Remittances, A Homeland Connection

Exit Spring Mountain

For the Season 2 Finale of Exit Spring Mountain, we’re talking about the care packages we send and receive to offer help and hope to our families and friends abroad. Balikbayan boxes are also a topic of conversation, as they have helped float the Phillippine country for decades. Many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders also send remittances - funds transferred from migrants or recent immigrants to their home countries. What does the money pay for? Why do AAPI communities continue this practice? And how can this be a lifeline for families and governments in other countries?

Professor Constancio Arnaldo, an assistant professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Gender and Ethnic studies and Asian and Asian American Studies at UNLV discusses the historical context of why remittances and balikbayan boxes are important for Filipino and Filipino American communities. Bernardo Blanco, who has been participating in sending remittances to family in the Phillippines for decades, explains why he feels it is his duty to continue to help his family abroad for as long as he lives. JD Reyes, a first-generation UNLV student and Chamorro from Saipan, explains why he loves staying connected with his family back home through the care packages he receives and sends.

Exit Spring Mountain is a podcast from Nevada Public Radio. Our team includes senior producer Nessa Concepcion, academic research consultant Mark Padoongpatt and assistant producer, researcher and social media manager, Isabelle Chen Rice. Joe Schoenemann oversees podcasts as news director at Nevada Public Radio, and our sound editing, mixing, and mastering is by Christopher Alverez.