Lakbay (Journey) | Binitay Documentary

June 26, 2013June 26, 2013

The last memory of my Filipino “souls” on Philippine Soil

From my souls of my shoes are the remnants of old Philippine soil from when I had last set foot.

I was three and a half years old when I was last in the Philippines. The old memory of confusion is blurred by flashes of a camera, the bright Eastern Sun blinding me, and the cement buildings and dirty streets where my footprints last print. People challenge how I still remember that last day, but I describe it to my adoptive mother (my mom now), and she affirms every moment I reminiscence.

I recall those cement buildings standing tall against the sunlight. I remember the streets and the fatigue from walking about with my foster parents at that time.

Tatay Pepeng, Ate Dagoy, Mama Nor and me.

My last moment with them before my transitioning into a new family. A permanent one promised by the Philippine government. A new home.

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I invite you to join me on the rest of this journey to reach back as I move forward.

–> Visit my Kickstarter campaign at http://kck.st/filipinoadoptee

–> Join our Facebook community at http://www.facebook.com/binitaydocumentary

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June 24, 2013

Binitay means “Hanged”

Binitay means “Hanged.” When I was found, the report said, “The child when found, was placed inside a plastic bag hanged on a banana palm…when the founder… who was pasturing her carabao within the vicinity heard the cry of the baby. “

Twenty-three years later, I hope to travel back to the Philippines to find my birth parents and to reconnect with my foster family. It has been two decades. It’s time.

Behind the name.

People ask, especially Filipinos, why Binitay? Why did you choose that name for your documentary? Well it is my foreshadowing of where I had received my middle name and where I came from. Within my stowed away adoption papers laid secrets of my life prior to my adoption. The orphanage had given me the middle name “Beni” in short of the Tagalog word “binitay”, which means hanged, described in the photo clip above.

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I invite you to join me on the rest of this journey to reach back as I move forward.

–> Visit my Kickstarter campaign at http://kck.st/filipinoadoptee

–> Join our Facebook community at http://www.facebook.com/binitaydocumentary

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June 23, 2013June 28, 2013

Binitay: Journey of a Filipino Adoptee

My name is James Beni Wilson, and I am a Filipino adoptee. My dream is to create a documentary that will share my journey with you. I will travel to the Philippines for the very first time in 20 years to search for my birth family and reconnect with my foster family.

In the documentary, I hope to express the importance of ethnic/cultural spaces and how I have utilized these spaces to reconcile my identities as a person of color/Filipino/Asian American.

To raise funds for the documentary and trip, I have created a Kickstarter campaign (which is a website where people submit projects for fundraising). This fundraiser using KICKSTARTER.com is an all-or-nothing project. If I do not raise enough funds for this in the next 17 days (until July 10th 8pm Eastern) it will be unsuccessful and no funds will be contributed to my documentary. If I reach my goal, I’ll receive all the funds contributed, and will be able to start the documentary.

From a small 3-year-old adoptee in rural Michigan, to a board member of the the Philippine American Community Center of Michigan (PACCM) where I facilitate an inter-generational class known as “Filipino Youth Initiative,” and as the Chair of the Youth Committee for the Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA), I have learned a lot about being American and being Filipino.

I invite you to join me on the rest of this journey to reach back as I move forward. Visit http://kck.st/filipinoadoptee