gomez told The STAR. They are expected to join lobby groups in the US Congress for the passage of legislation granting Amerasians automatic privilege to go to the US as American citizens.

Gomez described the Amerasians’ departure for the US as a "flight to freedom" to assert the "right" of Amerasians to recognition by the US government.

"We had wanted them to arrive in the US on July 4th, but the only flight available for them was two days earlier," he said.

PCFA estimates that there are about 56,000 Amerasians in the Philippines, all abandoned by their American fathers. About 50 percent of them are in Olongapo City, which used to host the US Subic naval base, while about 30 percent are in the area of Angeles City, which had hosted the former US Clark air force base. The rest are spread in other areas where smaller former US facilities were located.

With a few exceptions, the mothers of these Amerasians had worked in entertainment establishments that catered to the US military. Abandoned by their American husbands or boyfriends, these women were left alone to fend for their Amerasian children.

PCFA noted that various bills have been introduced in the US Congress granting automatic citizenship to half-Americans, particularly in Asia, but none of these laws have been passed.

One such bill was the American Naturalization Act of 2003 which said that "unlike other children born overseas to American fathers, these children (of US military men) - most of whom are now adults - are not given the right of American citizenship. And in their home country they face discrimination and segregation because of their heritage." The bill, however, was never passed.

Second batch

The five Amerasians who left yesterday comprised the second batch assisted by PCFA. The first batch, which left last year, included Kevin Powell, who is now with the US military; Tracy Young, now a PCFA coordinator in Sacramento; Daniel Gardlesen, who was reunited only last week with his Puerto Rican-American father; and Kevin Lee Ramsey, who remains at the PCFA shelter.

"The case of Ramsey, who is only 17 years old, is different as he was found to have some emotional problems," Gomez said.

Ramsey’s mother died only two weeks ago. His sister, who fled to the US on her own six years ago, remains jobless and was last reported to be living on the streets despite having two children born to different fathers in the US, Gomez said.

PCFA administrative chief Roman Goce said one of the missions of his agency is to save Amerasians from such a fate once they reach the US. PCFA, he said, spends not only for processing US embassy requirements and airplane fare, but also provides Amerasians shelter at its Sacramento headquarters for at least six months.

At the shelter, PCFA has a "homebound program" for Amerasians, including free transportation, nursing course scholarships for those able to maintain a minimum grade of 85 percent in their studies, counseling, and other "bonding" activities.

Goce said those who have already gone to the US with the help of PCFA are luckier than a majority of Amerasians in the country.

"They had birth certificates reflecting the paternity of their American fathers and this made it easier for them to get American passports," he said.

He noted that while other Amerasians have birth certificates naming their American fathers, they still find difficulty acquiring US passports because their father’s military records in the Philippines are missing.

"In such cases, our Sacramento base track down records in the US," Goce said, adding that most other Amerasians have no documents at all to establish their American lineage.

Because most of the Amerasians in the Philippines live in poverty, the PCFA — which survives on donations mostly from Filipino-Americans in the US — has been undertaking various projects for them, including about 300 scholarships and livelihood projects.

Formerly known as Philippine Children’s Charity Fund, the PCFA is registered under the state of California and is duly recognized by the US federal government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development as a family and community welfare agency.

"Today, PCFA is seriously addressing the agenda of consolidating and strengthening the Amerasians’ base and has earned small successes which PCFA believes will lead to great victories in the future," Gomez said.