An estimated 150,000 Filipino nurses work in the US, earning up to 30 times more than they could back home.
But at what cost?
Many nurses work long hours, some juggling multiple jobs to support their families. Others are exploited, intimidated and forced into indentured labour.
Now Filipino nurses are on the front lines of New York’s COVID-19 crisis, some losing their lives as they battle to keep Americans alive. Meanwhile, the Philippines is facing a dire shortage of medical workers at this critical time.
101 East investigates the price of chasing the American Dream.
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Footage credits: US National Archives; US Library of Congress (Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division); Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.
“Were promises broken” and “A tale of access to influence”: From Newsday. © [2007] Newsday. All rights reserved. Used under license.
“Fair & Ethical Recruitment of Foreign-Educated Nurses”: © John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation – Used with permission.
Filipinos are da real hero
Like it or not, Filipinos form the backbone of the US health system
Wala pa.ako nabasa na comments .sa pangbaboy nang us senator na ipatigil ang imbestigasyon sa anomalyang employer.
Puro kau proud Filipino nurses. Mga bubu
Well we need to be asserive as well.
Our work ethic is outstanding.
Sometime’s too much.
I’ve known Filipino nurses who works like 10 to 12 12 hour shifts in a row.
That is too much, working 3 to 4 12 hours a week is more than enough to support your family.
God bless Filipinos
Love from Indonesia ❤️
Filipinos are eager to work to support families back home..including war zone areas like Afghanistan etc..theyr’e ordered up front to face the enemy.
Filipino Nurses..are the BEST.
All Nurses get mistreated. We are all replaceable at any time.
Schumer, a high powered Democrat tried to end the Filipinos’ fight for their right to be cared for while they care for Americans. They signed on for health care and encountered American wealth care instead.
Asians are very hardworking
Im a Filipino nurse and working in a critical care unit at the moment but im planning to work abroad due to financial reason, wish to stay here in Philippines but I wnt to give my family a comfortable life. Kudos to all OFW around the globe❤
May the peace of Allah be with you always.
Thing is, the Filipino nurses are all world class Karaoke singers and madter cooks at the same time.
Phillipina nurses are exported.. they get abused in many countries. Jordan and other…
Cuban doctors are also exported many of Haitian descent and other various ethnic Cubans
Alot of lack of PPE. U WORKED AS A PCT.
WE XOULD HAVE DONE BETTER AS A NATION
I got sick and they are not protecting us with PPE
Sadly in the Philippines nurses are being left behind my mother and sister are nurses but their salary is too low below minimum wage my mom shift to teaching in SHS while my sister is currently working in BPO industry and here’s me studying caregiving after this try my luck in Israel or Canada maybe Germany and Australia too. 🤞🏾 (crossedfingers)
Filipino nurses save the human race from extinction.
I would do everything to live in USA, simple as that all filipino’s dreaming working in America.
Just imagine the world without Filipino Health Frontliners.
Thank you Aljazeera
Those nurses are the heroes without capes
Though i haven’t meet Dr Akhere but i have being hearing and seeing his wonderful deeds on people’s life.. This made me contacted him because i was also contacted with HIV virus, When i contacted Him, without wasting time, he started his Miraculous work in my Life, I am happy and Glad to say that i am now cured after using his herbal Medicine.. You can reach him on via what’s app him on +2349017082519 also special on curing 1…HERPES 2…ALS 3..HIV 4.EPILEPSY Contact him and also be happy only Dr Ajargbo can help you
Filipino nurses give hospitality and like to gossip 😂
What would happen to america if fil. nurses turns to britain and other countries leaving america…
God bless my compatriot Nurses
A humanitarian clarification on the covid pandemic. It is said to be mostly a Filipino Nurses all around the world were the one who help as Frontline workers in covid 19. While China wherein the Corona virus originated were not helping countries heavily affected by the virus. It must be China has a since of responsibility and obligation to offer their help just to show their sincerity and honesty towards nation’s affected due to China’s unsecured systems to protect the virus from spreading outside China. China should be the one to help those countries affected to give their heartfelt support to the human race.
