October 4, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 1

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FREE EST. 1974—SEATTLE VOLUME 44, NUMBER 19 — October 4, 2017 – October 18, 2017 THE NEWSPAPER OF THE CHINATOWN INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT & ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITIES OF THE NORTHWEST

Democracy in Action Increasing civic engagement in the AAPI community

The time for action is now | Pages 4–6

2 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 3

COMMUNITY VOICES

The health of our community begins with a vote Pathways to Health

By International Community Health Services Many still need help understanding health insurance. With the Affordable Care Act, more people than ever have the opportunity to access affordable health care. Sadly, many are still not taking full advantage of their entitled health benefits.

“I didn’t even know I could be eligible for health insurance as I’m not a citizen,” said Nina, a young Russian immigrant and mother, who did not wish to share her last name. Nina was recently at the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue asking International Community Health Services’ (ICHS) community advocates about health care and community resources for her family.

According to 2016 data from the National Center for Health Statistics, 25% of Hispanics were uninsured compared to 15% of African-Americans, 8.6% of whites, and 7.5% of Asians. The low reported number of uninsured Asians can be misleading however, because it masks lower enrollment for recent immigrants. A person’s lack of understanding can be costly.

“Many people end up filing for bankruptcy because they lack medical insurance,” said Aleksandra Posekova, ICHS community advocate. “Unfortunately, many immigrants find health insurance complicated and confusing. Deductibles, co-payments, and out-ofpocket maximums are difficult concepts even for those who work in health care. It is understandable they are overwhelming for people new to the marketplace.”

The underlying issue is one of health literacy—the capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions. Enrollment in a health insurance plan, particularly a government-funded or subsidized plan, is already complex and only made more so through differences in language and culture. An estimated 80 million people in the United States are impacted by a lack of health literacy that results in a lower level of care.

“People get stressed choosing a health insurance plan,” said Posekova. “They have no confidence in their ability to make such an important decision for themselves and their families.”

“We really had no idea on how to go about doing this,” Nina said, shaking her head. “If

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Established in 1974, the International Examiner is the only non-profit pan-Asian and Pacific Islander American media organization in the country. Named after the International District in Seattle, the “IE” strives to create awareness within and for our APA communities. 409 Maynard Ave. S. #203, Seattle, WA 98104. (206) 624-3925. iexaminer@iexaminer.org.

ICHS community advocate Aleksandra Posekova helps connect the community to resources and answers at Bellevue Crossroads Mall. • Photo by Michael B. Maine

Aleksandra hadn’t worked with us, we may have never gotten around to it.”

Nina underscores what Posekova and her colleagues at ICHS ultimately seek to stave off—those who choose to avoid enrollment altogether because of a lack of health literacy.

Such failures represent potential losses in individual and community health, as well as ultimately undermine the insurance marketplace.

Fortunately, trained, in-person ICHS navigators work in clinics and out in the community to provide in-language, culturallyattuned assistance, and education. They help recent immigrants and others determine eligibility, sift through the choices to compare plans, and complete paperwork and enrollment. They try to make an intimidating, multistep process less scary.

“I understand how difficult the process is for people and have even seen the same family up to three times before they have the confidence to select a plan,” said Posekova.

“They often ask the same questions and I tell them that they are not alone and most people

IE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ron Chew, President Gary Iwamoto, Secretary Arlene Oki, At-Large Jordan Wong, At-Large Edgar Batayola, At-Large Lexie Rodriguez, At-Large Peggy Lynch, At-Large Nam Le, At-Large COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER Lexi Potter lexi@iexaminer.org

BUSINESS MANAGER Ellen Suzuki finance@iexaminer.org

CVA COORDINATOR Ngoc Dinh cva@iexaminer.org

have similar questions and concerns. It’s great that we have so many navigators speaking Cantonese, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Punjabi, and Somali.

It’s much easier to understand in your own language.”

“As soon as we got our social security numbers and work authorization cards we enrolled into health insurance plans,” smiles Nina. “Now, I am working in a daycare and my husband will soon start work. I am so grateful for this help from ICHS.” November 1 is the start of the fifth open enrollment season—the period under which qualified applicants can sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act— ending on December 15.

“This year, the open enrollment period is only six weeks long, instead of 12 weeks. We are strongly encouraging people to start earlier than in past years,” said Posekova. “Qualified health plan enrollees will automatically be enrolled in a plan that is most similar to past enrollment. However, plans have changed and all people are encouraged to shop for the

EDITOR IN CHIEF Travis Quezon editor@iexaminer.org

ASSISTANT EDITOR Chetanya Robinson news@iexaminer.org

ARTS EDITOR Alan Chong Lau arts@iexaminer.org

CONTRIBUTORS ICHS APACEVotes Leilani Leech David Chesanow Jacqueline Wu Brenda Neth Robert Hirschfield FANHS

Hazel Lozano Maisy Chan Roxanne Ray Susan Kunimatsu Yayoi Winfrey DISTRIBUTORS Joshua Kelso Makayla Dorn Maryross Olanday Antonia Dorn Kristen Navaluna Kat Punzalan Eli Savitt Stephany Hernandez Vincent Dy Raleigh Haavig FELLOWSHIP STAFF Bif Brigman Mitsue Cook

plan that best fits their health care needs and budget.”

ICHS navigators and in-person assisters are available to help community members at each of ICHS’ clinic locations. For more information, call ICHS at (206) 788-3700.

About ICHS Founded in 1973, ICHS is a non-profit community health center offering affordable primary medical, vision and dental care, acupuncture, laboratory, pharmacy, behavioral health, WIC and health education services.

ICHS’ four full-service medical and dental clinics—located in Seattle’s International District and Holly Park neighborhoods; and in the cities of Bellevue and Shoreline— serve nearly 29,000 patients each year. As the only community health center in Washington primarily serving Asians and Pacific Islanders, ICHS provides care in over 50 languages and dialects annually. ICHS is committed to improving the health of medically-underserved communities by providing affordable and inlanguage health care. For more information, please visit: www.ichs.com.

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4 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Four small steps to be more civically engaged By: Derrick De Vera APACEVotes Change the world! Get involved! Let your voice be heard! Whether it is from elected officials, teachers, coworkers, family, and friends, you have probably heard some variation of these calls to action in your life. Chances are you agree with these statements. However, you may say to yourself: “There just is not enough time and energy to go around to make that big of an impact.

As a member of the API community (and many other communities) it is hard to commit to giving back to the community or civically engaging on top of life’s responsibilities.” But, even the smallest steps can make the biggest impact. Here are four simple steps to be more civically engaged in your community. Make them count!

1. Explore—Take a stroll around the neighborhood. Visit local shops and say hello. Take a look at posters or brochures about upcoming activities. Social media is a great way to see what is happening throughout your network. But don’t forget to appreciate what’s going on just a few blocks from your home, work, or school.

2. Attend—Schedule time to attend one local event each month.

Reach out to a friend or two about an upcoming event that interested you (maybe something you saw exploring

Four steps to being civically engaged: Explore, Attend, Connect, and Write. • Photo by David Goehring

the neighborhood). Carve out some time in your evenings or weekend to hear an interesting speaker or maybe some other forum that you would not normally attend. Interact with others that share similar passions or engage with others that have different perspectives.

3. Connect—Reconnect with an old friend and/or introduce yourself to a stranger. A quick coffee meeting or even a quick walk is a great way to catch up or learn about someone new. Hearing about new developments in their lives or their opinions on fascinating topics may motivate you to seek out other opportunities. You are

not alone in wanting to share thoughts and ideas about issues that affect your communities. Take the jump to contact others and keep at it even if schedules do not easily work out.

4. Write—Write down your thoughts on a given issue. Was there something you heard on your commute to work or at dinner that got you thinking? Jot down some of your initial feelings.

And DON’T post it on social media immediately. Give yourself some time, maybe research the issue or share your views with someone close to you. Have some dialogue about it. Writing is a great way to process—but as fast-paced as life is—writing should be a patient journey and one of many tactics to mold your perspective. Eventually, you may want to write a Letter-to-the-Editor or blog or seek out other publication platforms.

There are definitely more than four ways to be more civically engaged.

Voting and volunteering are common calls to action that people associate with civic engagement. But you would be surprised with how much you can do by simply taking a look around, showing up, and communicating with others. Fostering a more active and civically engaged API community does not happen overnight. It starts with one small step. Take the leap!

Derrick De Vera is an APACEVotes Boardmember/Vice-President.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 5

We must continue to encourage AAPIs to run for office

By Bryan Yambe APACEVotes Recently, Michigan state Representative Stephanie Chang brought her two-year-old daughter to a public forum regarding land use and was chastised for taking her child to “a meeting for adults.”

It’s worth pointing out, Representative Chang is the first Asian American and Pacific Islander to serve in the Michigan State Legislature. While, being first is significant and by no means a small achievement, what’s often overlooked is the challenges and obstacles one must overcome with such responsibility.

Ms. Chang handled the situation deftly with thoughtfulness and grace, issuing a statement to the Detroit Metro Times. The statement was published in an article entitled, “A Michigan state rep dared to bring her daughter to a public meeting and some dude is pissed,” and posted by Alysa ZavalaOffman on September 27, 2017. The statement read: “As a working momlegislator, I truly appreciate the many community meetings I attend that are accessible and friendly to all, including working parents and children, seniors, and students. I also appreciate the many individuals who welcome my daughter’s presence at discussions about issues that will affect the lives of District 6 residents—including her own. It is literally her future that I am fighting for in the Legislature. Having children at community meetings can serve to remind participants to consider an issue’s impact on families and as an opportunity for children to learn about the importance of civic engagement.”

While it’s undoubtedly a small minority of the present attendees that feels such a way, it’s a stark reminder of the challenges and obstacles not only Asian American and Pacific Islander women face, but all working moms across the board face even today.

If it weren’t for my own working mom taking me to public meetings— whether it be to the city Diversity Commission where they were talking about how to propose initiatives to make the city I was being raised a more equitable and accepting of diverse communities, or the board room where they were arguing educational policies—I might not have even noticed or developed a curiosity about what was going on and, later, a desire to participate.

Likewise, it was hearing stories from my mother, newspapers, and other media as I grew older of local AAPI leaders like Uncle Bob Santos, Auntie Ruth Woo, Uncle Al Sugiyama, Auntie Dolores Sibonga, leaders

First “lobby day” in Olympia, 1999. Once a year a number of Asian Pacific American groups join together at the state capital to meet with legislators and call attention to issues of concern. • Photo by Dean Wong

like Wing Luke, Ruby Chow, and many more who inspired me by their example. They showed the kid I was at the time that even those with “funny last names” who looked like me that we could be leaders and champions to our communities, too.

Those reallife examples gave a young person like myself accessible models of community leaders I might aspire to be. My personal reward Rep. Stephanie Chang was that some State (D-Detroit) of these same childhood heroes would one day become my mentors, champions, and dear friends. If it weren’t for them, I possibly would not be here, serving as one of the youngest AAPI’s to ever serve in public office in Washington state.

Despite being over half the population, women are disproportionately represented in government. In 2017, women comprised 20% of Congress, and 24.8% in state legislatures across the country. Asian American and Pacific Islanders are the fastest grow-

ing population comparatively to other ethnic groups, according to the 2012 Census. Asian American and Pacific Islander women comprise only 2% of Congress and 2% of state legislatures, according to data collected by the Congressional Research Service and National Conference of State Legislatures.

Any candidates for public office are already scrutinized today. However, female candidates often face additional scrutiny, and women of color face even more. They face a litany of questions depending on age, marital status, or other questions that their male counterparts rarely are asked. Whether it be physical appearance, or choice of dress, or criticism for showing any kind of emotion. No, it’s not new, but blatantly unfair, wrong, and does tremendous harm deterring many from even considering running in the first place.

Our government works best when all of us feel heard and have representation at the table. Public trust and faith in our ability to solve problems is directly related to representation. It’s on each of us to encourage, mentor, and provide support to young people especially AAPI women and working moms to run for office and or serve on boards and commissions. As we endeavor to do more with voting rights, where we are fighting to making it easier and less troublesome for people to register to vote, not more difficult, we should do the same to encourage quality AAPI women candidates to continue to run for public office.

In the four years that I’ve had the privilege to serve in office, I have and continue to speak at workshops and candidate trainings encouraging AAPI women, young people, LGBTQs, and others to run for public office. I’ve also helped and encouraged several There are many training programs AAPIs to run for office and provided for women interested in running for mentorship after they’ve been elected.

I promise to do what I can to conoffice that exist at the local, state, and federal level. From the National Wom- tinue this effort. What are you ready en’s Political Caucus of WA, VoteRun- to do?

Lead, and Emily’s List to trainings esDeputy Mayor Bryan Yambe was pecially tailored to APIA candidates elected to Fife City Council and beby the Asian Pacific Islander Ameri- gan his term in November of 2013 to can Institute for Congressional Stud- finish the term of a Council vacancy. ies.

6 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

The right to vote: If not you, then who?

By Janet Chung APACEVotes I remember when I first found out that my parents were not registered to vote.

It was the mid-’80s, and at the time, my job was with a program in D.C. whose mission was to inspire and educate young people to participate as informed citizens in our democracy. Thus, I was appalled that in my very own family were people who were not exercising this cherished right—the right to vote—that people had died to obtain and protect.

My parents immigrated to the United States from Korea in the 1960s. With childhoods spent experiencing Japanese occupation and World War II, and then as teenagers, thrust into civil war, they had not seen much stability in government, nor been exposed to the workings of a functioning democracy. They had come to the United States seeking a better future. Didn’t they feel inspired to be part of a citizenry that held the power to elect its own representatives to a democratic government?

By contrast, I, as a U.S.-born citizen and product of public schools, had been indoctrinated to the virtues of patriotism, American-style, my whole life. I remember learning the words to “This Land Is My Land” in nursery school. I remember traveling to D.C. with other students and the thrill of seeing our nation’s capital for the first time. I remember being selected to participate in a program called Girls’ State, a summer program where high school juniors elect each other to serve in a mock legislature, pass bills, and undertake other mock government functions.

time (yes, I was a civics nerd). But I learned about citizen power, and how the democratic system—in an ideal world— was supposed to work. And what I saw of my parents’ experience was that they had access to the American Dream and experienced economic success after coming here. So, in my view, they had the obligation as naturalized citizens to contribute to their adopted country, not just by paying taxes, but by exercising their hard-won right to vote.

that immigrants to the United States may have about politics. Many came from countries colonized by others, ruled by authoritarian or military regimes, or with corrupt governments that are democratic in name only. Like my parents, these immigrants may want nothing to do with politics, as they have seen only its failure to provide what people need. And for those in the United States, this past presidential election cycle has certainly given reason for disillusionment in Indeed, some countries, such as politics, even for the most idealistic of us.

Australia, have compulsory voting; But it is also in times like these when eligible citizens are required to register the right to vote becomes even more and to vote. In the United States, that of an imperative. Elected officials are is not the case. Rather, despite its lofty passing laws restricting immigrants from ideals, the United States has a shameful entering the United States and accessing past of enacting laws that have the effect that cherished American Dream. They of restricting who can vote. Prior to the are backing inhumane treatment of Voting Rights Act of 1965, many states people in immigration detention centers. imposed poll taxes, or required literacy They are threatening global security by tests, or created other barriers to keep approaching international diplomacy specific groups of people from voting. It with jingoism and belligerence. And was only after years of campaigning that legislatures are still passing laws the 19th Amendment to the Constitution restricting access to the voting booth. was ratified, allowing women the right to The decisionmakers in those situations vote. are, for the most part, representatives of Back in my early days as a young civics educator, I didn’t know much about politics—certainly not enough to be cynical. Now, as a lawyer, I see all too well the ways in which our democratic ideals fall short. Yet I still believe strongly in the rule of law—the idea that we are governed by laws, not by people.

And I also understand that those laws are created by people, and it is our system of representative democracy that creates the mechanism for the expression of the will of the people in the law.

the people, directly elected by the people.

This means that the power to change those decisions rests in the people who vote.

For those who wonder how one vote could matter, note that U.S. Senator Al Franken won his seat by a mere 312 votes.

Closer to home, Governor Chris Gregoire beat her opponent in 2008 by 133 votes, and Seattle City Council member Lisa Herbold won her seat by only 39 votes. So yes, each vote is counted, and sometimes recounted—and each vote counts!

At the same time, I have a greater So as you decide this year, and next It’s true, that may not have been understanding of the nuanced feelings year, and the year after that, whether every high school kid’s idea of a good

you should bother to register to vote and mailing in your ballot, consider the countries from which you or your relatives might have come. Consider the opportunities that exist under the U.S. democratic system. And consider these words by famed civil rights activist and U.S. Congressman John Lewis, who participated in marches in Selma for the Voting Right Act: If not us, then who? If not now, then when?

