Leo T. reviewed A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century on + 1775 more book reviews
I subscribe to quite a few magazines to send to the old soldiers' home and thus sometimes spot reviews of books of interest. Thus I got in the queue early for this one and Mr. Adelman kindly supplied it through PBS and will leave it at the VA Clinic where nonfiction is in demand.
The author gave his best effort to this, starting with renting a space to lay down his tatami for several months in a slum in Manila. This led to a connection with an extended family that has allowed him to follow their lives for quite a few years reminiscent of Oscar Lewis with the Sanchez family in the 1940s and 1950s (Five Families, Children of Sanchez). I have followed reports of remesas for years in the Asian Journal and La Opinion here in Los Angeles, but Mr. DeParle offers some more detail. A major theme in his book is to share with readers how important remittances have become in Third World nations. As with virtually all discussions of the effects of immigration, he mentions only in passing the tripling of the population of the world in my own lifetime. The Immigration Act of 1965 crowded the job market (at least on the Coast, I haven't lived elsewhere) which is not discussed, although he reveals the mixed motives and wrong assumptions of the politicians who enacted it. Since he is dealing with Filipinos who work hard and get along with others, he does not mention the propensity of immigrants of the last fifty-five years to want to work alongside 'their own' rather than any Americans (which no one else does either, but try to find a vet employed at a fast food joint or retail store).
I read the excellent 1990 essay in The New Yorker about the US Merchant Marine (which then had 10,000 employees vs. 50,000 in 1950) and for a few months had a neighbor here in 1985 who had just retired. He had served twenty years and earned his pension but although he would like to work longer, was prevented from doing so because the union wanted other members to get their twenty years in. As one of the 'protagonists' in DeParle's book is one of the many Filipinos who sends money home by going to sea, he shares aspects of that life, which is why I wanted to read his book. The wages of ordinary seamen and cruise ship employees have truly been devastated by the willingness of people to work very cheaply because they can make so much more than 'back on the block.'
Consideration is given to those who work in nursing and the families left mostly behind. However, the Republic of the Philippines requires that 80% of a sailor's earnings be deposited at home. On the other hand, they have made sweetheart deals with shipping companies that have ended lawsuits to effectively enforce safety standards.
As I type this (Sunday, 2/16/2020) the public radio show 'On The Media' has a segment with the author flogging this book, which would offer potential readers a taste....
Detailed endnotes and a good index.
The author gave his best effort to this, starting with renting a space to lay down his tatami for several months in a slum in Manila. This led to a connection with an extended family that has allowed him to follow their lives for quite a few years reminiscent of Oscar Lewis with the Sanchez family in the 1940s and 1950s (Five Families, Children of Sanchez). I have followed reports of remesas for years in the Asian Journal and La Opinion here in Los Angeles, but Mr. DeParle offers some more detail. A major theme in his book is to share with readers how important remittances have become in Third World nations. As with virtually all discussions of the effects of immigration, he mentions only in passing the tripling of the population of the world in my own lifetime. The Immigration Act of 1965 crowded the job market (at least on the Coast, I haven't lived elsewhere) which is not discussed, although he reveals the mixed motives and wrong assumptions of the politicians who enacted it. Since he is dealing with Filipinos who work hard and get along with others, he does not mention the propensity of immigrants of the last fifty-five years to want to work alongside 'their own' rather than any Americans (which no one else does either, but try to find a vet employed at a fast food joint or retail store).
I read the excellent 1990 essay in The New Yorker about the US Merchant Marine (which then had 10,000 employees vs. 50,000 in 1950) and for a few months had a neighbor here in 1985 who had just retired. He had served twenty years and earned his pension but although he would like to work longer, was prevented from doing so because the union wanted other members to get their twenty years in. As one of the 'protagonists' in DeParle's book is one of the many Filipinos who sends money home by going to sea, he shares aspects of that life, which is why I wanted to read his book. The wages of ordinary seamen and cruise ship employees have truly been devastated by the willingness of people to work very cheaply because they can make so much more than 'back on the block.'
Consideration is given to those who work in nursing and the families left mostly behind. However, the Republic of the Philippines requires that 80% of a sailor's earnings be deposited at home. On the other hand, they have made sweetheart deals with shipping companies that have ended lawsuits to effectively enforce safety standards.
As I type this (Sunday, 2/16/2020) the public radio show 'On The Media' has a segment with the author flogging this book, which would offer potential readers a taste....
Detailed endnotes and a good index.
