Filipino nurses are in the spotlight once again. Unlike the misplaced attacks on the Filipino nurses by former Mayor of Washington or the disparaging remarks made by a former Senatorial candidate, there were reports of the untimely death of five Filipino immigrant nurses in California’s San Mateo Bridge.
Two weeks ago, on the way to the bachelorette party, the nine Filipina nurses, all passengers of a stretched white limousine were engulfed in flames. Five of the nurses were trapped inside and died of fire inside the limousine and four managed to escape. The bodies of those who died were found clustered under a small window near the driver’s compartment indicating their attempt to escape. At present, an investigation is still being conducted to determine the cause of the fire.
Most of these nurses arrived in the United States through petitions by their U.S. employers. When I first heard the news on a Sunday morning, I felt empathy for the families of the five deceased nurses. I imagined how the victims suffered during the fire and how difficult it must have been for their family members who were left behind to cope with the untimely demised of the nurses.
Two days after the tragic accident, I saw the photographs of some of the nurses on our bay area newspaper. After staring at the photographs for a long time, I felt a certain affinity with the nurses like I had met them in the past. Then, it dawned on me that I was their legal counsel many years ago when I was afforded the opportunity to work on the employment based immigrant visas for most of the nurses. These nurses arrived in the United States after being petitioned by their U.S. employer based in Oakland, California.
Just like other immigrant nurses, after finishing their contracts with their petitioning employer, they are permitted to transfer to other employers or hospitals. But despite the changes in employment, the nurses who were co-workers at their petitioning employer’s facility developed strong bonds and long lasting friendship. The nine nurses were indeed close friends and celebrate each other’s milestones. At the time of the accident, they gathered to celebrate the forthcoming wedding of Neri Fojas, who was one of the fatalities.
Driver’s Negligence Raised
The survivors were blaming the driver of the limousine as having acted negligently in not pulling over soon enough to save all of them from the fire. His version of the story is that he got the wrong message from one of the nurse passengers. He said, “I told them that there is no smoking inside the car.” Instead of pulling over right away, he continued to drive until the emergency tapping on the driver’s window by the nurses and request to stop was finally heard. By that time, it was too late. There is some member of the community who had a different analysis. The nurse who called the attention of the driver could be easily misinterpreted when she yelled, “smoke” instead of “fire”. Whether or not it was a miscommunication on the part of the driver and the nurse, the fact remains that after the driver got off of the car, he was seen standing outside the car and making a phone call to report the emergency. The investigation is still on going, and the findings that will soon be released will determine whether he has potential liabilities.
The Visa Processing of Nurses in the Past
The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco held a Memorial Service for the deceased nurses on May 10, 2013. I attended this service to give my respects to the family. As I entered the room, the hall was full, most recognizable were familiar people who are members of the community. In attendance were politicians, businessmen, co-workers, former employers, nurses, the survivors except for one and the family of those who died. I went early in order that I may express my condolences to the relatives of the nurses. After having seated for a few minutes, a boy hugging a stuff toy walked into the room crying. He was looking for her mother. The grieving Dad was holding him most of the time and was comforting the child. This was the moment when I, myself, felt the depth of pain being experienced by the surviving family members specially the children who were left behind.
It was during the emotional service, that I recalled memories of the years when these nurses obtained their green cards. Prior to 2008, the registered nurses from the Philippines immigrated to the United States faster compared to current processing of nurses visas. Then, the demand for nurses was very high and that the turn around to get visas for nurses then was less than one year. For those who were in the United States at that time, the adjustment of status to immigrant visa for nurses took only a few months if not weeks. On the downside, these were the times when the nursing profession was entered into for the wrong reason. Many Filipinos who aspired to live and work in the United States took a second career in nursing to be able to get the immigrant visa faster.
But for the nurses who were involved in the tragic limousine accident, they took the nursing career to heart and have taken on challenging nursing jobs in different hospitals. They were pre-2008 or pre-retrogression nurses who are among the many who did not have to wait long to get their visas. Immediately, upon approval of their visas, their spouses and minor children also obtained their visas. This was their luck at that time. After 2008, and up to this day, nurses have to wait five or more years to obtain the immigrant visas. It is unfortunate that the five nurses have to die from this tragic accident. We lost five hardworking nurses but their memory and their reputation of how good Filipino nurses resonated a strong message to the whole nation. And these nurses, wherever they may be, will always bring pride to the Filipino immigrant community.
(Atty. Lourdes Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 887 7177 or 721 1963 or visit her website at tancinco.weareph.com/old)
