INTRODUCTION
The USA has been grappling for several months with the high number of confirmed cases and horrific death toll of the country due to COVID-19. However this has been presently overtaken by mass protests, violence, looting, burning and destruction of properties in major cities triggered by the death of 46 year old Afro-American George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin.
Hence, the daily media updates by President Donald Trump on COVID-19 situation have effectively been replaced by briefings and directives relating to the riots.
The Australian Filipina has connected with Fil-Am Regina "Regee" Tolentino Newport* who migrated from the Philippines to the USA in 1978 and has lived in Washington DC in the last 39 years, to talk about these two major problems currently plaguing the nation. Below is a Q & A with Regee on these matters.
"I CAN'T BREATHE" UNREST
The hurt and anger by a great part of USA's population have triggered with protests and marches with people chanting the last words of George Floyd: "I can't breathe'. Sadly, these had escalated into violence and looting in many places.
Other countries have also held marches in support of the protest against the death of George Floyd and cases of Police brutality in general. There were marches held in Perth and in Sydney in Australia; in Berlin, Germany and other places.
The world has also witnessed that members of the Media covering the protests were being manhandled or assaulted by some Police officers. These included 7NEWS US Correspondent Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers.
TAF What is your personal view on what happened?
Regee:
"The arrest and subsequent killing of George Floyd by four police officers in Minneapolis was filmed in its entirety and broadcasted all over the world. So, I don’t have a personal view but the same objective view that anyone watching that horrific video would have—that this was murder, plain and simple. The Attorney General of Minnesota, based upon all the evidence available to him, came to the same objective view and charged Derek Chauvin, the principal perpetrator, with second degree murder and the other three officers with aiding and abetting second degree murder.
"I can only say that the national revulsion that ensued was shared by all communities of decent people, whatever their color or political and religious persuasion. And it is now shared by the people of many other countries who have seen exactly what happened to poor George Floyd."
TAF: What is your view on how The White House has been handling the situation?
Regee:
"The alarming actions taken by Trump and his misguided advisers at the White House have just added fuel to the fire. Calling out the military, attacking peaceful and unarmed protesters, staging a lame photo-op in front of a boarded up church and brandishing a bible were met with universal ridicule and disbelief.
"Trump is out of control and those around him have neither the power nor the inclination to oppose him. Congress is missing in action, so it is left to the people on the streets to state the true feelings of this country. It is important to clearly distinguish between lawful and peaceful protesters and fringe elements who are looting and burning which have nothing to do with the protests. Most rational people understand that distinction but Trump has condemned everyone on the streets as domestic terrorists who, in his opinion, should be gunned down, gassed and quelled by a heavily armed military."
TAF: Do you think the protesters' actions can be justified?
Regee:
"It is important to clearly distinguish between lawful, peaceful protesters and fringe elements who have very different agendas. Some of the fringe elements are obviously opportunistic looters and criminals; and, even more disturbing, some represent extreme right or left-wing organizations which have absolutely nothing to do with the protesters. Most rational people understand that distinction.
"However, Trump has condemned everyone on the streets as "domestic terrorists" who, in his opinion, should be gassed, pepper sprayed, clubbed and quelled by a heavily armed military. And this is exactly what happened in Lafayette Park right opposite the White House on national TV on Monday evening for everyone to see. This is outrageous, unconstitutional and highly divisive at a time when he should be calling for calm and proposing national solutions for police violence which is endemic in this country."
TAF: What do you think could be done to address the situation?
Regee:
"Congress should be in session and working on national legislation to resolve some of the well-known and long-standing problems that have characterized reprehensible police conduct all over the country—especially in relation to African American communities. The military has to return to their barracks, Trump has to be restrained, and the police have to stop acting like military units. Whether anything like this can happen in the politically polarized climate which prevails is not known. All I know is that the peaceful protests will continue indefinitely.
"No justice, no peace just about sums up where we are at the moment. And our politicians are just not up to the challenges before us."
TAF: Would you join the protest? why?
Regee:
"Absolutely. Why? For the very reasons that people are out in the streets. We will not allow and more African Americans to be killed at will by the police. The horrendous injustice and discrimination which African Americans and other minority groups experience on a daily basis must stop. The spontaneous national reaction to George Floyd’s blatant murder by police has signaled that decent people in this country (forget the white supremacists, haters and GOP) have had enough.
"Equal justice for all is the only way forward."
COVID-19 SITUATION IN THE USA
The pandemic has effectively brought the world in its knees. This invisible enemy does not differentiate according to social and economic status, colour and nationality, sexual persuasion, religious beliefs or lack of it, age, and geographical location, albeit in varying degree.
Recent published reports show the latest figures of confirmed cases to be 1,906,201and deaths to be 109,499. These figures are horrific; they show that the USA has surpassed all countries in both counts.
TAF: What in your view contributed to the country getting into that sad situation?