It’s absolutely China had so many nurses that can help all around the world why there are 1.5 billion Chinese population throughout the whole world then it follows that China has more nurses throughout the world and why is it they didn’t help those countries who have nurses shortage to take care those sick by covid 19.
Coz they’re also very entitled and filipino nurses are way more compassionate and empathetic. It’s about the mentality. All can be a nurse. It will just be depend on their mentality and personality.
Its good to know that Filipino Nurses are very relevant everywhere . Im working here
in Germany for more than 20 yrs.
in an EYE HOSPITAL and the only
Filipina around ..
FIRST OF ALL,…WHY IS SHE NOT WEARING A MASK DURING THIS INTERVIEW?????
Dapat nag apply nlng sana ng trabaho as a head or officer PHILHEALTH para 1 billion sweldo nila hati hatiin nila yung 15 Billion
America should make up its mind. On one hand I hear open immigration policy for Latinos and on the other, well-qualified Filipinos are given a hard time every so often. Does America want uneducated illegas from Latin America because they can be exploited more easily for cheaper labor?
Omg!!! And this is USA?..no complete Equipment. I’m speechless!! Its a shame!!..
US government should appreciate and respect how Filipinos care for Americans specially in the medical field
Philippine nurses, frontliners and other OFWs can be considered the modern heroes of the world. They’re so patient and dedicated. Thank to USA, UK, Midle East Countries, Canada, Australia and other countries for opening the doors to these unsung heroes who have proven that they are worth it.
Unsung heroes.
“Hoy! Pinoy ako! May Agimat ang dugo ko!” Bamboo
What can you expect it was just a tv series showcasing their acting abilities.
and back home, health workers had to go on a rally for their minimum pay.
Filipino nurses are among the best if not the best in the world.
Its really emotional to watch I’m so proud of our Filipino nurses all over the world 🗺
It’s not the virus that is killing them it’s their work
Filiponos are dedicated to whatever their line of duty is. They are affectionate of what they do, they take responsibility of giving their dedication to what they do even risking their own life.
I have 3 nurse brothers 2 of them are covid nurses, 2 sister in law nurses, and now my daughter is a covid nurse also, I always tell my daughter that she is called by God to be a nurse so take care for Gods’ people.
Laban lang mga nurses!
And yet Grey’s Anatomy, E.R., or Nurse TV series do not recognize them.
My experience as a Nurse in the Philippines is one of the worst. After graduating, I have to pay the hospital to be able for me to work as a volunteer. After 1 year I transfered to a private hospital and my salary/month is equivalent to more or less 95 USD. Nobody wants $95 a month, I have to move out of the country.
In the first place, nurses in the Philippines should be paid the right way. People should not expect nurses and other professionals to stay here in the country and offer their expertise while not paying them enough to support themselves and their family.
17 hours per day and working 2 nursing jobs, that’s very poor working condition. Here in Australia and NZ there’s no way nurses will be allow to work 17 hours per day, it’s absolutely against the law. No insurance company will ever insured nurses that will work more than 12 hours every day. So much with so called “Land of Free” that can’t even protect their own nurses. For sure her workplace will not even provide free healthcare to her and to her immediate family. For sure she has to pay high health private insurance.
To all aspiring Filipino nurses don’t migrate to US, there’s no future with that working 2 jobs. Go to countries that will appreciate your hard work and will give you better future, will give you free healthcare. Go to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Ireland, UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Austria.
Nakakaiyak naman kayo Kabayan. Sa Germany kami Nurse din at isa sa mga anak ko kaya worry din kami.
Aljazeera,nurses from all the countries are doing a good job.let it be phillipines,india,england,italy,china ,spain and so on.
No, Filipino Nurses are very different…
@@jeongin006 its because you have not been with any other country nurses.
ITS HORRIBLE THE WAY THESE NURSES WERE TREATED….SUPPOSED TO BE WESTERN COUNTRIES – BUT< NO - THEY WERE ABUSED & MISTREATED....DISGUSTING EMPLOYER.
I like Filipino nurses they r very caring helpful and supportive by experience in Qatar when I infected by covid. I was vegan she brought fruits for me, she bought recharge for me i can’t repay their help. Lots of love Filipino nurses ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Salute to all Filipino nurses around the world who sacrifice themself just to save others’ lives.