NEWS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 7

Muslim, Christian, Sikh faith leaders speak in support of DACA recipients The sanctuary church movement began in the 1980s when churches volunteered as places of refuge for Central American migrants fleeing civil war. Immigration officials have generally avoided making arrests or taking other enforcement actions at “sensitive locations” like places of worship or schools.

By Leilani Leech IE Contributor The child was taken by his parents in the middle of the night, fleeing the country and a dangerous political leader. Even before he was born, the family was on the move, denied room at the inn, forced to give birth in a manger.

Faith communities around the country have stepped in to offer a safe place to stay, accompaniment to hearings and other assistance for immigrants.

The story of Jesus echoes in the experiences of young undocumented immigrants, said Pastor Darla DeFrance of the Columbia City Church of Hope, which hosted “No Human Being is Illegal: An Interfaith Response Supporting DACA” on September 24.

“Jesus and his family were on the run for their lives, and they were refugees in Egypt,” she told the group of about 50 attendees from different faiths, gathered in the sanctuary. The church hosted the event with The Church Council of Greater Seattle and Faith Action Network, and featured an imam, a leader of the Sikh community, three pastors, and a former state representative.

DeFrance said that while Jesus’ family was eventually able to return home after the death of King Herod, many immigrants in the United States don’t have a safe place to return to.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program gives twoyear, renewable protection against deportation and work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors. President Barack Obama created the program in 2012, but President Trump announced an end to it last month. Without DACA, about 800,000 U.S. residents brought to the country as minors could face deportation and a lack of legal employment prospects.

For information on becoming a sanctuary space, faith communities can contact Michael Ramos and The Church Council of Greater Seattle at mramos@ thechurchcouncil.org.

Dr. Jasmit Singh speaks at No Human Being is Illegal on September 24, 2017. • Photo by Leilani Leech

chased relentlessly feels further away.

How am I supposed to get loans for optometry school if I lose my social security number? How am I supposed to work and earn money to help my family pay for that goal in which they worked so hard to put me where I am?”

Sam wrote. “[DACA recipients] have been trying for years to live with the situations we were placed in as children without any knowledge of what a visa is, much less the control of moving to a new country.”

Responding to those who liken rescinding DACA to punishing children for the sins of their parents, Agtarap said the United States has helped to create the situations people are fleeing: “Perhaps we were the ones who have sinned.”

“We have lived outside of our means, we have taken what is not ours, we have let companies in our name give us cheap products and gone into other countries and taken their land,” Agtarap said.

Ways to take action:

1. Write letters or start petitions for Purple Heart. He spoke of his patriotic and religious duty to stand up for justice, institutions. For example: restaurants, and to protect immigrant families from hotels, construction companies, tech companies, colleges, nursing homes, separation and deportation. etc. who have employees with DACA or Shabazz referenced the Bible’s story undocumented work-ers. Ask businesses of the Good Samaritan, and quoted to commit to not reporting their the Quran’s command to “do good to employees and not cooperating with kinfolk, orphans, the poor, the neighbor ICE agents. who is near of kin, the neighbor who is 2. Join The Church Council’s network a stranger.” of sanctuary congregations. These Protecting DACA is in line with communities commit to shelter-ing America’s “beautiful bipartisan tradipeople who are undocumented from ICE tion,” he said, and asked event attendees agents. to call their representatives and voice 3. Join the Washington Immigrant support for the program.

Solidarity Network.

“The time for silence and ambiguity is 4. Call your friends and relatives over,” Shabazz said. who live in districts with conservative Reverend John Stean of Ebenezer members of Congress. Remember that AME Zion Church in the Central you love them and that we all want our District spoke of his church’s history of country to thrive. Explain the situation civil rights action. that Dreamers are facing, and ask them “We refuse to stand by silently as to call on their lawmakers to pass the God’s children have their lives torn DREAM Act, which would protect apart,” he said.

DACA recipients and provide them with Stean emphasized the need to take a path to citizenship. real action. “We intend to do justice, 5. Register to vote. Get out to vote. not just to tweet it, post it, or put it on Support lawmakers who will work with us a sign in our yard but to live it with to build a more just society. our expenditures of time and energy, resources and risk,” he said.

Reverend Shalom Agtarap of the Cautioning against the arguments Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church shared the of “political pundits,” she said there stories of two local DACA recipients, shouldn’t be a debate focused on how deserving DACA recipients were or reading statements they provided. contrasting them against other types of Sam came to the United States at age undocumented immigrants: “We believe 9 and is now studying to become an in an all-loving ... God who doesn’t need Dr. Jasmit Singh of The Sikh Coalition optometrist. that distinction.” also urged against inaction and silence.

“I’ve been chasing the same dream Imam Benjamin Shabazz of Al-Islam “We will have to answer to our kids, my 6th grade self dreamt of when I Center of Seattle is a U.S. Army veteran got my first pair of glasses. ... With who served in Vietnam, receiving a our grandkids, on how we refused to take action,” Singh said. the rescinding of DACA, that goal I’ve From the Bellingham Sikh riots of 1907 to Japanese incarceration, the tendency to “otherize people is nothing new,” Singh said. But Sikh teachings say “we’re all children of the same light,” he said.

Former state representative Velma Veloria offered suggestions for taking action, such as writing letters to businesses employing immigrants or joining the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network.

Veloria represented South Seattle’s 11th District for 12 years. She noted that one in five King County residents are foreign-born, according to the 2014 census—but few vote.

Reverend Shalom Agtarap of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. • Photo by Leilani Leech

“We can make or break an election with our vote,” Veloria said.

Former state Rep. Velma Veloria • Photo by Leilani Leech

8 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

NEWS

Concerns over 14-story development project erupt at community meeting

By Jacqueline Wu IE Contributor On September 21, developers of a proposed project on 8th and Lane Street hosted a community meeting at the Chinatown Community Center to present the project to the community and answer questions. The meeting was announced less than 48 hours in advance.

People at the meeting raised concerns about traffic congestion and diminishing supply of parking in the area. The location at 8th and Lane will impact three social service organizations. One is Legacy House, an assisted-living service for Asian and Pacific Islander elderly, most of who are limited-English proficient. Another is the Denise Louie Education Center, which offers child care and early education services to lowincome immigrant and refugee families.

Third is the International Community Health Services (ICHS), which provides culturally and linguistically appropriate health services.

developers and Seattle Department of Transportation. But many in the community meeting are concerned about the increase in traffic and its threat to public safety in an area that services children and elders.

At the meeting, an elder asked people in the room to raise their hands if they live in Chinatown. The question raised the issue of who owns Chinatown, in particular of the youth who may not be able to afford living in Chinatown, but return for there community. While an argument broke out, many sulked to the back to grab humbows and water provided, before leaving.

The proposed project is a 15-story mixed-use development comprising a hotel and apartments. The bottom seven levels will be reserved for the hotel, while the rest of the units will be apartments— in total, 256 units. None of the proposed The meeting highlighted divisions apartment units will be affordable An ongoing traffic congestion study within the Chinatown International according to the City’s standards. is being conducted for the area between District. Some community members

saw the development as a benefit to the neighborhood in attracting additional commerce and business for the area.

However, others feared that the cost of attracting new business will be diminishing housing affordability for low-income families and elders on a fixed income, who depend on the local social services and community that Chinatown provides.

Seattle’s Chinatown-International District is not the only one facing gentrification and displacement. Chinatowns throughout the United States are being sought after by developers. The developer of the hotel-apartment complex on 8th and Lane will likely not be the last to move into the area.

Activists call for public comment to oppose fence on Tule Lake incarceration camp

By Chetanya Robinson IE Assistant Editor

In a comment on a Change.org petition, Takei wrote:

Activists and Japanese Americans around the country are fighting to stop a planned 3-mile barbed wire fence encircling an airport that sits on the site of Tule Lake Camp north of Sacramento. The Tule Lake Committee, which is is leading the opposition to the fence, is calling on people to submit public comment on the proposal by October 10.

“When I was but a small child, my family and I were forced at gunpoint from our home in Los Angeles and spent years in two internment camps, first in the swamplands of Arkansas, and then at Tule Lake. I have spent my life ensuring that we never forget, and never repeat, these mistakes of the past.

This fence would prevent any visitors to the grounds of the former internment camp, include the infamous stockade. It would be a body blow to our efforts to keep this critical piece of American history, however blighted, from fading from our collective memory.”

A local airport covers two-thirds of the camp and most of the barracks where prisoners lived. The Tule Lake Committee, which organizes pilgrimages to the site, is concerned that a fence around the airport would harm a significant civil rights monument, and block off access to the places most meaningful for visitors.

The airport operator argues that the fence is needed to keep wildlife out, which are a potential safety concern—though he told the Sacramento Bee that no animals have gotten in the way of the airport yet.

Over 20,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated at Tule Lake camp, which operated between 1942 and 1946 and sits in the desert about five hours north of Sacramento. Of the 10 concentration camps in the

View of the Tule Lake concentration camp barracks • Courtesy of Densho, the Bain Collection

The Modoc County Road Commissioner is accepting public comment on the proposed fence until October 10. The Tule Lake committee is asking people to send letters to save the site, addressed to:

a site that is for remembrance….With the Mr. Mitch Crosby fence, we will be shut out from where our Modoc County Road Commissioner families lived and permanently reminded of 202 West 4th St., the racism and hostility that put us there in Alturas, CA 96101 Barbara Takei, whose mother was incar- the first place.”

Public comments can also be emailed to Star Trek actor George Takei grew up in cerated there, is CFO of the Tule Lake Committee. As she told the Sacramento Bee: Tule Lake camp when his family was incar- mitchcrosby@co.modoc.ca.us. The Tule “The fence is a desecration of a site we feel cerated there. Takei joined activists in op- Lake Committee requests that people CC savetulelake@gmail.com in emails. is spiritual, a site where people go to mourn, posing the fence.

United States, Tule Lake was particularly repressive; it was the only maximum security camp, and for a time prisoners lived under harsh martial law.

Men at Tule Lake camp in 1942. Photo caption from the U.S. National archives reads: “Tule Lake Relocation Center, Newell, California. A line up of evacuee workers waiting for their identification tags which are to be used in conjuction with the first pay day at this War Relocation Authority Center” • Photo by Francis Stewart, War Relocation Authority photographer. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

COMMUNITY

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 9

Celebrating the power of bilingualism with OneAmerica

By Brenda Neth IE Contributor “What makes us American is not a question of what we look like, or where our names come from, or the way we pray. What makes us American is our fidelity to a set of ideals—that all of us are created equal; that all of us deserve the chance to make of our lives what we will; that all of us share an obligation to stand up, speak out, and secure our most cherished values for the next generation. That’s how America has traveled this far. That’s how, if we keep at it, we will ultimately reach that more perfect union”

Raza, as well as dancing and poetry from West African drummer and singer Sumayya Diop. Pamela Clelalakam, who is Coastal Salish, asked for healing for all present and urged listeners not to give into the “melting pot” philosophy, but to cherish their own separate cultures and identities.

and Renton. 125,000 students attend schools words, and then repeat back in their own native languages. Quintero of OneAmin this region.

The Road Map Project aims to equip erica said Cronin’s work is just one of the 70 percent of these students with college many schools of thought in reaching the dior career credentials by 2030. Norouzi ex- versity of students who are English language plained that students test within four areas learners.

in their home language: speaking, writing, listening and reading. Those who meet criteria within the four categories receive four credits, called the World Language Credit, toward graduation as well as a Seal of Biliteracy on their school transcript.

When they apply for colleges, their record indicates the value, ability, and importance of bilingualism to the two and four year colleges they’re applying to. The English For her, the campaign is “a way to hold a Language Learners (ELL) work commitreclaiming of culture and language in our tee spearheaded both the World Language community. We should be supported to Credit and Seal of Biliteracy programs.

The celebration also acknowledged the keep our culture so that it should be valfirst dictionary for the Salish language in ued.”

Bernie Koontz, director of the English Montana, produced by Tachini Pete. At Language Learners work group, said that present, there are only 40 speakers of this to bring forward the power of bilingual- language. Pete is also co-founder of Nkism, people need to acknowledge race. wusm. a Salish Language Revitalization Koontz is also a member of the Steering Institute in Montana.

Roxana Norouzi,deputy director of OneAmerica, emphasized that the purpose of the campaign was to build a holistic approach toward changing the narrative surrounding bilingualism. She said community members, leaders, and educators have helped uplift the image of those who are bilingual. Through these efforts, she said, —Former President Barack Obama there is movement away from assimilation.

People packed the Southside Commons in Columbia City in August to see the unveiling of the second phase of OneAmerica’s Speak your Language Campaign. Anabel Quintero, OneAmerica Education Manager, explained that the campaign began in 2014 with parent ambassadors helping promote bilingualism in schools. Phase two of the campaign includes a website for teachers, parents, and students engaged in embracing home languages. Another recent victory was the passing of a dual language bill HB 1445, in the state legislature this past May, and the nationwide World Language Credit and Seal of Biliteracy, now available in 39 states for high school seniors.

Committee on The Road Map Project, which is part of a collective involving education, leadership, community, and legislative efforts. OneAmerica staffs the English Language Learners Committee within this project. Koontz and others have rallied to The evening celebration included sing- close the opportunity gap within the Road ing from the Jose Marti Child Development Map Region, which includes Federal Way, Dual Language Program from Centra De La Auburn, Seattle, Tukwila, Highline, Kent,

Lastly, Dr. LaWanda Smith, Executive Director of the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD), spoke in support of OneAmerica’s endeavors. The PSESD, which helps stream funds into the Road Map Project, is one of the funders which received a grant from Race to the Top. This is a $4.35 Billion United States Department of Education competitive grant that awards innovative and much needed reform funding to state and local K-12 school districts.

CCER, the Community Center for Education Results, is the non-profit agency that provides staffing, communication, and data support for the Road Map Project.

At the end of the even, everyone who was willing to participate in publicizing and helping increase the positive impacts of bilingualism was asked to step to the front of the room. The front of the room At the celebration, Sharon Cronin of- filled with people. fered people the opportunity to identify “A movement is not a flash of light, it is yucca, ginger root, and plantain within a flame, a torch passed from one generatheir own language. Cronin was dem- tion to the next and every so often we are onstrating the Total Physical Response blessed with moments-where the smolmethodology used for English Language der transforms to blaze again and we are Learners. She would repeat back in her forced to race down the path of progress.” own indigenous Mexican language the Written by Mayda deValle for the “Our three plants, then ask others to repeat the Moment” video airing on You-Tube.

Advocacy Journalism Fellowship Program (AJFP) now accepting applications IE News Services

in mass communication, the Fellows will Researching needs, challenges and be responsible for making calls, developing community members’ perspectives Advocacy Journalism Fellowship Pro- strategies, and cultivating client relationships Assisting in brainstorming and story gram (AJFP) is a joint collaboration between in a unique work environment with creative planning the International Examiner (IE) and the professionals in journalism.

Asian Pacific Islander Community LeaderDeveloping Social Networks ship Foundation (ACLF), funded in part by QUALIFICATIONS: Establishing bonds with underrepresentSeattle Foundation’s VDI-Engagement PipeHighly motivated, organized, and high- ed communities line grant.

Promoting a better understanding about Each year beginning in 2017, four Fellows ly skilled in communication will receive seven months of training and be assigned to one of four community groups identified as being underrepresented within the larger Asian Pacific Islander American community. Fellows will learn about the communities’ histories, relationships, and evolving struggles with the purpose of empowering those communities to mobilize, and to provide them with an appropriate platform to make their voices heard. Each Fellow working with the underrepresented communities will have pages in the print edition of the International Examiner and web pages dedicated to community voices, issues, news coverage, and culture.

Strong analytical and quantitative and among our diverse Asian Pacific Amerabilities with excellent written and verbal ican communities communications Our internships offer you the opportuHigh proficiency in Microsoft Word nity to: and Excel with a general understanding of Explore Career Opportunities—by workwriting techniques ing in the fast paced world of community

The four communities for 2017/2018 are as follows:

FELLOWS WILL LEARN AND BE EXPOSED TO:

• Cambodian • Pakistani • Samoan • Thai

Good ability to participate within a journalism, you can receive an inside look multi-disciplinary team and to act autono- at a potential career path mously as appropriate Network—meet a variety of people in your chosen profession through your FelSCHEDULE and COMPENSATION: lowship, allowing you to form relationships you can build on in the future 10 hours per week (5 in office) $250 per month

Understanding the intricacies of producing a bi-monthly publication Real world knowledge of working with underrepresented communities

Find Mentors—certain individuals can help guide you through your Fellowship and expose you to opportunities to which you can aspire

Questions: Bif Brigman

Fellowship Program Manager 1-206-538The Fellows in this position need to be able 3098 or Bif@IExaminer.org Hands on strategizing and planning to work with many different kinds of people Mitsue Cook and be able to adapt to a multitude of situParticipating in regular staff meetings Outreach Coordinator 1-206-890-3020 or ations. From writing opinion pieces, to en- and trainings gaging and interviewing a diverse array of Mitsue@IExaminer.org community members to developing skills To apply, visit http://www.iexaminer.org/ RESPONSIBILITIES: ajfp.

