Pathos of Asian Adoptees

Binitay

On January 24th, 1990, I was abandoned as a newborn in the village of Mabuli in the municipality of Tabogon on the island of Cebu, Philippines. I was immediately placed in the Department of Social Welfare Childrens’ Shelter in Cebu City and stayed there for two years. Then, I was placed in the Torres foster family home where I lived for one year. At age 3, I was adopted through Bethany Christian Adoption Services into a white Caucasian American family in Metro Detroit, Michigan. My story contrasts with that of many Asian adoptees. My unique stature as an adopted Filipino American in Michigan has met struggles with racism and clashing values, reconciliation of cultural identities, and finding value of the existences of ethnic and cultural spaces. Currently, I work within the Filipino and Asian Pacific Islander communities. 

Goals: The full-length documentary will encompass the development of my identity through the demographics and cultural spaces within the Detroit area, its positive aspects, and my firsthand experience in the Philippines being a Filipino adoptee; it contrasts with the socio-cultural stories of other Asian adoptions, which are often Korean or Chinese. Adoption has many different aspects that many people do not take into consideration. These include personal history of the adoptive child, prior ties to the birth mother or parents, the ties to the adoptive parents, nature vs. nurture, and larger socio-cultural histories that involve the adoptive child’s heritage/ethnic background. I’ll also highlight many critiques that do not reflect upon adoptive families but more so societies’ perceptions about adoption. 

 “One who doesn’t look back at where he or she came from will never get to his or her destination.” ~Jose Rizal, Philippine National Hero

Not only do I plan on making this documentary to create a perspective and story with Asian adoptions and non-Asian adoptions, but I would also like to share my story with those who have had similar identity struggles as me. Prior to the trip will incorporate attending Filipino Heritage Camp as a third year returning camp counselor for Filipino Adoptees.  During my trip to the Philippines I’ll be meeting my foster family, the Torres family, for the very first time after 20 years and I will be searching for my birth family. There will also be testimonials of adoptive relatives, foster family, friends who I have grown up with, and mentors who have watched the evolution of my identities. I will be accompanied by Lorial Crowder, founder of the non-profit Filipino Adoptees Network, who will provide emotional support. As an educator and mentor in the Philippine-American community I teach a class known as Filipino Youth Initiative (FYI) which was founded by the Filipino American National Historical Society-Michigan Chapter (FANHS-MI).  I am also a member of FANHS-MI. 

First year I was in Filipino Youth Initiative class.

 Mentees learn and challenge their self reflection of identity, acknowledging and learning about ones’ roots and socio-cultural history, and the investigation of personal history through family interviews and storytelling. The goal for FYI class is the culmination in clarifying my students’ identities as Filipino Americans (FilAm).  As an adoptee I find these elements from the class to be a large asset in my documentary. Prior to teaching and mentoring in the Philippine-American community, I was a student and mentee. Taking this class that was offered in the Filipino American community really helped me create a better understanding of what it means to be “Filipino”, and how, regardless of my adoption, bits and pieces of my life experience largely compares to the Filipino-American experience rather than contrast. 

Class time! First year as a mentee and empowerment

 This documentary will, in part, be my story telling experience of how I reconciled my identities. I will do all the filming and editing. My travel time in the Philippines is estimated from August 6th- August 27th. 

Last words: My lifelong question is one that is always reflected back at me when I see myself. One of the core-hitting aspects of this documentary to be.

Expenses:

I am currently in pre-production with my film, gathering snippets and pieces of some of the work I do in the Filipino-American and Asian-American communities here in Michigan. I am still a college student and always wanted to do a birth family search and reconnect with my foster family since I was a child. Before, I did not know that my foster family was still alive. Because of my involvement in the Filipino-American community, community members helped me find them through their connections to the Philippines. This project will be a much larger undertaking than I first conceived. What I first thought would be fairly easy will require a little more help. I’ll need help with a laptop because the one I have is unreliable in the poor condition it is in. Also, quality video editing software will provide with the best quality for the documentary I’ll be making. Travel expenses such as roundtrip airfare to the Filipino Heritage Camp which I will be attending in Colorado and then to the Philippines. Other expenses will be food and lodging, and between island travel. Most of the time I will be filming in Manila and the island of Cebu, my birth place. This trip is part of the “motherland tour” with the Filipino Adoptees Network (FAN); however, for those who would like to partake in a birth family search, which I’ll be doing, may do so and will be aided by the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB). When I finish this documentary, I hope to be able to aid in the distribution of my DVDs with whatever funds I have left. Your support will bring all of this to reality and is greatly appreciated! Risks and Challenges: Without your support and help in raising enough funds for my project, I will potentially be unable to complete my project and documentary. If I am able to reach my potential goal, the challenge becomes, like many adoption stories, coming back empty handed and still left with the same questions about my birth family. As painful as that potential outcome may be, knowing that I had all of your support in making this goal a reality and allowing me to share my story will make everything worthwhile. I thank you in advance for your support and I look forward to this next step in my documentary goals.