These filipinos save your lives so please treasure them and treat them better 🙂
Thank you Aljazeera!!!A new sub and a proud Filipino here!!!Mabuhay!!!
I’m a Nurse and a License Teacher but i work in a bank here in the Phils…Should America needs more nurses to combat Covid, I’m willing to go!!!😊
In the Philippines nurses are under appreciate. Hayyy 😩🥲😭😢
documents must open because some doctors to the Philippines apply to the America but deny because other people in the America tells that they don’t have the talent and Filipino doctors high knowledge but the america said you are position of nurses only in the america not doctors (discrimination in America). Behind the your back some of them.
Fake pandemic I don’t believe this the virus is not deadly bullshit
My classmate didn’t die he is 55 years old that was last year’ he is still alive until now
Imagine,
Taking cared by an Asian people
and then discriminate them because there Asians..Best plot twist ever.
There’s something about Filipino nurses or workers that they seem to ease your feelings, they calm you when nervous and they will make you feel as if you are a family.
PS. kuddos to all front line workers! Be it medical worker, janitorial personel, grocery workers etc! Thank you for your service!
Filipinos are one of the best healthcare workers – they have the greatest sense of sympathy for their patients
In WW2, most filipino soldiers were used. I cant believe that Filipinos again are the ones being a ‘soldier’ battling in the frontlines in this era.. Much respect!! God please protect us all
Praying for all the filipino nurses working all over the world especially my 3 cousins in the US.
Everybody in the world thinks that Filipinos are black. No we are not in Africa. People living in the Asia Pacific are brown naturally. Our skin just turn darker because of too much sun that give us sunburn especially those that worked long hours under the sun like farmers, fishermen, messengers, bill collectors, etc. But those who worked in shaded office, their natural brown color reveals. The race scientist think Filipinos and the rest are black. Thats because they have not studied the brown people thoroughly. They just refer our skin color as light black, then what happen to the color brown. Even the American military who came to the Philippines and colonize called us brown brothers. Nowadays the unmix Filipinos remain brown in color but hundreds of thousands more are fair skinned due to mix marriage with colonizers and foreigners.
What’s left in the medical field if there are no Filipino nurses? Go figure…
My daughter is a frontline but I do not worry. My son has all the Chinese blood in the family, a potential target for haters, and that I worry about.
Still getting yelled at with “go back to your country” and at the same time being called “disease carriers” 😑
I have worked in healthcare for over 30 years in multiple capacities and have a different experience with the Filipino nurses and staff.
I have met some wonderful Filipino co-workers. We have developed long term friendships outside of the health care environment.
Realistically they are no better or worse than any other immigrants.
There are good and bad motives in every established culture.
Always love and respect your fellow humans.
Philippines needs to pay their nurses what they are do! Stop hiding all the gold. Give it back to the people!
I was going through my nursing program back in 1995, but I ended up joining the U.S. Military. I salute all you mga pinoys for your service!!
America LOVES cheep imported labor
But U.S still Discrimanate us…..all asian specially PHILIPPINES
same here in saudi filipino nurses are the ones who faces on the frontline risking everything just to perform our duty fighting back against this pandemic..everyday exposed to patients positive with corona and still we do our job.God guide us in this war against this pandemic.
thank you for your services, thank you for risking your life for us! btw I have an apt for rent in Woodhaven, studio!
Filipino nurses are the best health workers
Gemma is Bisaya….proud Bisaya!
I am not. I am from Bicol.
God speed to protect everyone.Amen.
Watching this now is really proud but then this year 2021 theres a lot of racism happened …
Without Filipino nurses, the U.S. health care system would have been paralyzed
The first nursing school in the Philippines is Illoilo Mission Hospital now the CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY( in the Visayas) .. .. that’s where the first Pinoy nurses came from who migrated to the USA. Proud to be a CPUCN grad. 💝
UK is better treatment to there nurses than USA though.
The reason my fellow Filipinos choose to work overseas is because our corrupt government does not care about them. Everyday our government officials only care about pocketing money while the working class struggles on earning money for themselves.
Gemma was my night nurse during my kidney stone crisis in Elmhurst Hospital. She was the most caring , most devoted to the patients , most human nurse who attended me during the 5 days care. You saved me hours of suffering in pains. Thank you! God bless you ,and your parents who raised you a wonderful person!