10 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

COMMUNITY

Port of Seattle’s Lindsay Pulsifer is a Northwest pioneer

By Mitsue Cook IE Contributor

Maritime Division two years ago.

On August 4, the online issue of the Port of Seattle’s Connections newspaper announced: “The Port of Seattle is now recruiting for the next Maritime Division Managing Director.”

Lindsay Pulsifer is retiring after more than 30 years in the non-traditional field of Marine Maintenance. She is currently the Director of Marine Maintenance at the Port of Seattle.

“The person who follows her will direct the strategic and daily operations of the Port’s cruise operations, commercial and industrial fishing and work vessel mooring operations, a grain terminal, marine maintenance, recreational boating and storm water utility,” the announcement read.

Living her dreams and riding the economic booms and busts of Seattle, Lindsay Pulsifer is a woman of action who knows what her future is. She is the ultimate professional.

Long an advocate of women in the trades, Lindsay was among the first speakers in the Women in the Trades program in the 1970’s and Women in the Trades at Renton Vocational Technical School.

What follows is an interview with Lindsay Pulsifer, one of the first women in the trades in the City of Seattle. She is a modern pioneer woman who will bring many young people—including men and women of color—into the trades.

Mitsue Cook: To what do you attribute your success? Did you have a mentor?

Lindsay Pulsifer: I have been lucky, but I realize that the harder I worked, the luckier I got. I have worked hard, used my resources and been creative in going after what I wanted or cared about. I have been respectful in my interactions, but have not backed down from fights.

We all need mentors! I have had wonderful, generous people all through my career. They have helped me hone my skills, find my way, and imagine a future.

Career-wise, it has been everything from constant battling to relative comfort. As the first woman in my trade, I had to put up with a lot of BS, but I also found some kindness and mechanical skills, working with community activists to spread information, etc.

In addition, my career has been unexpected. I would not, in my youth, have expected to have the job I have or to be at the level in an organization that I am. I was a worker, but I was always looking for a challenge. When I got bored, I would always find something to do, changing jobs every three or four years. As it turned out, once I came to the Port, each time I got bored, there was a challenge that led me up the organization.

MC: What is the approximate composition of the port’s staff?

LP: About half the Port is represented

Lindsay Pulsifer

by unions. 88 are members of the fire department, 150 police (airport mostly) About 500 are skilled trade personnel.

100 are in information and technical department; they bring in the computer “tools.” They are the security for all technology tools to drive what we’re doing (automated billing for vessels, recreational, fishing commercial, barges, etc.)

you are looking for a job, (I have hired MC: What will you do after you people who have impressed me just by bothering to tell me they wanted to work officially retire? at the Port.)

LP: I believe in paying forward Port of Seattle, specifically, offers regarding helping and developing people. annual high school and college I am an active coach and mentor to my internships and seeks to make interns employees and to others inside and aware of the variety of jobs available outside the organization. here. The Port also works with the I have always wanted to diversify the Seattle Youth Employment Program to working force for women and people set up internships in the maintenance of color. So, for many years, I have shop. volunteered to bring young people of MC: What are the career paths in different races into the marine industry. maintenance and where do people go I was among the first speakers for the to gain access in a systematic way?

Non-Traditional Employment “Women LP: Career paths in maintenance in the Trades.” I also attended the Women in the Trades Fairs. 21 or 22 years ago, include Automotive, Carpenter (general three women formed the CWest—Career and marine), Electric, Equipment Work Exploration in the Skilled Trades. Operator, Laborer (general, landscape, custodial), Painter, Plumber, Millwright We built the curriculum with the (welder), Sign Writer, Sprinkler Department of Education and the Rainer Fitter (fire protection), and Teamster Beach High School staff. They were in the (truck driver). Hiring for union jobs most poverty-stricken neighborhoods. is generally through the union halls.

We had marine high school interns for Get affiliated and start the process of 12 unions, 150 workers in the field and gaining skills through apprenticeship. mentors for the high schoolers, who were Your trade work can lead to paid to work with the mentors. 16-18 management positions, project year olds could participate using DOE management and other types of related for labor and industry. Now, we need work. to reach junior high with the trade type MC: Which institutions in Seattle of curriculum. I would like to do some or elsewhere would you recommend outreach work to schools.

MC: What is your philosophy and for marine work?

MC: How does the port intend to address the projected shortage of skilled labor? practice on the job?

LP: The Port has a goal to hire 150 high LP: Rules and admonishments: school and college interns each year. We • Follow the rules and regulations have slots throughout the organization, including in the trade shops.. College • Manage by the contracts interns worked in the administration.

• Be fair Marine Maintenance has had a program • Use your resources for high school interns to work in the trades for over 20 years. Many • Be willing to take an opportunity graduates are now journeymen in their • Share what you know chosen crafts. We need to help schools and students recognize the availability • Always leave the campsite in better of these family wage jobs. That is the shape than you found it business.

• Don’t ever wish harder than you work MC: Being a woman, how did you MC: A port of seattle flyer states that get to this position of director of there will be 100,000 new jobs at the maintenance?

Port of Seattle. Can you advise youth LP: As a child, I always loved big and others as to how to enter the work machines. In the 1970s, I was an owner world of the Port of Seattle specifically of an auto shop. I was also an instructor the trades or maintenance? at the YWCA where I taught basic LP: An important correction here— maintenance. the 100,000 jobs will be created, When there was a construction slump, stimulated, or induced in the entire I applied for a job as a Heavy-Duty region by Port activities. The Port is an Mechanic, an Apprentice with the Local organization that directly employs only Union 302. I was the first woman to about 2,000 people. complete the mechanic apprenticeship.

That said, the Port is vitally concerned In the mid ’80s, when construction with the industries we support and are slowed and I was laid off, I went to the engaged with and we hope to aid in the union hall and saw a posting for a Union drive to assure that there are qualified Container Crane Mechanic. I came to workers available to fill positions. the Port to work on container cranes. Trade and Maintenance—common You’ve seen those huge white or orange entry is through pre-apprenticeship and cranes that handle containers. They look apprenticeship. Some of the trades allow like Star Wars creatures at the docks. entry of individuals who have acquired I became a Foreman and then moved skills from non-union contractors (I from my union job to management. I do not have info about how non-union had several jobs at Marine Maintenance employers find their workers). and then became the Director of Marine Attend job or trade fairs. Discover Maintenance where I was for 17 years. what you are interested in and pursue I became Managing Director of the it doggedly! Reach out and tell people

LP: In Seattle, some of the points of entry are Seattle Colleges Voc/Tech programs, Renton Voc Tech, ANEW, SOIC, direct engagement with unions representing given crafts. I think that a lot of community groups are working to find and offer information about this for young people. High School Career Centers may have information.

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INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 11

Sadhana: Hindu Progressives in Action

By Robert Hirschfield IE Contributor

geted?” Very legitimate questions. For a brown-skinned community, making a decision to become a Sanctuary temple is very brave. It’s like saying, ‘Hello, come and get us!’ I would say around 40% of the devotees at Shanti Bhavan are undocumented.”

NEW YORK—On the first Saturday of almost every month Hindus from New York’s temples, organized by Sadhana, scour the waters and beaches of Jamaica Bay, by JFK Airport, with garbage bags and metal pickers, picking up cigarette butts, saris, bottles, bamboo staves and murtis (statues) of Shiva, Ganesh, and Hanuman offered unwittingly as polluting gifts to the bay, where worshippers, far from India, do their puja.

Like Savitri, they are mainly Guyanese.

Sanctuaries in communities like Shanti Bhavan have a built-in existential edge that puts them in the front row of deportation’s shadow.

Apart from extending solidarity, Sadhana has been able to assist those eligible for citizenship, but not quite sure how to go about obtaining it, and afraid to ask strangers. It offers itself as a bridge to the intimidating world of lawyers, social service providers.

Aminta Kilawan, Sadhana’s point person for the monthly cleanups called Project Prithvi (mother earth in Sanskrit), believes that the spiritual makeup of the Hindu community makes organizing for environmental justice less arduous than one might expect.

The Trump presidency has magnified the need for radical groups in émigré communities. Viswanath attributes Sadhana’s growth to his electoral victory. The group has members now in the Midwest and the west coast, as well as supporters in India.

“The Hindu faith is very much rooted in the elements. There is reverence towards earth and water that motivates people’s desire to get involved in environmental justice activism. Particularly young people. You see a lot of young people at the cleanups.”

Savitri, from the Shanti Bhavan temple in Jamaica, brought her two young children to a recent cleanup. A Hindu from Guyana, she recalls that her fellow Hindus voted Marxist Cheddi Jagan into power in the early 60s when such a thing was unheard of. But she was more concerned that day with keeping her older son from strong-arming a murti of Ganesh from his little sister who fished it out of the water.

“It’s good to get the kids involved, so they have an [understanding] of problems like pollution at an early age,” Savitri said. “For us, coming here is motivated by seva, community service, which is why our temple is also part of the Sanctuary Movement.”

Sunita Viswanath, a feminist originally from Andhra Pradesh, had the idea of organizing a progressive Hindu movement in America. (Sadhana’s been on the scene since 2011. The word refers to Hindu spiritual practice, but in this case towards the goal of social change.) Her activities

Sunita Viswanath, the most recent Jamaica Bay cleanup, is a driving force behind Sadhana’s creation as a progressive Hindu movement in America. • Photo by Robert Hirschfield

have included partnering with the Judson Memorial Church, an interfaith Sanctuary church whose radical roots go back to the time of the anti-Vietnam War movement.

Judson was eager to have Hindu participation.

Its co-founder’s all-inclusive radicalism, with its antipathy towards those who brazenly exploit the land and its inhabitants for the sake of profit, and defame minority religious groups for the sake of power, gives her a lot in common with India’s outspoken activist author, Arundhati Roy. As a child in India, in defiance of her family, she opposed caste. As a young woman in England, she suffered racism.

As a grown woman, she joined Women for Afghan Women, and became a supporter of Palestinian rights.

build a mosque near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan. Hearing Hindu chants from across the road, she took heart, only to discover that the chants were coming from a group of right wing protesters. She adheres to a more inclusive Hinduism that “I have read almost everything and It is still uncommon for Hindu maintains: The world is one family. We agree with almost everything Arundathi organizations to back controversial causes. are all one.

They tend to be politically mainstream, Viswanath went around to many Roy writes. The only thing on which I leaning strongly Democratic in elections, temples floating the idea of Sanctuary in disagree with her is where she says a progressive religious Hinduism is not but solidly supportive of India’s the spirit of dialogue. possible.” nationalist, Hindu First government of “The Sanctuary movement feels too poNarendra Modi. Even before Sadhana, litical for many temples in Trump’s AmerViswanath started Sadhana believing Viswanath, who has been involved in ica. Hindus were reluctant. Shanti Bhavan it is possible. Her voice may be local, social justice causes throughout her was the only temple where the leadership not global, and shaped by a spiritually adult life, has had run-ins with Indian- did not hesitate. There was a desire from grounded worldliness, but it pushes Americans over caste, gender, class and the get-go to participate. It took time of against the status quo in the same Islamophobia. She tells the story of being course to deliberate over the process in- uncompromising way as her counterpart the lone Hindu at an interfaith rally in volved. We had to answer questions like oceans away. It also faces the same kinds 2011, on behalf of Muslims wanting to “What will this mean? Will we be tar- of resistance.

Environmental justice issues, like Roy’s opposition to the Narmada Dam in India, and Viswanath’s focus on the Jamaica Bay cleanups here, may win the support of people whose social consciousness is embedded in a clearly defined good cause.

Defying law enforcement authorities in the defense of undocumented immigrants can be more dicy. And for the Hindu radical, of course, there are many layers of traditional armor to penetrate.

During one cleanup, Rohan Narine, Sadhana’s other founder, and Aminta Kilawan’s husband, was walking along the beach with a sign-up sheet. He came upon a young couple he hadn’t seen before at a cleanup, and said hopefully, “Sadhana does more than just this cleanup. We also focus on caste and gender issues.”

His reply was an uncomfortable silence.

Savitri, from the Shanti Bhavan temple in Jamaica, brought her two young children to a recent cleanup. • Photo by Robert Hirschfield

A girl retrieves a scarf from the beach at the most recent Jamaica Bay cleanup. • Photo by Robert Hirschfield

Rohan Narine, co-founder of Sadhana, at the most recent Jamaica Bay cleanup. • Photo by Robert Hirschfield

12 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

COMMUNITY VOICES

70 Years Since the U.S.-Philippines Military Bases Agreement, FANHS is 35 Filipino American immigration to the United States dates back to 1587 when the Manila galleon Nuestra Señora de Esperanza with seafaring Filipinos landed near Moro Bay California. Fast forward to the signing of the U.S.-Philippines Military Base Agreement and the opportunities it provided for Filipinos to work in military and non-military jobs opened the door for greater immigration to the United States. As of the 2010 census, Filipino Americans number 3.4 million, second to Chinese Americans, and number 91,367 in Washington State.

—Maria Batayola ***

By Dr. Dawn Mabalon FANHS For its 2017 Filipino American History Month theme, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the 1947 Military Bases Agreement between the United States and the Philippines, the monumental effect it had on U.S.-Philippines relations and the larger Pacific Rim, and the profound effect the law had upon the Filipina/o American community nationwide. This year also marks the 35th anniversary of the Filipino American National Historical Society, which preserves and disseminates the history of Filipino Americans.

The Agreement provided for continuation of the imperial relationship between the United States and the Philippines, and the proud service and settlement of thousands of Filipinos who were enlisted in the U.S. military, particularly U.S. Navy sailors, and their families across the United States in the post-World War II period.

On July 4, 1946, the Philippines became an independent nation after almost 50 years as a colony of the United States (19021946) and more than 300 years as a colony of Spain. As the Cold War deepened, the United States sought to maintain its military presence in the Philippines, particularly Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Base.

The 1947 Military Bases Agreement allowed the United States access to these and almost two dozen other sites for 99 years.

Article 27 provided for the recruitment of Filipino citizens into the U.S. Armed Forces. In 1991, the Philippine Congress voted to end the bases agreement and closed the bases. From the Bases Agreement to 1992, more than 35,000 Filipinos had served or were serving in the U.S. Navy.

Though several thousand Filipinos had been recruited into the U.S. Navy and other branches of the military during the American colonial period, the Military Bases Agreement ushered in a period of several decades of aggressive recruitment of thousands of Filipino citizens into the United States. Armed Forces, primarily by the U.S. Navy, with smaller numbers in the Army, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines. After the Korean Conflict began in 1952, the Navy began recruiting Filipinos at a rate of 1,000 a year; this was increased to 2,000 annually in 1954. Hundreds of Filipino men rushed to enlist daily to Sangley Point Naval Base, the Naval Headquarters in the Philippines, due to the deteriorating economic and political environment of the Philippines (the Navy offered higher pay than they could expect in any occupation in the Philippines, so even

March 14, 1947, Philippine President Manuel Roxas and U.S. Ambassador Paul V. McNutt (right) sign the Military Bases Agreement in Malacanang Palace, surrounded by onlookers, including Philippine Vice President Elpidio Quirino (far left).

college-educated Filipinos sought to join the Navy). Additional incentives included the promise of adventure and to travel the world, and the potential opportunity to obtain United States citizenship. Only a small percentage of applicants passed the grueling physical and language entrance exams.

Selection for the Navy transformed the economic fortunes of the recruits’ povertystricken families. These men sent more than half of their monthly $80 salary back home for decades. “This is the opportunity of my life,” remembered Exequiel Maula Atienza, of his successful application for the Navy. “I wanted us to have a better life. I wanted to help my parents.” He told his story to oral historians writing the book, In Our Uncles’ Words: ‘We Fought for Freedom’, a book project of FANHS Hampton Roads, VA chapter. “You know when we joined the Navy at the time, you were almost the salvation of the family, economically speaking,” Armando Pili Placides told the interviewers. He was able to send family members on to college. “That was a blessing to the family back then ... to be accepted into the U.S. military. When you joined the U.S. Navy at that time, it’s almost like you won the lottery because it was a big economic help.”

Discriminatory practices in the Navy barred Filipinos from rising above the rank of messman/steward, regardless of education or skills. The Messman Branch was created specifically in the late 19th century for people of color: various Asian immigrants, African Americans, and Filipinos. African Americans were barred from enlistment altogether from 19191932, and the Navy turned to using their colonial subjects, Filipinos, as messmen during these years. From 1932 until the military was desegregated in 1948, black sailors were limited to the messman branch.

