AMERICAN ASWANG
Uncovering the truth about my Filipino American family's repatriation to the Philippines
by
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Outrage or obsession—one or both of these compelled me to email Dr. Dawn Mabalon at San Francisco State University. It was early 2017 and like many Americans, I was still stunned by the outcome of the recent national election. Then came the appalling immigration order enacted by our newly inaugurated president that blocked the entry of certain legal immigrants to the United States.
This announcement stirred up troubling memories for me of the eerily similar treatment that my Filipino American family endured during the 1930s at the hands of a racist group of American politicians. Professor Mabalon recently wrote an article about the similarities between the Filipino Repatriation Act of 1935 and the current treatment of immigrants in the United States.
In her reply, Dr. Mabalon said, "Thank you so much for reaching out to me! You are a rare bird in our community—I have yet to meet someone whose family was repatriated."
This was not the first time I had heard this. Nine years earlier, when I first contacted the Filipino American National Historical Society (or FANHS) about my family's repatriation to the Philippines, I received a similar response from Dorothy Laigo Cordova, Executive Director of FANHS:
"Your research intrigues me, especially since so little (or next to nothing) has been done on this subject. I am curious, since it is my understanding that repatriated Filipino immigrants could not return to the U.S. immediately—but had to be placed on the miniscule quota system of the 1940s-1965.
My questions are these: When did your family return to the U.S.? Were you and/or your family members born in the United States--which gave you the right to return here without impediments? What procedures did your family use to return to America?"
At the time, I didn't know the answers to most of Dr. Cordova's questions. I had yet to unearth many of these details. Like the archaeologist who painstakingly pieced together the remnants of a broken vase with a pair of tweezers, it would take me twenty-five years to excavate this information from countless archives, articles, books, and interviews. To uncover haunting memories that were buried away long ago, never meant to see the light of day again.
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About the Book
Manette Trogani Snow always wondered why her father, Martin “Pop” Trogani punished his children by forcing them to kneel on raw rice, arms outstretched, with a stack of books piled high on their hands. In a quest to understand why Pop treated Manette and her eleven siblings so horribly, she unearthed not only her own family’s hidden histories, but also a previously unknown chapter in US history about racism, immigration, and war.
In a fascinating memoir created from a twenty-five-year mission to excavate information from archives, articles, books, and interviews, Manette chronicles her journey through a childhood darkened by fear, brutality, secrets, and lies while detailing the story of her father’s family’s experiences as the only known survivors—despite being starved and tortured during the Japanese occupation of World War II—of an orchestrated campaign to expel them from the United States under the Filipino Repatriation Act of 1935. Included throughout are a treasure trove of personal and historic images, as well as additional insights obtained after the completion of Manette’s extensive research.
American Aswang intertwines the true story of a Filipino-American girl’s challenging coming-of-age journey with the often horrific experiences of her father’s family as they were repatriated to the Philippines.
About the Author
Manette Trogani Snow is a leading historian on the Filipino Repatriation Act. She speaks on the subject of repatriation, including lectures at various universities and the Filipino American National Historical Society. She is an award-winning writer, contributor to the National Pinoy Archives and a certified researcher for the National Archives. She and her husband, Andy live in Colorado with their two daughters, Lucy and Megan, along with Meg’s husband Zach and their granddaughter, Winter.