Thank you so much! Its always rewarding to care for patients and see them recover.
I’m a Filipino American in nyc. One year later Filipino doctors and nurses had the highest death rate of any ethnic minority in nyc
I do salute to all filipino nurse
God bless Ali’s family. 🤍 may God keep you safe, healthy and loved.
They forgot the massacre the Americans did to the Philippines during american Philippines war
No wonder why there are many Filipino nurses eager to go to the United States given the covid-19 situation. There are still many of them who are wishing to go to the States if only the U.S. Embassy in Manila could forego of the stringent requirements such as CGFNS, NCLEX examinations which will require a lot of money to spend. Yes, this is in the thousands of pesos and, if and only if, the U.S. Embassy could lower the requirements maybe there would be thousands of them who will opt to go to the States immediately. It is only a matter of time when the United States would need a million nurses come year 2030 and that Filipino nurses would fill in the vacuum. Thank you, United States! God Bless America!
StandardWork ethics of filipino nurses are high, you’ will get optimum care…. Extremely hardworking to the point that local nurses take advantage of them, by giving them the most difficult tasks.
Shame on Schumer a total policy hack and tool of special interests
You americans are so lucky you have Filipinos as nurses in your country to take care of your sick, but what do some of you do in return? You degrade them throw racial slurs worst attack them physically on your streets, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Very true , its an utmost sacrifice for filipino nurses Exposing themselves to the corona virus pandemic ::: they must be given an extra hazards pay ::: for endangering their lives being exposed direct to patients with covid … it was really a suicide job … the government must give them recognition like rhose american soldiers who fought for wars created by the usa …
Yet not one Filipino nurse featured in general hospital ( ABC 60 year running show ) or in greys anatomy
I GOT 2 COVID WITH NO VACINE INVENTED YET ,,,ALMOST DIE TWICE THAT TIME,,,THEN AFTER GOT VACINED,,,I TESTED 3 TIMES POSITIVE AGAIN,,,,,,WORKING ON POST ACUTE FACILITIES YELLOW AND RED ZONE ,,,COVID PATIENTS GROUND ,,,,NOW MY HEALTH IS NOT DESAME AS BEFORE BY VIRUS DAMAGES,,,
The way other countries celebrate our Filipino nurses yet it’s very own country can’t even acknowledge their worth.
The United States did not improve wages or working conditions. Thus yt US nurses did not return to work after WW II so they went to the Philippines for cheap labor. The US took for granted the political unrest and economic instability (Marcos dictatorship ruined Philippines economic infrastacture.) in the Philippines. The Philippines government wanted remittances, and US wanted to fill vacancies.
Filipino nurses are among the best in the world. After all, the Philippines is the top source of overseas nurses globally, as in the case of seafarers. In the last five years, several Filipinos have received awards from the Royal Family, and national and international bodies for their services to nursing and the community.
My mom graduated nursing school in 1966, a few months before marrying my dad. She had only one Filipina classmate at the time.
How ironic! Those nurses who helped and care the people of the developed western world during covid came from a country that is now being harrased, bullied by the same country that spread wuhan virus. Thier wooden ships, thier small fisherman is now being prevented to go to thier EEZ, they are now being starved to death, while thier only goal is to simply feed thier family and keep freedom of navigation in that area! Ooh BTW This is the same country that repel ISIS in south east asia thru blood and professionalism. They dont have much, but i think they are doing a lot to this world specially to like minded countries. Please tell that to your politicians to help this country who has 50M people able and 30M reserve to fight and help to maintain world balance. Please spread this, so this nurses will still have a country to go home.
There is covid bonus in k.s.a nurses during that time, but the irony is only the supervisors, head nurses, and administrators who got it, but for the staff nurses some have but most of them DONT… we were wondering why we did not receive, just for us to know that our HN (head nurse was a filipino just like us) did not submit our names, she received it but her staff nurses didn’t…its so unfair u know why because they are not really that exposed to covid but the bedside nurses, and they are diligent in taking their covid off because they can, bedside nurses can’t. Pinapasadiyos na lamang.