The Messman Branch was renamed the Steward Branch after World War II. After desegregation of the Armed Forces in 1948, black sailors could rise within the Navy and were not limited to the Steward rank.

However, this was not the case for Filipinos, who were limited to the steward rank until 1971, when an agreement was reached with the Philippine State Department to discard the practice. Stewards were responsible for providing cooking and cleaning for the ship and domestic service to officers and their families: food service, cleaning, laundry, and chores. Work as a

steward was grueling and monotonous.

“The job of a steward is honorable,” recalled Timoteo Medina Saguinsin in In Our Uncles’ Words. “We cleaned the dishes, the silverware, the kitchen, the pantry, the staterooms, the wardrooms, and the bathrooms. We mopped the decks or floors.”

The work could also be humiliating. Stewards were essentially domestic servants, and they endured extreme racism in the Navy, where they were called “boy” by officers and forced to perform domestic service for even the wives and children of officers. These seamen were blocked from promotion and only endured these indignities in order to support their families in the Philippines and the United States. Some of these men were raised with Philippine patriarchal gender roles in which men did not engage in domestic work, so their work required significant cultural and physical adjustments. “You are recruited just to cook, serve the officers and change the bed and clean the room, nothing else,” recalled Pedro Quejada Galvan, who enlisted in 1946, to interviewers in In Our Uncles’ Words.“The only thing that [kept] me going on is that I know I come from a poor family, and you are a servant to survive.”

The plum assignments for many Black and Filipino stewards included served highranking officers at the Pentagon and the President of the United States as stewards, on presidential yachts and at Camp David well into the 1990s. For example, through most of the 20th century, the White House domestic staff consisted of African American and Filipino Navy Stewards, who cooked and cleaned for the nation’s leaders. These seamen traveled the nation and world with their officers. Stewards like Jose Monge Montano spent years in the White House. Montano traveled alongside Presidents Johnson and Nixon all over the nation and globe.

During their service and upon retirement, these servicemen and their partners (many of whom were also immigrants from the Philippines) became American citizens, created families, settled in Navy towns, and petitioned for the immigration of family members. In so doing, they and their partners and families created large new communities or built upon existing Filipina/o American communities in places as diverse as Chicago, IL; Providence and Newport, RI; Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA; Saint Mary’s County, MD; Jacksonville, Pen-

sacola and Key West, FL; Corpus Christi, TX; Honolulu, HI; Kitsap and Seattle, WA; Charleston, SC; Long Beach, San Diego, Oakland and Vallejo, Calif. After their service, retired Filipino seamen engaged in a wide diversity of occupations. Many opened their own restaurants or catering businesses using the cooking skills they learned in the Navy. Others continued their military service as civilians or transitioned to other governmental positions such as for the Post Office.

Both men and women served with honor and distinction. Rear Admiral Dr. Eleanor Mariano, the daughter of a Navy Steward, became the highest ranking Filipino American naval officer. She attended two American presidents and was the longestserving White House physician in United States history. She served as the first woman commander of the White House Medical Unit.

Thousands of Filipina/o Americans trace their roots to the Filipinas/os who served in the U.S. military and settled in the United States as a result of the Military Bases Agreement. We urge every American to learn more about the significant role these Filipino military servicemen and women played in service to the United States during the Cold War, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, and in dignified service as stewards on the Presidential Yachts, at Camp David, in the Pentagon and White House. They and their families breathed new life into communities across the United States and helped to build the nation we know today.

FANHS encourages organizations and communities across the United States to incorporate this theme in their Filipino American History Month events, to visit our website (fanhs-national.org) in late September for curriculum and lesson plan resources, and for all to share their stories of their family’s military stories at #FAHM2017 on Twitter, @fanhs_national and our Facebook page @FANHSnatl.

Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian American group in the nation and the third largest ethnic group in California, after Latinas/os and African Americans.

The celebration of Filipino American History Month in October commemorates the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the continental United States, which occurred on October 18, 1587, when “Luzones Indios” came ashore from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Esperanza and landed at what is now Morro Bay, California. In 2009, U.S. Congress recognized October as Filipino American History Month in the United States. Various states, counties and cities in the U.S. have have established proclamations and resolutions declaring observance of Filipino American History Month. The late Dr. Fred Cordova, along with his wife, FANHS Founder Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, first introduced October as Filipino American History Month in 1992 with a resolution from the FANHS National Board of Trustees.

This year also marks the 35th anniversary of the Filipino American National Historical Society. Across the nation, the thirty-five FANHS Chapters, colleges and universities, museums and community groups, will be commemorating Filipino American History Month with various activities and events to bring awareness of the significant role Filipinos have played in American history.

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October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 13

14 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

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October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 15

Salamat and Congratulations to FANHS’ 35th Anniversary

By Maria Batayola FANHS The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) marks its 35th anniversary at Immaculate Conception Church’s Jean Moran Hall this October 7, 2017.

In 1971, FANHS was founded by volunteers Executive Director Dr. Dorothy Cordova with Dr. Fred Cordova as the President of the Board of Trustees and Archivist at the heart of Central District.

The world owes a debt of gratitude to these two extremely generous and intellectual

activists for their lifetime work of love for youth and community.

Spanish galleon on October 18, 1587. FAM is now celebrated nationally.

Notable include:

accomplishments

• 15 national biennial conferences held throughout the nation.

• 1971—Founding of Filipino American National Historical Society with the First Filipino Far West Convention that brought to light the need for Filipino American identity and community.

• 35 chapters throughout continental United States, Alaska, and Hawai‘i.

• 1989—Dr. Fred Cordova advocated for the celebration of Filipino American History Month (FAM) to commemorate the first written documentation of Filipinos in an area close to Morro Bay California from the

• FANHS Archives, now the largest collection of Filipino American oral histories, photographs, and now video histories.

FANHS

• Provided primary source for numerous scholars, many of whom are now published authors.

• 2016 National Museum in Stockton.

Please read below the history of FANHS in Dr. Fred Cordova’s own words below as excerpted from the book Pamana III. Since then, FANHS Biennial Conferences were held in 2012 Albuquerque “Resilience: A Filipino Legacy in a Golabl Society, 2014 San Diego “Kapwa: Moving Forward Unity,” and 2016 New York City “A Pinoy State of Mind.” Also, FANHS chapters in Greater Chicago, Alameda, Lower Puget Sound, Houston, Delano, Hawai‘i, and Arizona were added.

Historians: The FANHS Filipino American National Historical Society

By Dr. Fred Cordova FANHS Foreword: The former Immaculate Conception Church High School at 820 18th Avenue in Seattle Washington spawned a regional treasure FYA (Filipino Youth Activities), national treasure FANHS (Filipino American National Historical Society) and national change agent DPAA (Demonstration Project for Asian Americans) due to two outstanding stalwarts, Dr. Fred Cordova and Dr. Dorothy Cordova. Affectionately and respectfully called Uncle Fred and Auntie Dorothy, while raising their brood, they cofounded FYA with other parents, helped fan the flames of the Filipino American identity movement with Seattle’s First Far West Convention in 1971, spurned legal and programmatic changes with DPAA’s research results and spearheaded a national reclamation and promotion of Filipino American history through FANHS. Both shy away from the press, but they present Filipino American stories with gusto.

About FANHS The Filipino American National Historical Society is a community-based entity whose beginnings and spirit emanate from Seattle because many Seattleites have helped make it a significant institution, not only in the United States but also in the Philippines. The mission of FANHS is “to gather, preserve and share the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States.”

Filipino American history began October 18, 1587, when Filipinos had first set foot in the Continental United States in Morro Bay at what is now in San Luis Obispo County in California.

In 1982 Dorothy Laigo Cordova founded FANHS in Seattle. In 1985 FANHS was chartered by the State of Washington. Its founding charter members were community folks, mostly from Seattle, including Rufino Cacabelos, Alfred Suarez Cabuang, Dr. Jesus A. Dizon, Efren Edwards, Peter and Teresa Jamero, Karen Johnstone, Prof. Tetsuden Kashima, Carolina Ordona Koslosky, Frederick Mendoza, Steve K. Oh, Dr. Andres B. Tangalin and Jeannette Castillano Tiffany.

Other Seattleites were: Dr. Albert Acena, San Mateo, Calif.; Lorea T.Acuszaar, Aurora, Colo.; Cynthia Mejia- Guidici, Washington, D.C. and Br. William Yam, S.J., Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. Others in the charter came from Alaska, California, Hawai‘i, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Oregon and Virginia.

Today the 27-member trustee board has many with doctorates, plus authors, educators, professionals and just plain folks—the

FANHS is planning the Filipino American National Museum in Stockton, Calif., the mother lode of Filipino American History. Collection is being done for the Filipino American National Library.

Biennial Conferences

FANHS Executive Director Dr. Dorothy Cordova. • Photo by Isabelle Batayola

community historians and storytellers among youth and elders, both American and Philippine-born.

FANHS chapters include Oregon, Sacramento Delta, San Francisco, Hampton Roads, Seattle, Metropolitan New York, East Bay, Santa Clara Valley, Vallejo, California Central Coast, Midwest, Stockton, Fresno, New England, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Alaska, San Diego, Central Valley, Rio Grande, Wisconsin, Michigan, St. Louis, Pennsylvania, Sonoma County, Yakama Valley, New Jersey and Carolinas.

Besides national and regional historical photo exhibits, FANHS members or chapters have written books. A FANHS video won a 1994 bronze award at the 27th Annual WorldFest—Houston International Film and Video Festival and a 1995 CINE Golden Eagle Award “as evidence of its suitability to represent American production in international festivals “by the Council on International Nontheatrical Events in Washington, D.C.

National Pinoy Archives The historical society’s National Office in Seattle has numerous files of research and documentation about Filipino American aspects nationally and internationally.

FANHS’ major repository of Filipino American History is its National Pinoy Archives.

This is a simple research facility, initiated in 1987. The NPA appraises, collects, preserves and makes accessible to scholars, authors, filmmakers, students and others in the general public who want to study, textual, graphic and electronic historical records. Some date as early as pre-world War I—which document Filipino American experience relative to individuals, groups, organizations, institutions and facilities in the United States, its territories and other possessions. Typical documentation of some 20,000 individuals is unique, original primary resource material.

FANHS chapters host national conferences every other year. The Conference themes effect the discussions of the times, celebration of special events and historical discoveries and publications.

• 1987 – 1st National Conference, November 13-14, Seattle University, Seattle, Washington. “Who/What Is a Filipino American?”

• 1988 – 2nd National Conference, commemorating the 225th Anniversary of the Permanent Settlement of Filipinos in the Continental United States, November 18-19, Clarion Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana: “Filipinos: An Enigma in American History” • 1990 – 3rd National Conference, July 1214, Radisson Hotel, Sacramento, California: “Filipino American History: The Legacy Lives.”

• 1992 – 4th National Conference, July 2-5, Westin Hotel, Chicago, Illinois: “Kindred Spirit – Waves Apart.”

•1994 – 5th National Conference, August 4-6, Clarion Hotel, San Francisco Airport, San Francisco, California: “Honoring the Bridge Generation: Sons and Daughters of Filipino Pioneers.”

• 1996 – 6th National Conference, June 2729, Park Central Hotel, New York, New York: “The Now Generation – Post 1965 Filipino Americans.”

• 1998 – 7th National Conference, remembering the Philippine Centennial of the 100th Anniversary of the declaration of independence from Spain, July 30-August 1, Double Tree Hotel, Jantzen Beach, Portland, Oregon:

“Legacy of a Revolution: One Hundred Years of Filipinos in the United States.”

• 1998 – Conference on “Filipinos in America: A Centennial Experience,” August 5-7, Manila Hotel, Manila, Philippines, by the Philippine Commission on Filipinos Overseas in cooperation with FANHS, the Philippine Civil Service Commission, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Tourism, National Centennial Commission and National Commission for Culture and the Arts in celebrating the Philippine independence centennial “to provide opportunities for the exchange of ideas between Filipino Americans and Filipinos in the Philippines about life in America.”

• 2000 – 8th National Conference, June 27July 1, Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk/ Virginia Beach, Virginia: “Forever Pinoy/ Pinay: Legacies of the American Experience.”

• 2002 – 9th National Conference, July 24-28, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California: “Visions and Voyages: Images of Filipinos in America.”

• 2004 – 10th National Conference, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the St. Louis World’s Fair, July 22-24, University of Missouri, St. Louis: “American Experience: A Century Hence from the St. Louis World’s Fair.”

• 2006 – 11th National Conference, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Sakadas in Hawai‘i and the beginning of the 2nd Immigration Wave of Filipinos to the U.S., July 25-30, Ilikai Waikiki Hotel, Honolulu: “Sakadas and Beyond: Connecting Our Past to Inspire the Future.”

• 2008 – 12th National Conference, July 3-5, Anchorage Hilton, Anchorage, Alaska: “Lure of the Salmon Song.”

• 2010 – 13th National Conference, July 21-24, Seattle University, Seattle: “Quest for Emergence: A Retropective.”

Establishing National Filipino American History Month In 1991 FANHS established October as Filipino American History Month. It became a state law when the California Assembly enacted “October 2009, and every October thereafter, as Filipino American History Month.” The 111th U.S. Congress also proclaimed in 2009 Filipino American History Month, which still needs to become a nationally annual commemoration similar to months for Black History, Asian Pacific American Heritage and Latino Heritage. The Washington State and Alaska State Legislatures, at least, have recognized October 2010 as Filipino American History Month.

FANHS Archivist Dr. Fred Cordova. • Photo by Isabelle Batayola

16 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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Who do I Vote For Seattle School Board on November 7?

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

API CANDIDATE FORUM QUESTIONS

SAVE THE DATE: The October 12 API Candidates Forum at 5:30 p.m. will be held at the Nagomi Tea House (519 6th Avenue South in Chinatown International District) featuring the Mayoral, City Council Positions 8 and 9, and Port of Seattle Commissioners candidates. A light meal will be served.

API Candidates Forum community sponsors include: Asian Counseling & Referral Service (ACRS), Asian Pacific American Labor, Alliance (APALA), Asian Pacific Directors Coalition (APDC), Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civil Empowerment (APACE), APACEvotes, API Coalition Advocating Together for Health Communities (APICAT), Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation (ACLF), Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Seattle (CACA), Friends of Little Saigon, Helping Link, Int’l Community Health Services (ICHS), Interim Community Development Association (InterImCDA), Japanese American Citizens League, Seattle (JACL), Korean American Coalition (KAC), Organization of Chinese Americans, Greater Seattle, (OCA), Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation & Development Authority, Tasveer, Vietnamese Friendship Association WA State, and India Trade Relations Action Committee (WASITRAC) with media partners International Examiner (IE), North American Post, Northwest Asian Weekly (NWAW), and Seattle Chinese Post. Co-Chaired by Maria Batayola, Gail Gustafson, Akemi Matsumoto and Kay Nelson.

The following are questions from the API Candidates Forum and answers by: candidate Betty Patu for Board Position District VII (candidate Chelsea Byers did not participate in the questionnaire); candidates for Board Position District IV Eden Mack and Herbert J. Camet Jr.; and candidates for Board Position V Omar Vasquez and Zachary DeWolf.

BETTY PATU, Board Position District VII

1. What is your education philosophy and how does that solve the opportunities gap for our students of color?

My education philosophy is that every student should be treated with the same care by receiving the same innovative curriculum and programs they need to stimulate their minds and lead them to college or whatever career path they choose. Having culturally competent teachers that care and are willing to teach and prepare our students of color for the future is of particular importance. We need to invest in all our schools, especially those that serve high poverty students. …Since my time in office, Rainier Beach High School…increased its graduation rates from 53% to 81%...Cleveland High School…from 44% in 2007 to 89 percent.

2. What is your teacher accountability philosophy? How do you hold teachers accountable for factors that are beyond their control?

… The teacher must develop knowledge of the different cultures of their students in their classes and get to know them and what they bring to their classes. We have students representing over 149 nationalities in Seattle Public Schools, who speak 143 languages. Cultural competence is very important. We should … [make] sure school principals and other mentors visit their classes, check out their lessons and watch the response of students and the student-teacher interactions.

When students are not engaged in class the teacher should be helped and encouraged to teach an innovative lesson. If a student misbehaves, the school administrator is responsible for helping the teacher handle the situation.

3. What do you believe is the biggest issue facing Seattle Public Schools’ Asian Pacific American students and what are you going to do about it?

I believe the biggest issue facing Seattle Public Schools’ Asian Pacific American students is that many people assume that all Asians are academically smart, not figuring in any possible cultural or language barriers they may face. Expectations for Asian students are higher among teachers than other ethnic groups.

As a Board Director, my job is to make sure that all students are treated with the same amount of respect and empathy and not according to stereotypes. Also, it is critical to understand that there are many Asian cultures and that each culture is different.

