What does it mean to feel belonging? Conversations with Filipino newcomer youth

As a Filipino immigrant in Canada, one of the challenges that newcomers face is finding a sense of belonging in a completely new environment. Realizing a sense of belonging often feels intimidating and initially out of reach. Newcomers from different communities collectively relate to creating a new sense of belonging. However, it is interesting to witness the distinct ways different groups of people tackle this challenge.  

From my experience working and having conversations with Filipino newcomer youth, they tend to connect their sense of belonging to their relationships such as with their family, their friends, their community, and their relationship with the physical space.   

When Filipino newcomers settle in Canada with their family or friends, they feel more sense of belonging compared to someone who immigrated by themselves. If they are part of a community such as a religious group they also have an easier time feeling a sense of belonging. Because of this, many Filipinos look for family members, distant or not, when they move to Canada. They also reach out to their respective religious groups often consisting primarily of Filipinos. There is also a sense of camaraderie when approaching Filipinos in general as there is a shared understanding of experiences such as homesickness for Phillippines or Filipino culture. These relationships help Filipino newcomers find a sense of belonging in a foreign land. 

Another interesting observation is their relationship with the land they are on. To many Filipino newcomer youths, the land is not only a physical space in which they operate. The land is also a thing that evokes emotional memories or in other words, it is connected to their memories and feelings. Settling in a foreign land that barely looks like the home they left brings about a feeling of emotional isolation or emotional distance from the physical space they situate themselves in. Thus, many Filipino newcomers try to bring cultural artifacts that remind them of home. This can look like having a karaoke machine at home or putting up pictures of their family.  

To sum up, in the Filipino newcomer experience, feeling belonging is largely tied to relationships especially their relationships with the people around them. This may explain why many create a family, not necessarily blood-related, in order to feel a sense of belonging. This may be why Filipino newcomer youth prioritize their family and friends. There is still much to learn and I think it is important to delve deeply into how particular communities define a sense of belonging and to distinguish the ways different communities tackle it.