Regee:
"Absolute denial by Trump, Fox News and the GOP that there was any problem. Only when the hospitals were filling up and a general lack of PPE had reached crisis proportions did the Trump Administration reluctantly begin to take the action that health experts had been promoting as far back as January 2020.
"Lack of national leadership made the USA one big hospital and mortuary!"
TAF: Do you think the situation is going to get addressed soon or worsen? why?
Regee:
"The Trump Administration has, for all intents and purposes, moved on from the pandemic and are now focused on re-opening and trying to get the economy in good shape for the election. Many parts of the country are still in dire shape, with rising numbers of cases and deaths.
"The health experts are predicting a huge second wave when the flu season starts this coming winter but nothing is being done to prepare for this. In the meantime, the effect of premature re-opening and the mass gatherings of protesters are unknown."
TAF: What are your personal observations of people where you live, with regards to the recommended protocols to help contain the spread of COVID-19?
Regee:
"Amazingly, in our area of northern Virginia, people have closely followed all the health directives (lockdown, social distancing, isolation if you have any symptom, etc.) and continue to do so.
"Our county (Fairfax) refused to re-open even when the rest of Virginia was going into Phase 1 of re-opening."
TAF: Do you agree with lifting the restrictions? why?
Regee:
"We try to follow the advice of the health experts. Our part of northern Virginia is now in Phase 1 of re-opening (two weeks later than the rest of Virginia). We absolutely believe that the economy has to be restored and re-opened but there is a smart way of doing that.
"Trump has chosen the reckless option and many States have blindly followed his lead. What may happen as a result, nobody really knows but it is unlikely to be good news."
TAF: Do you know personally of people who contracted the virus and/or have perished from it?
Regee:
"Not directly, but we have friends who have relations who have succumbed to it."
TAF: What are the precautions do you take to protect yourself from contracting the virus?
Regee:
"All the usual precautions that the health experts have been advising—endless hand-washing, social distancing, wearing masks, just being careful and not getting into any crowd situations.
"We are very lucky to have a wonderful supermarket nearby which insists upon proper precautions and keeps both its staff and customers safe. Ian goes out for his daily walks early in the morning before anyone is around and neither of us feel that we are being asked to do anything unusual on the health front. Common sense prevails in our area!
ABOUT REGINA TOLENTINO NEWPORT
Regee, as she is fondly referred to by family and friends, completed her bachelor's degree from the University of the East, Manila. She worked in the Asian Development Bank, Manila, during 1975-1978.
She migrated with her family to the USA in 1978. Her first job was in UNICEF in New York. In 1981, they relocated in Washington, DC where she joined the International Monetary Fund [IMF]. She took early retirement from her position of Administrative Officer at the IMF in 2003 at the age of 50 years.
She then pursued her other interests and her passion in the culinary world. She undertook the Le Cordon Bleu Program at the Orlando Culinary Academy, where she graduated in April 2006.
Highlights of her culinary journey include: staging her first public cooking demo at the Center for Culinary Arts, Quezon City, Philippines in 2007; setting up cooking classes business in the DC area which lasted for a year; founding of the Culinary Historians of the Philippines (CHOP) which is still going strong; launching of her cookbook COCONUT KITCHEN in Manila in October 2017 after a minor setback in the early part of producing the cookbook.
The Coconut Kitchen won the Gourmand International award--Top 3 in its category in 2018. Also in the same year, Coconut Kitchen was awarded Top 3 Finalists in the Food Category for the 37th National Books Awards by Manila Critics Circle (National Book Development Board) in the Philippines.
Regee's work on the second volume of Coconut Kitchen has stalled because of the pandemic. In the meantime, following requests by family and friends she has set up an FB page for her recipes and recipe testings, and doing a lot of cooking/baking everyday.
When asked what she holds fondly in her heart as her biggest achievements in life, she said: "Being able to give my children good education which has set them up for life, my cullinary work and enjoying life with my husband Ian, spending time with my children and grandchildren who are in New York and Boston who I miss seeing since the restrictions were put in place."
Regee's daughter Patricia is a Mechanical Engineer whose work involves ensuring train safety measures and systems are in place. Her son Jose is an accomplished Broadway star who has shone in several musicals, the most notable was playing the role of the King in the King and I in its Broadway season, USA and UK tours; Ferdinand Marcos in Here Lies Love to name a couple of Broadway hits. The Fil-Aussie community is familiar with Jose as he endorsed the Aussie charity CD 'One' in 2012 which raised funds for the Sendong Typhoon survivors. Patricia and husband Adrian have given Regee two beautiful grandchildren - Veronica and Maximus, aged 10 and 8 years respectively.
Lastly, how does she define 'success'?
"Success is having lived a good life, of good moral values and spiritual values; speaking to those to the end of the day."
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*Regee's interview in Radio Tagumpay will be aired on Monday, June 8, 2020. Radio Tagumpay airs on Mondays on Triple H 100.1FM and can be streamed via:
https://www.triplehfm.com.au/