Asians should not be lumped into one category. …

4. What are your thoughts on ethnic studies?

I believe ethnic studies should be taught from K-12 grades because it is very important for all our students to be respected, understood, and to learn about each other’s cultures and how each country and ethnicity contributes to our fast-growing city, our country and its economy. I know firsthand as an immigrant from Samoa whose first language was not English that our cultures shape us. To understand our students, we need to understand their heritage.

5. What do you know of student data disaggregation? Why is it an important tool to ensure that all students receive a quality education? What will you do to support implementation and use of data disaggregation?

It is very important information … to know what students from each demographic may be lacking academically or in support, and if the school curriculum, climate and culture meet those needs appropriately. … Data helps us to understand which interventions may or may not be producing desired results … I would like to see the District compile and publish the Student Data Profile … like it used to. It helped show us exactly which students need support in what areas… It is the district’s responsibility to provide all students a high quality and equitable education. It’s stated in our Board Racial Equity Policy 0030. It’s also a legal and moral duty.

6. Studies have shown that students in aircraft noise affected schools have lower stan-dardized math and reading test scores, and that the difference is mitigated when the schools are insul-ated. Airplanes fly over Beacon Hill every 3-5 minutes.

Beacon Hill has a population of 80% people of color which includes 50% Asian Pacific Islander, 44% born outside the United States and 36% do not speak English very well. Recent test scores show Beacon Hill elementary students scoring lower than other parts of the school district. Beacon Hill is not eligible for FAA mitigation dollars. What would you do to address this problem?

There should be a meeting between the school district and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address how the noise from their planes is interfering with the learning of our students. I would like to have them pay for the insulation of the schools. I will bring this issue to the attention of the Superintendent and our legal department.

7. Tell us what makes you the better candidate for the Seattle School Board position.

… I have served on the board for two terms, as Board President, Chair of the Operations Committee, as the City Liaison, and have served on every committee. … I am very familiar with immediate and complex issues related to capacity, growth, building, boundaries, and budget. I am the only candidate in the race with deep institutional knowledge of the district, its policies and challenges, and have built important relationships within the district and city and state government … with deep ties to the community I directly represent. … During my term … the schools in my Southeast district have risen from level 1 & 2 to levels 3, 4, & 5. ...

Education is very important to our Asian Pacific Islander (API) community. In 2016, the Seattle Public Schools enrolled 8,027 (15%) API students and served 2,031 (24%) API bilingual students. The graduation rate is 77%. That means more than one student out of five is not graduating. Our API students and students of color still have opportunities gaps.

The leadership in the public schools system is very important to us. This election, three out of the seven Seattle School Board member positions are up for election.

The Asian Pacific Islander Candidates Forum asked the candidates to answer questions that are important to our API community. Be an informed voter this November 7. Read the candidates’ answers below. You can also see all candidates education, employment, and community service profiles at info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/Vote/contests/candidates. aspx.

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 17

18 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

COMMUNITY VOICES

API CANDIDATE FORUM QUESTIONS

EDEN MACK, Board Position District IV

HERBERT J CAMET JR., Board Position District IV

1. What is your education philosophy and how does that solve the opportunities gap for our students of color?

We need to meet students where they are and open the door to opportunities. Every student should receive a great education, no matter their ethnicity, where they live or what their background. Every classroom needs to have high expectations for all students while providing the appropriate supports to engage students in learning. Not every student learns in the same way. Our District needs to build on and expand access to the programs and services that are appropriately tailored to engage our diverse students in learning the skills, standards and information to help them succeed in college, career, and life.

As an educator for 43 years in 11 countries worldwide and a personal & professional learner in all those cultures/countries too, I know that learning is life and life is learning for all humans everywhere ...Education is to enable and enhance each individual’s authentic personal self-development and self-expression through organized learning activities in a communal school/classroom learning environment from Pre-K through graduate university levels. The task and mission of true educators and educational (school) organizations is to ensure there are equal and fair and effective opportunities and options for all learners (students) and that no group or subgroup of students is ever subjected to discriminatory or unequal or unfair treatment.

2. What is your teacher accountability philosophy? How do you hold teachers accountable for factors that are beyond their control?

We need to hold educators accountable for those factors that are in their control, and focus on strategies that set our educators up for success. I support the educator evaluation systems that have been implemented, and we must increase professional development on topics like on cultural competency and implicit bias, as well as ensure that we retain great educators with competitive wages. Every school also needs to have ALL of the necessary materials and support staff like counselors, nurses, crossing guards, and playground supervision, so that teachers can teach and students can learn effectively.

As a School Principal in 5 countries already (USA, Cambodia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Iraq), and as a teacher myself in 11 countries too for 43 years. … Teachers must be directly accountable and responsible to the School Principal for their classroom instructional efforts and for enabling all their learners (students) to achieve the subject area target learning. Of course, teachers cannot legally nor administratively be held accountable for factors that are beyond their control, except for reporting or informing the School Principal or School Counselor of any relevant situation for a student for which they may have personal knowledge.

3. What do you believe is the biggest issue facing Seattle Public Schools’ Asian Pacific American students and what are you going to do about it?

Asian Pacific American students in Seattle Public Schools face lower rates of educational attainment when compared with other Asian students in Washington. It is our responsibility to grow successful strategies that engage students and help them succeed. The district needs to increase efforts that will help close the opportunity gap, including: expanding programs/schools for immigrant students at all grade levels, like the World School; engage community partners, like SEAdD for mentorship and other services; provide quality English langauge learner servies while respecting and supporting ethnic studies and; increase access to highly capacble services for non-native English speakers.

Actually I cannot arrogantly presume to tell Asian Pacific students, parents, and communities here what they perceive to be their biggest “issue.” They know their needs and they can fully inform and advise me of their own felt needs and experienced situations in the Seattle public schools and guide me in my School Board plans and proposals to adequately address and resolve their issues. Of course, the Board should mandate the SPS District Administration to identify issues affecting Asian and other ethnic students and report to the Board the District’s programs and plans to meet the learning needs of all students. …

4. What are your thoughts on ethnic studies?

Ethnic studies are essential curriculum for all students, and I supported the board resolution from this past spring. All students benefit from these studies, by understanding the richness of our community’s diversity and also the complicated nature of existing power structures. A Stanford University study found that at-risk students had higher attendance rates and significantly boosted their GPA when taking ethnic studies courses. That means ethnic studies aren’t just another class students can take, but a vital addition to school curriculum that can function as a tool for student engagement and retention.

Ethnic-centered studies are appropriate at all K-12 grade levels, and can also be incorporated into standard curricula courses.

5. What do you know of student data disaggregation? Why is it an important tool to ensure that all students receive a quality education? What will you do to support implementation and use of data disaggregation?

Student data disaggregation is an important tool for understanding the particular challenges faced by different student communities. It’s particularly useful when we are working to serve a large and highly diverse community with many different needs. For example, student data for Asians can be misleading when Asian Pacific Islander data is not disaggregated. We need to ensure that the data for Asian students is appropriately disaggregated in the District’s analyses, and I will support efforts to implement disaggregation within the District’s data management systems.

Data disaggregation refers to breaking down aggregated data into subgroups based on gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, neighborhoods. … Student disaggregated data is very essential to identifying the actual achievement levels of each ethnic or gender or neighborhood student subgroup and is required for implementing adequate and appropriate school system programs and efforts to reach students who are falling below the systemwide student achievement averages. The School Board must mandate the SPS District Administration to use disaggregated data along with their aggregated student statistics and report both these data sets publicly.

6. Studies have shown that students in aircraft noise affected schools have lower stan-dardized math and reading test scores, and that the difference is mitigated when the schools are insul-ated.

Airplanes fly over Beacon Hill every 3-5 minutes. Beacon Hill has a population of 80% people of color which includes 50% Asian Pacific Islander, 44% born outside the United States and 36% do not speak English very well. Recent test scores show Beacon Hill elementary students scoring lower than other parts of the school district. Beacon Hill is not eligible for FAA mitigation dollars. What would you do to address this problem?

The next Building Excellence Levy (BEX V) is in process now and will be on the February 2019 ballot. I will push to ensure that the District implements a formal, analysis based and transparent process of “nomination” for projects for BEX V funding. Communities like Beacon Hill and Rainier Beach need to get on the list for funding, instead of continuously being bumped off by projects that have louder supporters.

The School Board cannot control aircraft approach patterns and areas (that is a matter for appropriate federal, state, and local government officials). If insulation in school buildings is lacking or inadequate then the School Board can direct the SPS District Administration to prepare a budget request for installing proper insulation in these buildings, after SPS Admin conducts assessments of what each school building actually needs and prepares a plan for implementing these insulation refits.

7. Tell us what makes you the better candidate for the Seattle School Board position.

I have proven track record of a deep commitment to public education in Seattle. I know the district and challenges we face, and I know how to make policy decision that will provide every student in with the great education they are constitutionally guaranteed. With my Master’s in Public Administration and serving as Seattle Council PTSA legislative chair, founding President of Washington’s Paramount duty, chair of the Youth Schools and Education committee for the Seattle City Neighborhood Council and on the SPS Capacity Management Task force, I’ve been fighting for Seattle’s students and families, and will continue to do so.

My academic credentials and professional educator qualifications include: Master of Arts (M.A.) in Education Administration, Graduate Teacher Education Program Certification, Graduate Teaching Fellow in History, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History, Peace Corps Volunteer training & service, Peace Corps TESL Training Certification—California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST), Passed Professional Educator Work Experience (in 11 countries worldwide for more than 40 years), K-12 School Principal (in USA, Cambodia, Vietnam, Iraq, and Pakistan), K-12 & ESL Teacher, ESL/ELT Program Manager & Curriculum Specialist, K-12 Curriculum Specialist (IB & Common Core), International Education Consultant, University Instructor.

COMMUNITY VOICES

API CANDIDATE FORUM QUESTIONS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 19

OMAR VASQUEZ, Board Position District V

ZACHARY DEWOLF, Board Position District V

1. What is your education philosophy and how does that solve the opportunities gap for our students of color?

The purpose of education is to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and mindsets for them to exercise self-determination, which for many students means breaking into the middle-class. Closing the opportunity gap means (1) closing the LITERACY GAP that starts before kids enter the classroom; (2) providing SERVICES to kids suffering trauma, homelessness, poverty, or abuse; (3) NOT GIVING UP on kids no matter what; (4) operating with a sense of URGENCY; (5) having one MENTOR in every kid’s life; (5) making school RELEVANT and CHALLENGING; (6) supporting STUDENT POWER to reimagine schools; (7) DIVERSITY among educators; and much more!

We need to create schools that are palaces for our students. They need to be safe, clean, fun places where kids want to go to learn every morning and want to stay after the last bell rings. We do this with motivated, smart and caring teachers. We need to close the opportunity gap by making sure that students all start on the same playing field ...We need to make sure that we look at the schools that are suffering and get them the funding and teachers they need in order to succeed.

2. What is your teacher accountability philosophy? How do you hold teachers accountable for factors that are beyond their control?

Although teachers cannot be expected to solve all society’s problems, they can be expected to (1) determine students’ knowledge at the beginning of the year, (2) set ambitious goals for students, (3) execute good unit and lesson plans, (3) use data to inform practices, (4) reach out to families (particularly for students who are behind), (5) continually improve.

We must hold our teachers to high standards and hold them accountable to maintain those standards. We must work with the teachers, administrators, families, and students to make sure that everyone is on the same page. We must make it important for our Principals to know what’s going on in each classroom. They need to take the pulse of each classroom and what’s going on, what’s being taught, and which teachers are doing well or falling behind. It is this day to day information that will keep our teachers working on the things that need work, and not worrying about things that are working correctly.

3. What do you believe is the biggest issue facing Seattle Public Schools’ Asian Pacific American students and what are you going to do about it?

The API community is not a homogenous group, so I hesitate generalizing. Generally, the opportunity gap is very real for many API students, despite the “Model Minority” myth.

As a director, I would address language barriers for the schools that result in fewer API families (relative to White families) expressing confidence in their ability to support their child’s learning and path to college. I would make sure schools (1) hold more in-person community meetings, (2) provide consistent interpretation services, and (3) value API identity, culture, and languages. ELL support should not come at the expense of core courses and art.

I believe one of the biggest issues facing API students and families in SPS is accessible education and authentic engagement. I intend to work with the district to identify, using a racial equity tool, places where we can improve. I also want to work with local groups and organizations on projects, such as El Centro’s “Proyecto Saber” which helps students succeed at the intersection of culture and academics.

4. What are your thoughts on ethnic studies?

Ethnic studies are essential to affirm students’ identities and history. For too long, the social studies curriculum has omitted the history of non-hegemonic cultures. The data is overwhelming: ethnic studies improves literacy, attendance, student engagement, and even math scores. It gives students a sense of belonging, an understanding of where they came from, and a sense of civic responsibility. Everyone benefits from ethnic studies: students of color and white students alike. I’m interested in supporting and expanding API ethnic studies programs in our schools. Watch me on YouTube advocating for ethnic studies before the Seattle School Board this past June!

I believe ethnic studies are incredibly important. I have been a long proponent of teaching ethnic studies in our public schools. When elected to the school board, I intend to advocate for implementing inclusive and rigorous coursework into the curriculum that would include ethnic and anti-racist studies. I think a diverse culture thrives when the student body is made aware of the differences that we have in our society. I will work very hard to make sure that we illuminate the incredible joy that a rich and diverse culture does to make our community stronger and brighter.

5. What do you know of student data disaggregation? Why is it an important tool to ensure that all students receive a quality education? What will you do to support implementation and use of data disaggregation?

Data disaggregation involves statistical analysis of student achievement metrics broken down (disaggregated) by subgroups, e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, teacher, neighborhoods, socio-economic status, to inform opinions about what is working, what is not, and where resources should be directed. Data analysis should inform all aspects of education, including formative assessments in the classroom, attendance rates, high school graduation rates, college acceptance rates, college graduation rates, and employment data. Strong statistical analysis and longitudinal studies disaggregated by subpopulation is a tool for holding ourselves accountable.

It is important because without data disaggregation, we see only one population of people. For example, the API students, who have a higher average score and appears to be doing well, however, when you narrow down by ethnicity you will see differences between certain students from Korea compared to their Hmong peers. Without disaggregating, we miss these important distinctions. How does culture or tradition impact how we’re showing up and serving those students? And how do we find micro-solutions for certain ethnicities that aren’t succeeding at the level we know these students can be.

6. Studies have shown that students in aircraft noise affected schools have lower stan-dardized math and reading test scores, and that the difference is mitigated when the schools are insul-ated.

Airplanes fly over Beacon Hill every 3-5 minutes. Beacon Hill has a population of 80% people of color which includes 50% Asian Pacific Islander, 44% born outside the United States and 36% do not speak English very well. Recent test scores show Beacon Hill elementary students scoring lower than other parts of the school district. Beacon Hill is not eligible for FAA mitigation dollars. What would you do to address this problem?

Wealthy communities have successfully engaged with airports and airlines so as to minimize noise over their homes—we should advocate for Beacon Hill students as well. I would look to replicate the Highline district’s approach to aircraft noise. They secured federal grants to install sound insulation in their schools. In addition to federal money, I would look to the district’s BEX and BTA levy funds to upgrade infrastructure to prevent overhead noise. Additionally, I would want to engage with the Port of Seattle to make efforts for planes to minimize noise over certain corridors.

I would do what I know how to do best, connect with the people I have spent my life serving and working with at the city, county, and state level. I would make sure we find a solution that suits the needs of our students. If we can’t get FAA dollars to help fix the problem we must look for other avenues to get help. Students can’t learn with loud noises outside the classroom going on all day and this must be noticed and fixed.

7. Tell us what makes you the better candidate for the Seattle School Board position.

I am the experienced and qualified candidate. As a teacher of six years, I would be the only director with classroom experience.

I served on the Mayor’s Education Advisory Council, where I proposed policy solutions the City could implement to support our schools. I have (1) governance experience overseeing public funds in education, (2) legal experience engaging with federal and state education law, and (3) finance experience, having worked on multi-million dollar transactions as a lawyer and having studied finance and accounting at Penn (Wharton.) My opponent has no significant educaiton experience, nor the legal and financial training I have.

I have spent my life serving my community. I was in the Peace Corps in Belize where I built a library and taught children to read and write in braille. Since then, I have been in Seattle working tirelessly with numerous organizations as an advocate. … Currently, I am a commissioner with the Seattle housing authority and I am President of Capitol Hill Community Council … I went to public schools and believe in public schools. I want to take my experience and knowledge and use it to create a culture of learning and excitement in our precious public school system.

20 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Poet EJ Koh: ‘Lesser forms of love can still be considered as love’

By Hazel Lozano IE Contributor When I asked EJ Koh why she titled her debut poetry collection, A Lesser Love, she replied, “Lesser forms of love can still be considered as love.”

