JULY 12, 2022

Hello, everyone!

For all the restaurant kids out there, Rachel Phan writes a personal narrative plating the histories, monotony and struggle in that immigrant story. 

Phan’s parents, who still run their restaurant, are growing old as the work becomes more of a burden than a labor of love or for financial stability.

For Phan, the restaurant is a lingering theme in most, if not all, of her childhood memories. From sleepover parties to fights in her rebellious teenage years, the restaurant was always the epicenter of it all. Today, Phan wants the restaurant to not be a hurdle transfixed in between her and her parents. Instead of constantly working and fighting as a result of stress, she hopes that her parents will be happy in their old age. 

But this is a tough bridge to cross, and Phan admits that she does take the easy route sometimes. Rather than asking about other things, she will pick up the phone, inquire about the restaurant and receive the same answer: “It was so goddamn busy.” 

Race in America 🌎

The Filipino community in the San Francisco Excelsior community are fighting to keep their ethnic studies program alive.

The program, which focuses on Filipino culture and teaches in the Tagalog language, revitalizes the cultural bonds between generations of immigrant parents and children. In the Excelsior community, the elementary school program is facing budget cuts and as a result is planning on downsizing, reducing staff and cutting students.

Longfellow Elementary School administrators are butting heads with parents and protests to keep the program as it is continues to show local schools the value and validation in local ethnic studies.
 

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Im Ja Choi, the founder of Penn Asian Senior Services, died at 73. Her nonprofit provided the East Oak Lane community in Pennsylvania with English and Asian-language-speaking health aides to Asian elders.

Despite being a successful businesswoman, Choi let it all go after discovering a major shortage and inequity in Asian American healthcare when she tried searching for an appropriate aide for her mother in 2002. In the early 2000s, the process took eight months, which highlighted large disparities in healthcare access for Choi’s mother and other Asian families.

From there, she created her nonprofit agency, specializing in providing personal home care and other home services in almost two dozen Asian languages. In addition to her organization, Choi created a seniors community center and an adult day-care center for immigrants who struggled with linguistic and cultural barriers, a state-licensed vocational school for entry-level Asian health-care workers and a seniors community center. For funding, Choi also applied for and received grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and worked with local organizations to create coalitions to strengthen healthcare services for marginalized Asian populations. 

In Other Asian News 🗞

The day after late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was murdered, many Japanese citizens showed up to the polls and voted for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to honor him. As a result, the LDP currently holds a two-thirds supermajority in the upper house.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, along with the rest of his LDP colleagues, plans to reintroduce the constitutional revision project to remilitarize Japan and reinstate the nation’s right to belligerency. Despite previous failures, the party’s move to attempt to erase Article 9 from the Japanese constitution showcases the incentives and political trajectory toward future national security plans and Asia-Pacific relations with the West.

The election also produced large results for Japanese women in politics, with a record high of 181 women running for the upper house and winning 35 of those 121 seats.
 

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In Indonesia, the indigenous Baduy community believes that injecting their bodies with COVID-19 vaccines will make them impure.

While Western societies are familiar with the usual anti-vax and pro-science rhetoric, this indigenous community has results to back up their assertions. Despite living in one of the provinces most heavily impacted by COVID-19, the Baduy community has not experienced one death. Throughout the entirety of the pandemic, the Baduy have only recorded eight infections.

The community respects their customs and fears the repercussions of disregarding their customary laws. While they incorporated some technology into their lives, most of these villages remain largely unaffected by modern machinery. Instead, the community has opted to follow their traditions, including forbidding any four-legged animal besides dogs and cats to enter their village and practice their monotheistic faith, which prioritizes protecting life and nature.

Healthcare professionals and the Banduy believe it is their humble and respectful practices, as well as relative seclusion from urban areas that shielded them from the major consequences of COVID-19. Although they largely rely on local wisdom and do not receive vaccinations, the people are also flexible and understanding when interacting with government officials. When it is regarding the greater good, communicating with the Baduy will more often than not result in an exception for the vaccine.

Entertainment 📺

Korean-American actor Ma Dong-seok, aka Don Lee, best known for his roles in “Train to Busan,” Marvel’s “Eternals” and most recently “The Roundup,” which he co-wrote and produced, chatted with Deadline about his career.

From being a janitor and club bouncer in the U.S. to now producing his own works and being cast in big blockbusters, he shares his thoughts on Korea’s global impact in entertainment.

Working with talent management and production company B&C Content, Lee is bridging pathways in both Korea and Hollywood, but helping cultivate new talent as well.

“You’ll see that most of the projects I produce, including “The Outlaws,” “The Roundup” and many others, are all directed by first-time or emerging directors, who have now gone on to have successful careers in the business. This really makes me happy,” Lee said.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” star Simu Liu and over 20 other celebrities joined basketball star Jeremy Lin and the Canadian Chinese Youth Athletic Association (CCYAA) in a charity game to raise money for the Jeremy Lin Foundation and a new community center for the CCYAA.

CCYAA board member Carli Yim said the new community center aims to “provide accessible programming” and serve as a space for inclusive sports for Asian youth. Lin added that he hoped someday more people would feel like they have a chance to thrive and be themselves in their respective fields.

“Eventually you won't be the token Asian, and that's a big part of creating opportunities for the next generation,” Lin said.



What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• Documents leaked to The Guardian reveal a slew of alarming operations from Uber that range from lobbying efforts of world leaders, such as President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, to duping police and exploiting violence against drivers.

• The CDC is reporting findings about a weedkiller ingredient tied to cancer being found in 80% of U.S. urine samples, primarily gained through the use of the popular Roundup brand weed killer and the consumption of foods like soybean, honey, oats and corn.  

• BTS x Street Galleries is a virtual tour project in partnership with Google to show fans special spots around the world, personally chosen by the members.  

• Dallas chef Anna Swann’s Filipino pop-up was declared by Food and Wine Magazine to be the best spot for Filipino food in Texas. 

• Multiple flash floods in Pakistan have killed at least 147 people in less than a month, with climate change being largely to blame on the increase of rain in conjunction with poor government planning for anticipated monsoons.