Statement of Ms. Candice Abrahan Sering
Candice Abrahan Sering, 42 years old resident of Red Hook, Brooklyn in
New York City, union representative at the New York State Nurses Association,
and general member of Gabriela New York.
(The Statement of Ms. Candice Abrahan Sering was taken through a Skype
call on 17 August 2018 held at Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines, JGS
Building, 30 Scout Tuazon Street, Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City. I was
interviewed by Mr. Mohamad Rayyan M. Domado, the legal assistant of Attorneys
Grizelda Mayo-Anda and Hasminah D. Paudac, and Ms. Desiree Llanos Dee)
Q1: Can you please state your personal background?
A1: My parents migrated from the Philippines to New York in the 1970s.
I was born and raised in the United States, the youngest of the three
(3) children. I grew up mostly disconnected from my culture and
family roots in the Philippines, but I had a nice upbringing in Queens.
I currently work as a union representative of the New York State
Nurses Association. In 2008, I joined Gabriela New York, the
overseas chapter of Gabriela Philippines, a grassroots alliance of
women’s organizations. My involvement in Gabriela encouraged me
to learn more about Filipino history, culture, global migration, and
current socio-political events.
Q2: How often do you visit the Philippines?
A2: I first visited Philippines when I was four (4) years old. I was actually
traumatized by the experience because of the culture shock. I am not
sure if my parents spoke Bisaya or Tagalog growing up since they are
both from Mindanao. Regardless, not hearing English was foreign to
me. Everything was hard to understand while I was there. My
experience was disorienting because I was also out of my comfort
zone. Back then in the 80s, there was no McDonalds yet so
everything was unfamiliar, especially the climate.
After that first visit, I returned as an adult to the Philippines in 2004
with my mother. I met my mother’s side of the family in Lianga,
Surigao del Sur. Then in 2008, I visited my father’s side of the family
in Surigao del Norte. Since then, I have started to feel closer to my
roots in Philippines, especially as a general member of Gabriela New
York, an overseas chapter of Gabriela Philippines. Now I go home
every year and usually visit my relatives in Mindanao as well as
participate in events, solidarity and medical missions like the one I
joined after Typhoon Yolanda.
Q3: The Philippines is said to be one of the most vulnerable countries
when it comes to extreme weather events. Have you experienced
typhoons or hurricanes here in the United States?
A3: Yes, the year just before hurricane Sandy in October 2012, there was
Hurricane Irene. Though my first experience of a hurricane was in