Koh’s statement best embodies her aesthetic of poetic magnanimity, which, through most of the collection, pulls the subject back from the picture, scene, or image to interrogate the object’s point of view. “Where’s the compassion here? ‘Cause there’s always room for it, and where can it go? Because otherwise, what is the reader gaining from reading that?”

This commitment to practicing compassion permeates Koh’s work, and gives it a unique texture. “Often today’s writers of color, especially women of color, are expected to produce and perform a very specific literary/ narrative aesthetic, theme and trendy language to be consumable and/or palatable to white neoliberal consumers,” said Kelsey Lacanilao, programs assistant at Hugo House and organizer of Koh’s book launch on September 22. “There’s something about EJ’s poems that can be non-commodifiable, unreplicated.”

Paul Constant, co-founder of the Seattle Review of Books, says, “People think of literature as something stolid, sitting there on a page. But the truth is that literature is a conversation with everything that’s come before and everything that’s going on right now. EJ is now a leading voice in that conversation. I believe she’ll rise to that responsibility. I think she’ll be one of Seattle’s most important poets for many years.”

Featuring poems spanning roughly 2009 to the present, A Lesser Love follows Koh on a journey which began her last year of college.

Growing up in the Bay Area, Koh said, “There were only two cultures: that was black and white, and we did not fit into white culture, because that was the mainstream, privileged culture, so the only other culture that we could fit ourselves into was black culture. So, we grew up breakdancing, listening to hip hop, loving R&B because we felt like we belonged as a minority. You kind of have to carve your own place as an Asian-American in this country.”

When she was 14, Koh’s parents moved to South Korea to work and support their two kids, leaving the young Kohs to find their own way through adulthood. From forging signatures to driving underage to being bullied

responsibility in those situations while not relieving anyone else in the situation of their part in it. “And before I really didn’t want to do that, but now I see that I’m taking responsibility and power back and saying, ‘I am in control of my life. I am in control of the situations I find myself in. I’m still a human being and I know how to create my own fate,’” Koh said.

my work has a lot of things that a parent won’t want to read. It has a lot of things that a parent would want to forget. Wellbeing, for anyone, especially for my parents and family, and even for a community, that comes first, above any writing. It’s just poems. Read it if it helps you, and you love it and it’s good for you. But if it doesn’t? It’s okay. It’s okay. Although I’ll aggressively recommend it if I sense that, ooh, “How Fear Works” is a poem from one of you need some poetry in your life!” those moments, where Koh feels she failed to Paul Constant sees this as Koh’s best trait find magnanimity. Written about an abusive as a poet: “She’s emerged over the last two relationship, it stands out in the collection years as a significant Seattle talent, and I’m as a piece that refuses to give any more than flabbergasted by the confidence she brings to has already been taken. Even without finding her work. She writes and performs like a poet magnanimity, however, the protagonist in who is at the apex of her career, not just at the EJ Koh reading from her debut poetry collection at the “Fear” has control. Where “Fear” is like very beginning. book launch at Hugo House, September 22. • Photo a knife in the collection, the sharpness is “There are all kinds of strata to the Seattle courtesy of Kelsey Lacanilao washed away by the river-like “Icicle Creek,” literary community. You have the poets who where Koh inverts a common poetic trope of are starting out on the open mics, you have the and being a bully in high school in Nor Cal, a man leaving his wife and kids and, in long poets who have worked thanklessly for years Koh became a hip hop dancer who competed form, creates a modern-day fable. to elevate one particular kind of experimental with dance crews in college, and very active in “Icicle Creek” came about from Koh’s poetry. You have the poets who came up the party scene at UC Irvine. She didn’t write new-found love of hiking and climbing. through slam and are now transitioning into much, she says, but wrote down her dreams.

Koh’s journey from Davis has taken her to text. EJ, I think, has established herself as Koh registered for her first poetry class in New York, where she received her MFA in a leader in the community in a very short her last year of college, and walked in covered Creative Writing at Columbia University, and amount of time. It’s a role that only a handful in piercings, hip-hop garb, blasting music now to the University of Washington, where of poets can take on at any given time. from her headphones, and submitting writings she is a PhD student in English Language “I bet you’ll see a lot of younger or less she’d made about her dreams. Her professor, and Literature. She is joyfully pursuing a reading through her work, encouraged new novel based on her grandmother’s life, as established poets working in the spaces she’s the young misfit to keep writing down her well as a memoir based on her adulthood in opened up: family history, global history, dreams. “He saw the way that I was writing California, and translating letters her mother translation. When you get a voice as confident as hers, and a book as good as A Lesser Love, them, and he was seeing that I was healing wrote her during that time. you tend to see other poets look to her as an from them and he said, ‘You need to sit down “EJ’s work seems to take what it means example—I’d expect to see her at a lot of and write more poems. You need to write all to live as a child of a diaspora (which is to group readings, for instance, and I expect to of this down.’” be wide-reaching, touching in many spaces/ see other poets writing work inspired by hers.”

“In the pockets of my father’s work clothes, places/knowings, sometimes broken, made of As a visiting instructor at Hugo House, his hands / are mice running the wire wraps. parts, switching between entire dualities and Koh was able to pay forward the power of But when I look at him, // from my periphery, I those further between) and make it private, see the ghost in him strumming, preserved / In focused, intimate and whole in these poems.” writing. One of her students was completely enlivened by the practice of writing, and its brine. Tell me what you wanted.”

—Kelsey Lacanilao wrote vivid stories about adventures she Excerpt from “My Father the Musician” went on after being diagnosed with cancer; Koh works closely with her father (a native when she passed away, Koh and her students “This was the one thing that was working,” Korean speaker) on translations, which she witnessed testimonials from this person’s Koh said. “When I wrote these poems then I said, “forces him, a very staunch businessman, family, who said they had no idea she wrote, felt better, I felt closer to being a good person to read some poems with me.” That, however, but they did know it made her happy. It’s this than doing anything else. And that’s always is the extent to which her family is involved self-sustaining and perpetuating gift, of loves been important to me since then. Having other in her work. While she finds satisfaction in multiplied, that Koh advocates and models in things, other than poetry, to bring me back to pressing poetry on those who she says look her collection, and which will undoubtedly myself.” like they need poetry, Koh respects the tension shine through in her forthcoming work.

This healing continues for Koh, who learned between child-parent recollection.

“When the people around you see that from this professor to value magnanimity in “I don’t want to teach them or show them you’re healing or happy or growing, it affects her writing, in the full excavation of her past. how to interact with my work,” Koh said. “I them to do the same thing. It’s infectious. It And in the revisiting and rewriting of the want them to come to it on their own terms. really turned my head around. And continues moments she finds awful, she acknowledges I want them to take their time with it because to.”

The sculptural artist behind the scenes—The art of Ming Cho Lee

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor Ming Cho Lee: A Life in Design is not just another coffee table book.

Arnold Aronson’s compendium of Lee’s work spans much of the 20th century, and includes early sketches, watercolors, formal set designs, and vibrant photographs of dozens of his built designs, as well as pictures of his family, past and present.

Open the book to any page, and you’ll see images of Lee at work, or a side-byside comparison of one of his drawings together with its final appearance in three dimensions. Accompanying each image is a brief, readable write-up by Aronson on the project, placed into the larger context of Lee’s career.

Lee cites a wide range of international influences, most notably the German Ber-

tolt Brecht. Also important to Lee’s motivation to become a set designer was Omar Paxson at Occidental College, as well as Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi, who worked with modern dance choreographer Martha Graham for decades.

Lee Following graduate study at UCLA, Lee launched his professional design career in the 1950s, and continued to design new shows on an almost annual basis for many years.

In 1966, he began designing for Broadway and Off-Broadway, but found the experience disappointing. Soon, in 1969, he began teaching at Yale, but his part-time role lacked benefits, and it would be years until he received fulltime status.

Despite these challenges, Lee continued to practice his art form and explore new arenas, including designing for musical theatre, dance, and other performances. In 2002, after nearly 50 years of artistic creation, Lee received the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor bestowed by the United States.

Aronson acknowledges in his conclusion that Lee never became a “household name,” but emphasizes the importance of Lee’s contribution to the stage: Lee viewed set design not as a two-dimensional backdrop painted behind the actors, but rather, as a threedimensional sculpture that intermingled with the performers—and sometimes even the audience. In this way, Lee will continue to influence theatre, dance, and television designers for decades to come.

Over 20 years ago, I was interviewing then local set designer Gilbert Wong of the now defunct Group Theatre and Asian Exclusion Act about his seminal influences.

Without any hesitation, he mentioned the name of Ming Cho Lee. That marked the first time I had ever heard his name. While Lee is not a household name, ask any set designer worth his or her salt today about him and words of praise will spring forth.

Lee didn’t just do set design, he made his pieces for each play, moveable works of art that interacted with the cast and audience as well. Below, our reviewer looks at a major new book on his career in theatre.

—Alan Chong Lau, IE Arts Editor

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

ARTS

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 21

Tay and Val break ground with #ARTempowers

By Rumi Tsuchihashi IE Contributor

my voice and using it, but cared about my whole personhood.” Throughout the film, Osaki, as well as the three other featured artists poet Sharon Williams; poet Savanah Jordan; and violinist Swil Kanim, share compelling vignettes about being at crossroads in their lives, and how they turned to their craft to redeem themselves and brought unexpected light to the lives of those around them.

The September 16 interactive screening of #ARTempowers at King Street Station began with a surprise admission from Tay and Val, the two filmmakers. Despite years of creating groundbreaking TV shows in their native Singapore and travelling to unearth stories about dreams from people all over the world, prior to the making of this film—an anthology of documentary shorts about four Washington State artists—Tay confesses that “We never thought of ourselves as artists.”

Yet it’s this freshness of perspective about what it means to be artist that makes #ARTempowers relatable and memorable. In fact, #ARTempowers only came into existence because of Tay and Val’s willingness to claim their work as art, a story that begins in 2013.

That year, they had just arrived in the Pacific Northwest after a deeply disappointing stint in Los Angeles, where they’d taken their “I Believe That Dreams Can Come True” presentation, a multimedia story they’d been filming and showing as they went from city to city across the globe. “Here we’d arrived in America, the land of dreams, and for the first time ever we experienced no support” Tay recalled. “We were in shock. It was such a contradiction.”

The two women shared their story with Carina Del Rosario, a Seattle-based working artist. Del Rosario encouraged them to apply for grants in order to get support for their work—and keep

touching more lives. “We didn’t think we’d qualify,” said Val, “but Carina said ‘you have a story to tell that needs to be heard, and a unique way you tell it. That makes you artists.’”

“Being an artist just isn’t considered a respectable profession in Singapore, where we’re from” Val said. “We thought of ourselves as film directors and producers. We thought of ourselves as media professionals with a message to share. But artists? No, we’d never thought of ourselves as artists at all.”

Still skeptical but buoyed by Del Rosario’s support, Tay and Val set about transforming who they believed themselves to be. They submitted grant applications. Much to their surprise and delight, they received those grants, and 4Culture got behind the creation of #ARTempowers. Soon thereafter,

In a sense, the entire film project is to all artists (as well as the audience) what Seattle Youth Speaks was to Osaki: a tender yet strong holding space for anyone who’s emerging into their voice and their power to affect the world Troy Osaki from the #ARTempowers trailer. around them. Though the film was shot in 2014-2015, Tay and Val held onto it, Tay and Val met and assembled the until the opportunity to share it as part diverse group of artists who agreed to of the 2017 Seattle Design Week, aptly participate in their project. The filming themed POWER, emerged. began in 2014.

“We knew this was the right time One of the first artists to sign on was to bring these incredible stories into Seattle spoken word artist Troy Osaki. the world” said Val. The timing of “He was intimidating with all his chains #ARTempowers release adds to a sense and fast talking,” admits Val as she of culmination, of multiple stories narrates Osaki’s introduction in the converging into one, one that is as documentary, “but I immediately knew politically charged as it is personally I had to have him.” The footage weaves poignant, disruptive as it is eloquent, together his electric performances— and ultimately above all, an uplifting where he reads poetry about the call for all to believe in the power of discouragement he faces as a first-year their voices, their dreams, their art. law student, and dreams of advancing Information about Tay and Val’s civil liberties feeling unreachable— along with Osaki’s reflection about multimedia storytelling adventures can what it was like growing up with Seattle be found at ibelievedreamscancometrue.

Youth Speaks, an organization that com. More information about writer “took me in and showed me that they and poet Troy Osaki’s art and advocacy cared, not just about helping me find work can be found on troyosaki.tumblr. com.

Little Fires Everywhere reveals the conformity of suburbia

By Maisy Chan IE Contributor Celeste Ng’s new novel Little Fires Everywhere picks up in mid-stream right at the burning pyrotechnic of the youngest of the Richardsons’ brood of four children.

Izzy, the youngest, sets fire to burn down the house, “literally”, as “literally” is the eldest, Lexi’s catch-word.

The importance of the children’s perceptions of what happens is paramount for Ng’s novel as the three of the four children sit on top of a vehicle watching their mom, Mrs. Richardson—Elena Richardson—in her bathrobe in the front yard, aghast. Neighbors are both part of the spectacle and the gawkers at the spectacle on the sidewalks to the house.

Many people will notice that the place of the novel is itself a character. The story lends itself to Shaker Heights, Ohio, the town where the Richardsons live and where another set of characters, Mia and Pearl Warren, rent one half of the duplex from Mrs. Richardson.

So what is Shaker Heights like? The town thrives on order, as opposed to chaos, from pre-determined colors of houses to the colors of house curtains. And the formation of lawn to curb, the landscape of

the driveways up to the houses, the lay-out of streets, all create the belief in harmony.

There might not be any living founding Shakers in the time of the story, but their beliefs and ambitions of success and order ebb and wane from day to night and night to day in this otherwise secluded suburban paradise.

Now we know why the opening drama in which the Richardsons’ own home lights up by little fires everywhere inside the home, this conclusion to the story’s Shaker Heights leading up to this point is crucial. Ng runs on this conflict within the story.

The town of order, success and harmony suddenly lives a jolt of disorder and dissonance.

What has happened?

Mia, mother of Pearl, who rents Elena’s duplex, is a quirky artist. From Mia, art brings on chaos. But do her often manipulated and wrangled photographs summon chaos into her being the mother, the homestead she needs to be to Pearl? Mia sees the world as she is an artist in this world.

In this world, she is a genuine Mia bringing up Pearl and bringing out photography as her art.

Mainly, this quiet sanctum will come apart right at this point about motherhood. Elena is mother to four children as Mia is mother to one, Pearl. The trial of who is mother to a Chinese-American infant only takes apart issues of biological parents, adoptive parents, the interplay of a child’s heritage and the means to provide and raise a child in a welcoming community.

The question uptakes the conventional wisdom of “it takes a village” in Little Fires Everywhere. How has Shaker Heights raised its children?

Ng populates the novel with the emotions, inner lives, the actions of children of suburbia, the conformity of a place, and the superficial surface of placid order. Mia and Pearl, taking a respite from the itinerant life they manage before Shaker Heights, would live with these people in their suburbia, in their place, and in their order.

Ng delivers a piece of writing that puts the home of her characters in the center.

Little Fires Everywhere analyzes a place where if we think about our own home, our own sense of myopia may lack the vision of seeing beyond the small world that holds us back. Will the children of Shaker Heights step into the larger world beyond?

There is this intense tale about women, young or middle-aged, the choices and their parenting they can invoke from within themselves. Elena, the character of order, we see in her rules, a penchant or even a self-destructive need to live apart from any disruption from her finely planned life. Ng noticeably bids Elena with her formal title, “Mrs. Richardson”, throughout the novel rather than “Elena”.

We see the lines and boundaries drawn in by the morality and the ethics of both Elena and Mia. This only deepens as the rift between Elena and Mia becomes immeasurable between these two with diametrically-opposed sensibilities.

We see how these two main characters respond to the turns of events. At last, we also see through the eyes of the children to figure how these events will become lasting on all of them. Or, will they?

Mia’s art as a photographer sets the story into another path. So does Elena’s job as a small community newspaper reporter.

Ng’s story-telling power finds its greatest draw through these two vocations. Through photography art and Elena’s ‘investigative’ campaign, Shaker Heights lives a community trauma and Elena’s family lives this trauma palpably. Where will the Richardsons go after the little fires inside their house swallow up their lives?

22 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Ron Ho remembered as generous, elegant man of impeccable taste

By Susan Kunimatsu IE Contributor Ron Ho left his mark on the world. A maker of beautiful jewelry, his monumental necklaces are works of art and storytelling. A teacher of art, he guided the hands and trained the eyes of students from kindergarten through high school over a 35-year career. A passionate and inveterate traveler, his footprints covered the globe, most often in Asia, the source of his own heritage. He introduced countless friends and fellow art-lovers to the art, architecture, and cuisine, but most of all, to the people who keep alive the craft traditions of Asia.

