A former American missionary took to Facebook to defend a Filipino-American couple who experienced racism at a supermarket in Daly City, California.
In a video uploaded by a friend of the Filipino couple named Danika Aquino, an American woman tells the couple to return to the Philippines, accusing them of stealing food, money and jobs meant for Americans.
After the said video went viral, American citizen Jared Ammon Gillett condemned the woman’s behavior towards Filipinos.
He speaks fluent Filipino as he vents his sentiments against the racism that the couple experienced.
“Nagalit talaga ako sa mga sinabi ng babaeng ‘yun dahil tumira ako sa Pilipinas at minahal ako ng mga [tao] sa paligid ko doon,” Gillett says.
“Kung alam lang niya ‘yung kasipagan, ‘yung kabutihan ng bawat Pinoy na nakilala ko, ‘di niya sana sasabihin ang mga bagay na ‘yon,” he adds.
The 29-year-old American revealed that he was able to experience the Filipino culture firsthand when he went to Bataan, Pangasinan and Zambales as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2008 to 2010.
“[Nung] dumating ako sa Pilipinas, tumanggap talaga ang mga tao sa akin, pinakain ako ng napakasarap na mga ulam, ng mga meryenda habang dumadalaw ako sa mga iba’t ibang bahay… ‘Yung mga nakikilala ko, itinuturing ko sila bilang kapatid, itinuturing din nila ako bilang kapatid,” he explains.
Gillett also said that the Filipino couple did not deserve the kind of treatment they got. “Sa US, sa tingin ko, ‘yung mga Pinoy, sila ‘yung isa sa mga pinakamababait na tao, ‘yung mga talagang naglilingkod sa society ng Amerika,” he says.
Watch the full video below.
