Key Points
- Halos umabot na sa 400,000 ang Pilipino na naninirahan sa Australia - ito ang pang-lima sa pinakamaraming bilang ng migrante sa bansa.
- Para sa baker si Jerrymay Banks gaano man ito katagal na nakatira sa Australia, nananatili sa kanyang puso ang pagiging Pilipino.
- Sa kanyang maliit na negosyo ay isang paraan para magbigay-pugay sa kanyang ina at ang pinagmulan sa Pilipinas.
LISTEN TO
'I don't think any Filipinos will ever forget the Philippines': How Central Coast baker Jerrymay pays homage to her roots
40:04
Buhay sa Australia
Sampung taong gulang lamang si Jerrymay Banks nang dalhin siya ng kanyang ina sa Australia.
"I was only 10 years old when I came here and I've always wanted to go back. I was always adamant to go back no matter what."
"And we used to go back with my mum, not very often but when I did I used to love it and that's when I get fat, 'coz I eat rice, rice, rice, pork, pork and everything Filipino," masayang kwento ng dating chef sa New South Wales.
"[Growing up], my mum never used to cook Filipino would seldom cook Filipino food and the only Filipino food I know is adobo and rice, and I used to cook ampalaya and talong."
"Unfortunately [cooking Filipino food] is not something I always think about and Filipino veggies, like ampalaya, are not always available where we live and if you really want to buy it you have to go all the way to the west, in Cabramatta."
Ang mga karanasang ito ay bahagi lamang ng mga pinagdaang pagbabago ni Jerrymay bilang bata na lumipat sa Australia mula Pilipinas.
Jerrymay and her sourdough Credit: Annalyn Violata
Malaki rin ang pasalamat niya sa kanyang ama-amahan na tinanggap siya bilang anak at naging katuwang ng kanyang ina sa Australia.
May ilang taon na rin mula nang pumanaw ang ina ni Jerrymay at sa tuwing maaalala nito ang ina ay sinusubukan nitong balikan ang masasaya nilang alaala, kasama na ang pagluluto ng mga pagkaing Pinoy na dati nilang pinagsasaluhan ng ina.
Pagpupugay sa pagka-Pilipino
"Tinapay! Why not?"
'Tinapay' ang napiling ipangalan ni Jerrymay sa kanyang maliit na negosyo para araw-araw na magbigay-pugay sa bansang kanyang pinagmulan - ang Pilipinas.
Malayo sa payak na buhay niya noon at hindi man Pilipino ang napangasawa sa Australia, hindi nakakalimot si Jerrymay sa kanyang pinanggalingan.
"Plus, I didn't just want to have your normal English sourdough."
Jerrymay left her regular job as a chef to concentrate on her own sourdough bread business. Credit: Annalyn Violata
Nakatuon ang kanyang negosyo sa paggawa at pagtitinda ng sourdough o tinapay na hindi gumagamit ng komersyal na pampaalsa (commercial yeast).
"A lot of Filipinos when they do come up would ask where's the pandesal, I would say I'm so sorry, I do make them it's just has to be a request because what I have started with is just a normal sourdough."
Jerrymay (right), together with husband and son (in photo) goes to most food markets across Central Coast NSW to showcase her 'Tinapay' sourdough. Credit: Annalyn Violata
Mga alaala ng nakaraan
"I just to remember my mum and what she represents and where she's from."
"My mother was a single mum, she was only 22 when she had me. She had an affair with my father who was already married then."
My father supported her during her pregnancy and when I was born, he wanted to take me and raise me with his own family, but my mother did not approve of that. She wanted me for herself."
Jerrymay Banks with her mother in an old photo. Credit: Supplied
"She always wanted to make her life better than it was and when I came she wanted to provide for me as best as she could."
Maraming pinagdaanan ang ina ni Jerrymay kasama na ang pagkabigo nito sa pag-ibig hanggang sa makilala nito ang isang Australyano at pinakasalan siya at dinala sa Australia.
Hindi naman agad na naisama ng ina si Jerrymay at inabot ng taon bago ito nadala sa Australia.
If I didn't get the stepdad I did or if he was not a nice person and my mother was not strong and didn't care about my well-being I wouldn't be here. That's why I've always tried to be strong and I've always just remember her, her memory.
Sa mga pinagdaanan nito, hindi ito nahihiyang ikwento ang kanyang mga dinanas at pinanggalingan nito.
"I've always told my kids about my story, about where I came from and my childhood.
"I have taken them over there [in the Philippines] a few times now."
"I have always talked about my mother and I will never stop talking about my childhood either."
The young Jerrymay (left photo) as a student in the Philippines; The now baker and mum-of-two (right photo) who's proud of where she came from and what she has achieved. Credit: Supplied by Jerrymay Banks, and SBS Filipino
Pamana
Mahalaga para kay Jerrymay na alam ng kanyang dalawang anak ang kanyang pinagmulan na bahagi ng kung sino siya ngayon.
Nais din niya na maipagpatuloy ng mga anak ang mga magagandang ugali ng pagiging isang Pilipino.
"Respecting your roots, respecting others especially."
Sa ilang beses na pag-uwi nila sa Pilipinas, naipakita nito ng bahagya ang kaibahan ng kulturang Pinoy at ng Australia.
"I think taking them back to the Philippines and showing them the way it is, and it is not always perfect, it's a life lesson."
"It's always important to always be grateful for what you have because other people have it worse."