Ho grew up in Hawai‘i and came to the Pacific Northwest to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Pacific Lutheran University and a master’s from the University of Washington. He spent most of his career with the Bellevue School District, retiring in 1992. He was an elementary art specialist, rotating between several schools when he met Linda Oman, a third grade teacher at Cherry Crest Elementary in 1967.

“What I remember most about Ron was how well he motivated the students to enjoy art,” Oman recalls. “On the day of the week he came to my class, the students waited in anticipation. His projects were always fun and very creative and there often was a lot of laughter.” Luly Yang, a prominent West Coast creative director and fashion designer who owns her own couture label, studied under Ho at Newport High School in Bellevue.

“I had many art teachers, but he was the most influential and memorable,” says Yang. She recalls a “very soft-spoken, gentle instructor; inspirational, motivational. He had passion, he loved what he did.”

As an artist, Ho set out to be a painter.

While in graduate school, he took a course with Ramona Solberg, a well-known jewelry artist. In one stroke, he found his medium and a lifelong friend and mentor. Ho accompanied

Ron Ho in Guizhou province, China in 2008. • Photo

by Susan Kunimatsu

Solberg to Europe in the 1970’s, his first trip outside the United States, and her wanderlust proved infectious. A globetrotter who had traveled widely in Europe and Africa, she encouraged Ho to go to Asia, to explore his own heritage, and it became the inspiration for his art. Ho immersed himself in Asia, spending a sabbatical year there in 1978 and making annual trips to countries from Afghanistan and India through China, Japan, and Korea to southeast Asia and Bhutan. In recent years, Vietnam was a favorite destination. Ho guided groups of travelers to urban workshops and remote villages where artisans still lived and worked in the traditional manner.

He combined the artifacts and knowledge that he collected with family lore from the households of his Chinese grandparents, to create beautiful necklaces, contemporary and timeless works, each a story in itself.

“Looking through old family photos from his youth in Hawai‘i, one could see how Ron

may have been influenced by the Hawaiian celebratory leis,” says longtime friend and fellow artist Patti Warashina. A worker’s blue jacket, a gilded bean pod, and foot-shaped silver charms, all framed by a Chinese gate, told the story of his grandfather toiling as a farmer in Hawai‘i. Jade and shell set into the hump of a sterling silver camel recalled his travels along the historic Silk Road.

“His art, like his life, incorporated artifacts from many time periods and traditions,... bound together with his masterful metal work,” says Asian art consultant and collector Wylie Wong.

In addition to Solberg, Ho surrounded himself with a circle of friends who encouraged, criticized and influenced each other’s work. Laurie Hall was teaching at Mercer Island High school when she met Ho in 1970. Although she suspected he wanted her job, they hit it off. He introduced her to other artists and collectors.

“His largest characteristic was being social,” Hall recalls. Younger than Solberg and Ho, she found their company exciting and creatively stimulating. They formed the core of a Northwest school of narrative-driven craft that included jewelers Kiff Slemmons and Lori Talcott, and ceramicists Patti Warashina and Howard Kottler. All went on to attain national recognition.

“There was a conversation going on.

There was competition, but it was a healthy competition. We helped each other … it was a school of thought,” says Hall.

Early in her career, Lori Talcott worked for Ho, Solberg and Kiff Slemmons as a studio assistant. They remained friends and influenced Talcott’s approach to her own work.

“They were all interested in ethnographic work and so was I,” Talcott says of their bond.

“They observed what people were wearing, why they were wearing it. All three learned techniques and formal considerations from ethnographic jewelry, [but] more than their

actual work, it was how they were in the world: balancing work and travel, being an ambassador through jewelry.”

For his work as a teacher, Ho was named Elementary Art Educator of the Year by the Washington Art Education Association (1989) and the National Art Education Association, Pacific Region (1990). For his jewelry, he was honored as Asian Artist of the Year by the Wing Luke Museum (1988); received lifetime achievement awards from Northwest Designer Craftsmen (2006) and the Seattle Metals Guild (2007); and was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Craft Council (2010). His jewelry has been exhibited internationally including solo shows at the Henry Gallery (1976), the Wing Luke Museum (1988), the Honolulu Art Academy (1995), and a career retrospective, “Dim Sum at the On-On Tea Room” at the Bellevue Arts Museum in 2006.

Friends remember Ho as warm and generous, an elegant man of impeccable taste.

His long-time home, a mid-century modern house designed by architect Paul Thiry, was the understated setting for a museum-quality collection of ethnographic art amassed on his travels. There he hosted friends, students, and the occasional arts organization fund-raiser.

A fan and supporter of arts of all kinds, Ho attended the opera or theater in beautiful Asian silk shirts and tribal-scale necklaces, his own work or souvenirs of his travels.

“He could hold court and enjoyed attention, [but] the way he told stories through his work was different,” Lori Talcott recalls. “He worked in a more self-reflective way. There was a modesty to his work.”

Ron Ho was diagnosed with cancer this past spring and passed away at home on September 7. A private memorial is planned.

Northwest Design Craftsmen is producing a documentary film about Ho. Donations may be made to the NWDC Living Treasures Fund: https://www.nwdesignercraftsmen.org/ donate-living-treasures/#!form/Donate.

Rakesh Satyal’s latest novel tugs at the heart strings

By Nalini Iyer IE Contributor A quirky novel filled with oddball characters who manage to tug at your heart strings as they bumble their way through life—this is the basic premise of Rakesh Satyal’s newest novel, No One Can Pronounce My Name.

His debut novel, Blue Boy, was an award winning coming-of-age narrative about an Indian American boy who believes he is an avatar of Krishna. In No One Can Prounounce My Name, we have Ranjana, a middle-aged Indo-American woman, whose son has gone away to college and whose marriage is in a rut.

She leads a semi-secret life as a writer and shares her work with a writers’ circle made up of mediocre aspiring writers.

She has a day job as a receptionist for a gastro-enterologist. Harit is also an Indian immigrant in Cleveland, and he meets Ranjana through his co-worker Teddy, who had met her in a gay bar.

How Ranjana found herself in a gay bar in Cleveland is another arm of the plot of this novel.

and seems to be in a perpetual state of catatonic grief. Harit tries to console her by dressing up in a sari and pretending to be his sister. He works in a department store with Teddy, a gay man, who has returned to Cleveland after several years in New York where he tried to explore culture and lost many friends to AIDS. Harit and Teddy become friends even as Harit tries to understand his own sexuality and mitigate his social isolation in the Indian-American community. Rounding off this collection of characters is Cheryl, Ranjana’s co-worker, who annoys Ranjana most of the time until they go on a road trip to a writers’ conference in Chicago.

The novel also has a cast of well-drawn secondary characters including Ranjana’s husband and son, Harit’s mother, and Teddy’s friend Severine.

Satyal’s narrative has moments of selfconsicousness. For instance, Ranjana remarks on the road trip that she was taking with her friends: “Here she was, surrounded by a mint-chewing coworker, a gay stalker, and an Indian man who thought it was normal to bring pakoras on a road trip with strangers. Wes Anderson Harit lives with his mother who is would have had a field day” (325). Thus, grieving the death of Harit’s sister he takes one of the enduring symbols

of American culture, the road trip, and transforms it into an occasion to explore both the symbol and the ways in which many people fail to fit into mainstream America. Satyal’s narrative comically captures the awkwardness of college life, the banality of the ubiquitous IndianAmerican dinner parties, and marvelously satirizes writers’ conferences. His portrait of Pushpa Sondhi, the gorgeous Pulitzer prize winning author who is fluent in Punjabi, Hindi, and English and then learned Portuguese and began writing in it is a clear dig at Jhumpa Lahiri, the iconic Indo-American author, whose novels have become canonical.

Woven into this comic plot are heartwarming moments where completely different people overcome cultural and social barriers to become friends.

Whether it is an awkward Indian man understanding his sexual identity and finding support in unlikely places or a middle aged Indian couple rekindling their marriage, Satyal finds the delicate balance between the absurd and the sentimental. Along the way he offers a different Indian immigrant novel—one in which the narrative is not just about being caught between two cultures but

about finding one’s self in the company of other misfits.

Rakesh Satyal was scheduled to read at Elliott Bay Books on October 10 at 7:00 p.m. The reading has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

ARTS

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 23

Seattle Public Theatre, SIS ready to engage in conversation with Extreme Happiness

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor

and Kelly Kitchens got in touch with me about directing this piece for SPT, and I’ve been a fan of the company for years,” Chiang said.

“This is a piece that is dear to me as a Chinese American and a woman, so it felt like an opportunity too fortuitous to pass up.”

Lareau agreed. “I think it would be remiss of us to do a piece that is so centered in a Chinese experience without involving SIS and Poverty and the challenges faced by Asian American artists to the fullest in this ordinary workers are familiar experiences project,” she said “It is imperative that these worldwide, and one such story comes to the voices live at the center of the piece.”

Seattle stage this month. The World of Extreme The two companies have worked together Happiness by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig will be throughout the rehearsal and planning co-presented by Seattle Public Theater and process. “SIS has been involved with the SIS Productions at SPT’s Green Lake theatre production meetings, marketing plans, and venue. conversations and community involvement SPT Co-Artistic Director Annie Lareau states that this play reflects the new mission of that theatre company. “When Kelly Kitchens and I came aboard as Co-Producing Artistic Directors, we made the decision to change the direction of the company,” Lareau said. “We created a new vision of the company, which was to create an inclusive and intellectually curious community that actively engages with ideas and people.”

The World of Extreme Happiness centers on a young woman in China who struggles to obtain better employment through the lens of self-help culture. Lareau believes the focus on both class and gender support SPT’s vision. “Though the story takes place in China, the themes are inherent for women in particular in all cultures,” she said, “and in today’s society, we are deeply involved now in understanding individual rights versus corporate personhood.”

that will be surrounding this play throughout its run,” Lareau said. “We will be holding talkbacks after each performance that Kathy will help facilitate for any audience members that are moved to stay and discuss the issues that surround the piece.”

Hsieh agrees that this is the right balance of involvement in the production. “As a small, all-volunteer run theatre company without our own performance venue, SIS is only able to do a certain number of projects on our own each year,” Hsieh said. “And The World of Extreme Happiness is a show that needs far more resources than SIS would be able to easily pull together on our own.”

Beyond the pursuit of authenticity, Hsieh finds this play a great match for SIS’s mission, as well. “We’re both women-run companies that aspire to present shows that inspire audiences to engage more deeply with what’s being shared,” she said. “SIS is all about Once the play was selected for SPT’s women-centered productions that explore the season, Lareau and Kitchens reached out to role of women in society and The World of Kathy Hsieh at SIS Productions. “I think the Extreme Happiness does exactly that.” primary reason Annie reached out,” Hsieh The relevance of the play to American said, “was because we had developed a great audiences was a key draw for SIS. “Even working relationship on the two other recent though it’s set in China, where socially and productions she had done that had significant historically, it’s hard to deny the devaluing themes within an Asian or Asian American of women when so many have been thrown context, Chinglish at ArtsWest and Hotel on away in favor of boys, the themes in the play the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.” palpably parallel much of what is happening Both Hsieh and Lareau believe the partnership adds quality to the production.

“One of the best ways to bring a story to life on stage is to involve artists that authentically represent the characters being depicted,” Hsieh said. “By having SIS involved, we’re able to help offer perspectives, input, and guidance that deepen the work and help it better speak to the Asian American community.”

Chiang is confident that the play’s Chinese heroine will resonate with local audiences.

“When I first worked on this piece, I was struck by how western the script felt, despite it being set in China,” she said.

“The fight against a system of oppression, the individual’s struggle for visibility, our misguided notions of meritocracy and desire for personal advancement—these are also American ideas.”

in the U.S. today,” Hsieh said. “With the last Presidential election, we here have had to question whether women aren’t further behind than we had imagined.”

Hsieh also views this production as important regarding race and ethnicity— and not just because it’s set in China. “An additional reason why a co-production is important for play like this is because a co-

She sees other links between the two major countries, as well. “There are a lot of shared values between modern China and America,” she said. “So the more I work on this play, the more I’m convinced that as our world becomes more increasingly technological, our perceived cultural differences eventually become subsumed by a larger shared notion of modernity.”

Staging non-American stories increase that sense of the world becoming ever smaller.

“We have a tendency to judge certain kinds of systemic oppression in other countries and think that such injustices couldn’t possibly exist here,” Chiang said. “I hope audiences But the SIS-SPT partnership can will be able to see the ways in which the world demonstrate alternative ways of working. of this play may not be so different from our “Rather than having white institutions simply own world.” appropriate the stories of communities of Hsieh goes further and encourages color and poach the talent, a more equitable situation is a co-production where the POC- audience members to engage actively with the led company dictates what the partnership play. “One value that the new producing team should be,” she said. “The POC-led company at SPT and SIS share is that we prioritize the provides cultural credibility, community role of theatre as a springboard for community connections, and can better ensure that connection,” she said. “So we’re working the production will be more authentic and together to provide audiences with as many inclusive. And the white-led company can opportunities to engage in conversation about provide the resources and staffing to make the piece and can’t wait to see what thoughts the production happen. And unlike the purely are ignited by the production.” transactional collaborations of previous The World of Extreme Happiness runs decades, the current paradigm encourages from October 13 to November 5 at Seattle both companies to learn from each other as Public Theater, 7312 West Green Lake Drive they build relationship with each other.”

North, Seattle. For more information, visit Within this structure, local director www.seattlepublictheater.org/the-world-ofDesdemona Chiang appreciated the extreme-happiness. opportunity to direct the piece. “Annie Lareau production models a best practice for racial equity,” she said. “Theatre in America has always been hugely inequitable when it comes to race.”

Set designer Chikako Suzuki finds balance in her success

By Roxanne Ray IE Contributor Images are powerful, and set designer Chikako Suzuki enjoys wielding that power.

Trained as a set designer at Carnegie Mellon, she then made the leap to designing for television in Hollywood, and has earned an Emmy Award for her art direction for the Showtime comedy Suzuki House of Lies. But her journey wasn’t short or direct.

“I was always interested in fashion and “I was a broadcasting major when I makeups. However, the costume class came to the U.S. to study,” Suzuki said. I wanted to take was full and I couldn’t “In broadcasting classes, we covered a register for the class.” lot of aspects of news programs. I was This required another shift. “To earn more interested in entertainment side of the theatre arts degree, I had to take broadcasting.” classes in other crafts such as lighting So after making the big decision design and set design,” Suzuki said. “So, I to study in the United States at San took a set design class to check off the list Francisco State University, she made her of requirements, and I was hooked.” next transition into theatre. “I wanted to After completing her undergraduate become a costume designer,” she said. degree, Suzuki applied to Carnegie

Mellon, expecting to design stages for Broadway. But she was in for another surprise: “What I realized during those years at the Carnegie Mellon was that I didn’t really belong to the theatre world,” she said. “Then I met a production designer from Hollywood, and decided that I wanted to come back to California.”

Suzuki has found the world of TV full of challenges. “It is very fast, and it requires a lot of attention to details,” she said. “Also I need to be very good at multitasking.”

The schedule itself can be very demanding. “I tend to start a day very early when the production is on a location.

I wake up in the dark and come home in the dark,” she said. “I think the earliest call time I’ve had in my career is 3:00 a.m. Then I think I went home around 6:30 p.m. that day.”

to shoot a particular location on Monday, and we lost the location on Friday,” Suzuki said. “There was no time for us to react to the situation and we had to be very creative to adjust what we’d already planned to the new location.”

Budgetary restrictions are always a factor, too. “What kills me in this business is that we reward people in the power too much. Rich people are getting richer,” she said. “We ‘below the line’ support the system if we like it or not. That’s the part I don’t like and I wish we could change that.”

But for now, Suzuki is focusing on enjoying the rewards of her success so far.

“I could always work on bigger and better projects and receive more awards, for sure,” she said. “However, now I’m trying to concentrate on a better life for myself.”

But the schedule is not the only Balance is the key, she is finding. “I’ve challenge, since television set design can sacrificed so much to achieve my goals,” be affected by locational factors. “I’ve she says. “Life is short. Now, I’m trying to had a situation where we were supposed enjoy my life more.”

24 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

TSAFF brings myriad of mind-blowing movies

By Yayoi L. Winfrey IE Contributor

Offering 18 feature films and 38 shorts from 11 countries, this year’s annual Tasveer South Asian Film Festival promises a myriad of mind-blowing movies.

Escaping Agra is a short documentary featuring 19 year-old UC Davis student Naveen Bhat. Refusing to be bound by binary gender terms, Bhat prefers using the pronoun “they.” The female-born Bhat moved from India to California and, realizing they didn’t identify as the gender assigned them, proclaimed themselves neither male nor female. But after revealing their newly found nongender status to their family, Bhat was tricked into returning to Agra India.

