Annalyn S. Jusay
Even though most of its members are bloggers, members of the pioneering PINOYexpats hasten to add that their site is, first and foremost, an e-zine, not a blog. With a chosen theme each month ranging from love to cuisine, PINOYexpats has risen to become the main voice of the lonely overseas Pinoy uprooted from his homeland either by marriage, migration or some other palpable reason.
As an e-zine, PINOYexpats found at http://PINOYexpats.org boasts of a chic and sassy design with user-friendly links to its different sections. There’s a feature on a chosen outstanding PINOYexpat of the Month, a literary page, photoessays as well as contributions by Euro-Pinoys and World Pinoys. Going through the articles’ breezy style of writing is like leafing through the pages of a magazine, minus of course the subscription cost. Most importantly, the overseas Pinoy is sure to find something here to cure their homesickness, network with fellow kababayans or simply affirm the uniqueness of their Filipino heritage.
Technews was able to talk to PINOYexpats founder Melissa Atienza-Petri as well as some of its editorial team members like Ruth, Lara and Junnie. They were more than willing to enlighten us on the joys and intricacies of setting up an e-zine and what the future is like for their pet project. Excerpts of the interview:
- In your own words, who is the Pinoy expat? What are his/her characteristics?
Lara: The Pinoy expat is the one who is displaced from his/her homeland, either by choice or circumstance, but never loses his/her love for the homeland. Technically, di ba, ito yung nagtatrabaho sa abroad, na-hire sa Pinas, at napadpad sa ibang bansa although its meaning can also take on a broader dimension.
The Pinoy expat is someone who will always see him/herself as a Pinoy first and above everything else, the person who will yearn for anything of home, who is fiercely proud to be Pinoy (kahit di niya aminin to be cool sometimes) and who knows that one day, some day, she will come home to her true Philippines.
Junnie: PINOYexpat...uprooted but longs for home. Pinoyexpat.org bridges that gap.
Q. How did the idea for PINOYexpats come to be?
Melissa : Marvin of thosebrowneyes and Cia of GenerationRice were my inspiration. Thosebrowneyes was an online magazine for Asians residing and thriving on all parts of the world. GenerationRice, another online magazine, celebrates the Asian and Asian American experience. I had a little part (feature and article contributions) on both zines and those experiences gave me the idea of setting-up an ezine with a different focus.
See, PINOYexpats wasn’t exactly a novel idea. It has been done before; just that none were focused on the Filipinos in Europe. At least, none that fit what I (we) had in mind.
“When I first moved, I remember longing for the familiar and looking for people who could make me feel like I belong. And when I couldn’t find those locally, I sought and found solace in the world wide web. Not only did the internet make it easier to keep in touch with the people I have left behind, it also gave me the company I sought and needed. I found people who could empathize and sympathize with me – fellow homesick Filipino expatriates.
Through PINOYexpats, I would like to offer homesick Filipinos, a virtual place where they could feel like they belong and where the familiar can be foun; a source of support from those who have been there and have done that. A proof that, eventually, it does get better.”
That was the first editorial for PINOYexpats. I meant it then as much as I mean it now.
- How do you think are Pinoy expats viewed internationally, in Europe for example? How does your site plan to change stereotypes/perceptions of Pinoy expats?
Ruth: As I've alluded to in an article for PINOYexpats, I am not happy with the sterotype that Pinoys abroad are casted into. Thru PINOYexpats, we'd like to do our share in improving the image of Pinoys abroad. Our PINOYexpats of the Month section showcases outstanding Filipinos abroad and helps not only to uplift national pride, but show the rest of the online world what a talented, hard-working and compassionate race we are from.
Q. Can you tell us some technical details about your site such as the CMS you’re using? What would you rather call PINOYexpats… a blog, a website or an e-zine?
Melissa: PINOYexpats is an ezine. It’s an electronically published magazine which comes out every month (except during the holidays when we only have 1 issue for Dec/Jan) with thematic issues. Note that the ezine also has a forum (http://pinoyexpats.org/discuss) where we encourage our readers to post their questions and suggestions.
As for the CMS, it used to be very labor intensive as Kala’s initial design was in HTML. However, that was only in the beginning since they had to finish the initial design in a hurry (two days!). The French duo of Kala and Julien then upgraded our backend by PHP coding our very own CMS. Believe me, it’s impressive.
Q. In your own opinion, how does PinoyExpats differ from other sites catering to Overseas Filipinos Workers?
Ruth: PINOYexpats is a webzine for all Pinoys living abroad, not just OFWs. For example, we've had an issue solely for students and for those who flew miles from home in the name of love . Our main purpose really is just to entertain, to reach out, to let other Pinoys abroad know that "we hear you, we know what you're going through, and there are others like you, too". We do not have any political agenda.
Melissa : 95% of our content is original. News about what is happening to the world can be easily found online. PINOYexpats, on the other hand, aims to give you the heart and soul of the homesick PINOY.
Q. What do you consider your most memorable issue?
Melissa : Personally, I loved the Citizenship/October2005 issue (our anniversary issue). It was something close to all of our hearts. Discussing about the choices we made in life made us realize how much we value our Filipino-ness and how, ironically, leaving Pinas has made us all love our country and our culture even more. And despite the hiccup (we were 3 articles and a photoessay short) shortly before the launch, team work prevailed. Half of the team was online the whole of Saturday to make sure that we deliver a great anniversary issue on time. Team work at its best!
- What are your plans for PINOYexpats. What changes will you offer your readers now that you're entering your second year?
Ruth: It took a whole year to realize that while we were bringing Pinoys abroad together, we were not addressing something all Pinoy expats yearn for: a glimpse of home (Philippines). For any PINOYexpat, a trip back home is a much-awaited, much longed-for occassion. If only for a few minutes, we'd like to send Pinoy expats on a virtual trip to the Philippines. And then perhaps, on their next trip home, they'd want to experience the sights and sounds for real.
Melissa : More interesting Pinoy talents, (hopefully) more male point-of-view (we are looking for more male contributors!), regular issues and better issues after every issue.
Q. Any more parting words to our readers?
Ruth : PINOYexpats is something we are still working on. We've got a lot of ideas and plans, and we've got talented people on board. But we are all amateurs in the publishing/journalism arena and we are still muddling through the organizational part of webzine production. Each issue is a learning process for all of us, and we just hope that readers will look past our blunders and see instead the passion we put into every issue.
(For comments and suggestions about PINOYexpats, please go to http://pinoyexpats.org/discuss or email this author at annalyn.jusay@gmail.com)
