![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I am just always working as a housemaid," she said. When I was younger I told everyone I wanted to change my blood so I could be white."įorced to leave school at age 10, she feels imprisoned by the circumstances of her birth: "I can't find a good job because I can't go to school. Moreno said: "They always call me 'nigger'. ![]() As a child, she hid at home because she felt ashamed. Brenda Moreno, 43, does not know the names of either of her parents. "Black Amerasians" – those fathered by African-American soldiers – suffered the most extreme prejudice. Michelle Zavala Nunag, 28, said: "People assume that if you're Amerasian your mother worked in a bar – and that you will be just like her." Working in a bar in the Philippines can be a euphemism for prostitution. Many were unable to finish high school, lacked the skills to find work or were denied jobs because of their skin colour. They experienced intense levels of discrimination for being illegitimate, mixed race, or the children of prostitutes. The majority of Amerasians – an estimated 52,000 people were fathered by Americans during the long military association with the country – grew up in extreme poverty, raised by family members or guardians. They are also eager to point out that with America once again taking a close interest in the Pacific and likely to rotate soldiers through the Philippines as part of its "pivot to Asia", history may be about to repeat itself. Now, this generation of second-class citizens are starting to find their voice, after a lifetime of discrimination, bullying and worse. ![]()
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