Held against their will, their passport and green card seized, Bhat relied on partner Madi, whose relatives along with activists helped free them. Told in part via standup comedy routine, the film features Bhat disclosing their trials and tribulations with blindingly brutal honesty. (English) I Am Bonnie is the tumultuous and true tale of Bandana Paul. Although born intersex, he was assigned a female identity by his uneducated parents and given the girl’s name, Bandana. Playing Indian Women’s football, Bandana was known as an extraordinary striker. But in 1998, she was accused of cheating after failing a sex test at the Bangkok Asian Games.

Following sex reassignment surgery, Bandana became Bonnie—assuming a male name and identity. But when his family disowned him in 2000, he headed

for the small town of Krishnanagar. Six years later, he married a compassionate hotel maid named Swati. But after locals uncovered Bonnie’s past, the couple moved to Matigara, a suburb of Siliguri.

There, Bonnie created and sold Hindu idols even though he followed no religious rituals himself. After years of isolation from his family, he yearned for a reunion.

It was disastrous. In 2012, Siliguri officials hired Bonnie to coach a youth football camp; the perfect boost for his lagging football career. But when he was forced to fill a large order of idols for Durga Puja, an annual Hindu festival, Bonnie took out high interest loans to purchase materials and acquired significant debt. At the same time, the football camp neglected to pay him. While this documentary effectively capture’s Bonnie’s sorrows, it also shows his bliss. (Bengali with English subtitles) For the squeamish, Leeches could be disturbing. In this short narrative, a teenage girl is forced into marriage with a wealthy sheik desiring young virgins. Eighteen year-old Raisa lives in Hyderabad’s Old City with her mother, Ammi, and three younger sisters. Desperate for money, Ammi allows 13 year-old Zainab to be married off to a foreign businessman.

The repulsive “One-Day Bride” practice permits rich men to bid on the virginity of impoverished girls. Brokered by special agents wielding effective contracts, a couple is married and divorced in a single day. Sanctioned by religious leaders referencing Sharia laws, the procedure frees wealthy older grooms from being stuck with the youthful brides they deflower. Determined to save her sister,

Raisa finds a solution in common bloodsuckers. (Urdu with English subtitles) The feature-length narrativeSaawan is about a 9 year-old boy whose sadistic father expects him to behave like a man. Even though Saawan’s father is unable to find work, he harbors unrealistic expectations of his disabled son. In their small village in Balochistan Pakistan, Saawan’s father beats both him and his own wife. Further, Saawan is also cruelly taunted by other children.

When his family becomes destitute, they hitch a ride on a wagon headed to a refugee camp. But after contracting polio, Saawan can’t walk and is denied access to the wagon by menacing men with weapons. Left behind on his own, Saawan recalls his mother’s powerful words and is not discouraged. Instead, he sets out find his family and encoun-

ters the protective spirit of a departed mountain man and a three-legged dog.

Unfortunately, Saawan also becomes the target of thugs after discovering a kidnapping ring exploiting children.

(Urdu with English subtitles) A modern-day narrative about a Pakistani woman living in London, Arifa is both the film’s title and the young lady’s name. After breaking up with her boyfriend because he refused to turn off his mobile phone and help her from his car, 28 year-old Arifa (Shermin Hassan) feels hopeless. Her criminal father illegally sells tobacco from their home while her helpless mother looks the other way. Arifa’s younger sister is also complicit even as Arifa scolds the entire family for having to work to support them. One night at a coffee bar, Arifa is approached by a Roman named Riccardo. At first, he seems sincere, but as they begin dating, he starts showing up late if at all. Already reluctant to embark on a relationship after having experienced too many failed ones, Arifa suspects that Riccardo is not who he says he is—a professional video gamer claiming to love her. This comical film has a dramatic flair, and director Sadia Saeed paints an accurate portrayal of millennials juggling Western customs with their parents’ traditional ways.

(English) The Tasveer South Asian Film Festival happens from October 6-15. For tickets and more information, visit tsaff. tasveer.org.

Twist: 22nd Seattle Queer Film Festival offers powerful line-up

By Yayoi L. Winfrey IE Contributor Presented by Three Dollar Bill Cinema, Twist: 22nd Seattle Queer Film Festival promises a powerful line-up of LGBQT films.

Below are some featuring Asians and Asian Americans.

From Japan, comes Close-Knit, a tender, tear-jerking tale about a contemporary blended family. When Tomo-chan’s mother abandons her, leaving behind just a package of onigiri (a store-bought rice ball), the girl seeks the help of her uncle Makio, a bookstore cashier. Bringing his niece home, Makio introduces her to his lover, Rinko (Toma Ikuta), a transgender caregiver who knits whenever she’s upset. Soon, Rinko is fussing over the 11-year-old, gently brushing her hair and carving a tiny octopus from a small sausage for her bento (lunchbox).

But Tomo-chan (Rinka Kakihara) is a bit unnerved by Rinko’s breast implants, and she still yearns for her own mother. Slowly, she warms up to Rinko as she learns to knit along with her for what will become 108 symbols of liberation for Rinko. In Buddhist teachings, there are 108 sufferings of humankind. Meanwhile, a classmate of Tomo-chan’s comes to terms with his homosexuality even as his mother rejects it with disastrous results. Kakihara as Tomo-chan is brilliantly charming as is Ikuta as Rinko, even though the ill-fitting wig is distracting. Director Naoko Ogigami makes clever use of Japanese metaphors like floating cherry blossoms in this remarkable

feature narrative. (Japanese with English subtitles) In the riveting documentary Small Talk, Taiwanese director Hui-Chen Huang sets up cameras inside her house to examine her lesbian mother, Anu, up-close and personal. Often sitting opposite Anu, HuiChen pokes, probes and prods for answers.

Concerned about her future relationship with her toddler daughter, Ping, Hui-Chen has endless questions—“Did Anu ever love her and her sister?” “Why did she spend more time with her girlfriends than her daughters?” Anu’s brusque answers are often brutally frank whenever she chooses to respond, which is not always. As HuiChen uncovers painful secrets like the savage abuse her father heaped on them all, she finds more questions to ask. Through countless silent meals, treks to the house that Anu grew up in, and at gatherings with Anu’s siblings, Hui-Chen seeks answers for the wall her mother has built between them.

Even her memories of colorful ceremonies they performed together as a Soul Guiding Troupe at funerals, ushering the deceased toward salvation, can’t alleviate Hui-Chen’s emptiness as Anu directs her more than once to “stop filming.” (Taiwanese (Min Nan) with English subtitles) On the other hand, in the documentary Abu (which means father in Urdu), it is son Arshad Khan who is gay and seeking his father’s approval. Told through animation, old home videos and vintage family photos, the film chronicles one Pakistani family’s

diaspora. During the British partition, the Khan’s left Punjab India for Lahore and, later, Islamabad Pakistan. As an engineer, Abu was able to provide a middle-class lifestyle for his family and they enjoyed lively get-togethers with extended family and friends. But when the economy began failing and politics grew violent, Abu moved his family to Canada.There, Arshad continued exploring his burgeoning need to connect to his closeted homosexual feelings. But as Arshad grows more open in a Western environment, both his father and mother become ultra-conservative Muslims unable to accept their son’s gay lifestyle. (English, Punjabi, Urdu with English subtitles) Another captivating documentary, also from Pakistan, is Girl Unbound: The War to Be Her. In this tense tale, Maria Toorpakai, a Pakistani athlete happily veers between her male and female sides. After discovering her natural abilities at the game of squash, she began dressing as a boy so she could play freely under the watchful eyes of the Taliban which banned girls from all sports. Growing up in the Waziristan region, the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas, Maria is aware of how dangerous it is for her to defy the laws and travel around the world winning championships. But in spite of the menacing threats her father receives, he continues to encourage Maria to play and her sister, Ayesha, to enter politics. (English, Urdu with English subtitles) Signature Move is feature-length, rom-com narrative with culture-crossing characters. When Zaynab, an unmarried

Pakistani lawyer, meets Alma, a Mexican Jewish bookstore owner, it is not love at first sight. Instead, the two women drink too much and end up in compromising positions. Zaynab lives with her widowed mother, who has binoculars permanently attached to her neck to spy on potential husbands in the neighborhood for her inthe-closet lesbian daughter. As she surveils, she obsessively watches Pakistani soap operas. In order to de-stress, Zaynab takes up wrestling. Unbeknownst to her, Alma’s Mexican mother was once a professional wrestler. With her cropped hair and leather motorcycle attire, Zaynab looks a lot tougher than she is, and discovers that love is something she can’t wrestle away. (English, Urdu, Spanish with English subtitles) A feature narrative from Thailand, Fathers is about a boy with two fathers and who wants to know the mother he’s never met. Butr (Sinjai Plengpanich) is like any other kid his age until his fellow classmates begin bullying him for being motherless.

His two fathers do their best to help him understand their relationship and why his birth mother put him up for adoption. But an official reliving her own haunted past decides to interfere. Soon, the previously unknown mother enters the picture and the two fathers exit. (Thai with English subtitles) Twist: 22nd Seattle Queer Film Festival happens October 12-22. For tickets and more information, visit www. threedollarbillcinema .org/prog rams/ TWIST.

COMMUNITY

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 25

26 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

Arts & Culture Asia Pacific Cultural Center 4851 So. Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409 Ph: 253-383-3900 Fx: 253-292-1551 faalua@comcast.net www.asiapacificculturalcenter.org Bridging communities and generations through arts, culture, education and business.

Friends of Asian Art Association (FA3) P.O. Box 15404 Seattle, WA 98115 206-522-5438 friendsofasianart2@gmail.com www.friendsofasianart.org To advance understanding, appreciation and support for Asian arts and cultures, the Friends of Asian Art Association provides and supports programs, activities and materials that reflect the arts and cultures of countries that make up the broad and diverse spectrum of Asia.

Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington 1414 S Weller Street Seattle, WA 98144 Ph: 206-568-7114 admin@jcccw.org www.jcccw.org JCCCW is committed to preserving, promoting, and sharing Japanese and Japanese American culture and heritage.

Programs: Japanese Language School | Cultural Events | Library | Resale Store | Internship & Volunteer Opportunities | Historical Exhibitions | Rental Space

RAJANA Society Seattle, WA 206-979-3206 sameth@rajanasociety.org

RAJANA Society is an Arts & Civics project focusing on civic engagement and bridging cultural divides with the Cambodian Diaspora.

Civil Rights & Advocacy Organization of Chinese Americans Asian Pacific American Advocates Greater Seattle Chapter P.O. Box 14141 Seattle, WA 98114

COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Homelessness Services

Professional & Leadership Development

YouthCare 2500 NE 54th Street Seattle, WA 98105 206-694-4500 info@youthcare.org www.youthcare.org

Working to prevent and end youth homelessness with services including meals, shelter, housing, job training, education, and more.

Homeownership Services HomeSight 5117 Rainier Ave S Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-723-4355 fx: 206-760-4210 www.homesightwa.org NMLS#49289 HomeSight creates homeownership opportunities through first mortgage lending, down payment assistance, real estate development, homebuyer education, and counseling.

Housing Services InterIm Community Development Association 310 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 Ph: 206-624-1802 Services: 601 S King St, Ph: 206-623-5132 Interimicda.org Multilingual community building: affordable housing, housing counseling, homelessness prevention, advocacy, teen leadership, and the Danny Woo Community Garden.

Executive Development Institute 310 – 120th Ave NE. Suite A102 Bellevue, WA Ph: 425-467-9365 edi@ediorg.org • www.ediorg.org EDI offers culturally relevant leadership development programs.

WE MAKE LEADERS Fostering future leaders through education, networking and community NAAAP Seattle services for Asian American Queen Anne Station professionals and entreP.O. Box 19888 preneurs.

Seattle, WA 98109 Facebook: NAAAP-Seattle info@naaapseattle.org Twitter: twitter.com/naaapwww.naaapseattle.org seattle

Senior Services

The Kin On Team is ready to serve YOU! www.kinon.org

Kawabe Memorial House 221 18th Ave S Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-322-4550 connie.devaney@gmail.com We provide affordable, safe, culturally sensitive housing and support services to people aged 62 and older.

Immigration Services

Denise Louie Education Center 206-767-8223 info@deniselouie.org www.deniselouie.org

Offering home visiting services for children birth to 3 and full & part-day multicultural preschool education for ages 3 to 5 in the International District, Beacon Hill and Rainier Beach.

Social & Health Services Asian Counseling & Referral Service 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-695-7600 fx: 206-695-7606 events@acrs.org www.acrs.org ACRS offers multilingual, behavioral health and social services to Asian Pacific Americans and other low-income people in King County.

APICAT 601 S King St. Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-682-1668 www.apicat.org Addressing tobacco, marijuana prevention and control and other health disparities in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.

Cathay Post #186 of The American Legion Supporting veterans for over 70 years Accepting new members—contact us today to learn more! (206) 355-4422 P.O. Box 3281 Seattle, WA 98144-3281 cathaypost@hotmail.com

www.ocaseattle.org

Washington New Americans Program OneAmerica 1225 S. Weller St., Suite 430 Seattle, WA 98144 Are you a lawful permanent resident? The Washington New Americans program can help you complete your application for U.S. citizenship. Low-cost and free services available – please call our hotline or visit www.wanewamericans.org.

Phone: 1-877-926-3924 Email: wna@weareoneamerica.org Website: www.wanewamericans.org

Southeast Seattle Senior Center 4655 S. Holly St., Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-722-0317 fax: 206-722-2768 kateh@seniorservices.org www.sessc.org Daytime activities center providing activities social services, trips, and community for seniors and South Seattle neighbors. We have weaving, Tai Chi, indoor beach-ball, yoga, dance, senior-oriented computer classes, trips to the casino, and serve scratch cooked lunch. Open Monday through Friday, 8:30-4. Our thrift store next door is open Mon-Fri 10-2, Sat 10-4. This sweet center has services and fun for the health and well-being of boomers and beyond. Check us out on Facebook or our website.

Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs GA Bldg., 210 11th Ave SW, Suite 301A Olympia, WA 98504 ph: (360) 725-5667 www.facebook.com/wacapaa capaa@capaa.wa.gov www.capaa.wa.gov Statewide liaison between government and APA communities. Monitors and informs the public about legislative issues.

Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authority ph: 206-624-8929 fx: 206-467-6376 info@scidpda.org Housing, property management and community development.

OCA—Greater Seattle Chapter was formed in 1995 and since that time it has been serving the Greater Seattle Chinese and Asian Pacific American community as well as other communities in the Pacific Northwest.

It is recognized in the local community for its advocacy of civil and voting rights as well as its sponsorship of community activities and events.

Education

Senior Services

Keiro Northwest 1601 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122 ph: 206-323-7100 www.keironorthwest.org rehabilitation care | skilled nursing | assisted living | home care | senior day care | meal delivery | transportation | continuing education | catering services

Legacy House 803 South Lane Street Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-292-5184 fx: 206-838-3057 info@legacyhouse.org www.scidpda.org/programs/legacyhouse. aspx Services offered: Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, meal programs for low-income seniors.

Chinese Information & Service Center 611 S Lane St, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-624-5633 fax: 206-624-5634 info@cisc-seattle.org www.cisc-seattle.org Creating opportunities for Asian immigrants and their families to succeed by helping them make the transition to a new life while keeping later generations in touch with their rich heritage.

Want to join the Community Resource Directory? Contact lexi@iexaminer.org

COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY

Social & Health Services

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017 — 27

Since 1935

Tai Tung Restaurant International District Medical & Dental Clinic 720 8th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-788-3700 email: info@ichs.com website: www.ichs.com

Banquet Facilities - Catering - Delivery

Bellevue Medical & Dental Clinic 1050 140th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005 ph: 425-373-3000 Shoreline Medical & Dental Clinic 16549 Aurora Avenue N, Shoreline, WA 98133 ph: 206-533-2600 Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic 3815 S Othello St, Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-788-3500 The largest Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community health center in Washington state, ICHS provides medical, dental, behavioral health and pharmacy care with multilingual doctors, nurses and staff experienced in meeting the needs of King County’s diverse and multicultural communities. All are welcome and sliding fee scales are available for uninsured patients.

7301 Beacon Ave S Seattle, WA 98108 ph: 206-587-3735 fax: 206-748-0282 www.idicseniorcenter.org info@idicseniorcenter.org

Come Enjoy the Oldest Chinese Restaurant in Town!

IDIC is a nonprofit human services organization that offers wellness and social service programs to Filipinos and API communities.

655 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 622-7372

Parking & Transportation Services

Mon-Thurs 11am-10:30pm Fri-Sat 11am-12am Sun 11am-10pm

206-624-3426 transia@aol.com Merchants Parking provides convenient and affordable community parking. Transia provides community transportation: para-transportation services, shuttle services, and field trips in and out of Chinatown/International District, and King County.

iexaminer.org/ classifieds

Answers to this puzzle are on Wednesday, October 18.

28 — October 4, 2017 – October 17, 2017

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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