Remembering the Sakada Story in Hawaii

HONOLULU — December 20, 1906 marks the arrival of the first 15 Filipinos from the Philippines in Hawaii who came to work in the sugar plantations. The date is historic because it introduced a new world to these young, pioneering and courageous Filipinos, who risked their lives to build a better future for several more waves of Filipino sakadas and their descendants.

Filipinos are now the fastest growing population group in Hawaii, thanks to our pioneering forebears who risked their lives to come to a strange and unfamiliar land.

Let us celebrate that fateful day in our history, which forever changed the destinies of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in Hawaii. The day will be etched our collective memories.

Current generations of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans are proud citizens of a world-class community and are also some of the best workers who can compete in a highly modernizing and globalizing world across a wide range of human endeavors. Filipinos have made important contributions to the world community and to its steady development and increasing productivity.

The Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu, under the leadership of Consul General Gina A. Jamoralin, and the State Legislature with Rep. John Mizuno as vice speaker, should be commended for taking the initiative of drafting a bill that would make December 20 of every year Sakada Day in Hawaii in honor of the first Filipino sakadas who blazed a trail for future generations to follow.

But the struggle of the original sakadas starting in 1906 should not end with this celebration. There is much more work to be done to make our state even more successful, productive, vibrant and appealing to the rest of the world.

Let us make a commitment to continue the original struggle of our sakada forebears. No words can fully express our fond remembrance and profound gratitude for the sacrifices that they made so we could enjoy a better future.

When we celebrated the Filipino Century in 2006, it was only the beginning of a brighter world, but we should not rest on our laurels. The future is full of challenges that need to be confronted and overcome with our collective and united efforts, remembering always the perseverance, hopes and dreams of our original sakadas.

This is the true meaning of this celebration. We cannot fail if we work together to fulfill the hopes and dreams of our forebears.

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