'Warning for the World': Five Pacific Islands Officially Lost to Rising Seas

The event is the first official confirmation of what the future could be under climate change, researchers say

Published on May 10, 2016 by Commondreams.org

Rates of sea level rise in the Solomons are almost three times higher than the global average.
(Photo: ILO in Asia and the Pacific/flickr/cc)

By Nadia Prupis,

Five Pacific Islands have been swallowed by rising seas and coastal erosion, in what Australian researchers say is the first confirmation of what climate change will bring.

The submerged region, which was part of the Solomon Islands archipelago and was above water as recently as 2014, was not inhabited by humans.

However, a further six islands are also experiencing "severe shoreline recession," which is forcing the populations in those settlements—some of which have existed since at least 1935—to flee, according to a study published last week in Environmental Research Letters.

Researchers used aerial and satellite images dating back to 1947 to track coastal erosion across 33 islands. At least 11 islands across the northern region of the archipelago "have either totally disappeared over recent decades or are currently experiencing severe erosion," the study found.

"This is the first scientific evidence...that confirms the numerous anecdotal accounts from across the Pacific of the dramatic impacts of climate change on coastlines and people," the researchers wrote at Scientific American on Monday. Lead author Dr. Simon Albert, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland, told Agence France-Presse that rates of sea level rise in the Solomons are almost three times higher than the global average.

The five that sank ranged in size from one to five hectares (roughly two to 12 acres) and supported "dense tropical vegetation that was at least 300 years old," the researchers wrote for Scientific American, calling the event "a warning for the world."

Rates of sea level rise were substantially greater in areas exposed to high wave energy, the researchers found, "indicating a synergistic interaction between sea-level rise and waves."

That means islands exposed to higher wave energy in addition to sea level rise face faster and more widespread loss than sheltered islands.

They wrote: These higher rates are in line with what we can expect across much of the Pacific in the second half of this century as a result of human-induced sea-level rise. Many areas will experience long-term rates of sea-level rise similar to that already experienced in Solomon Islands in all but the very lowest-emission scenarios.

Understanding the factors that put certain regions at greater risk for coastal erosion is vital to help frontline communities adapt, the study concluded.

The families that have already been forced to relocate did so using their own limited resources and received little to no assistance from their government or international climate funds, the researchers noted. The exodus had the additional impact of fragmenting established communities of hundreds of people.

Melchior Mataki, who chairs the Solomon Islands' Natural Disaster Council, told the researchers, "This ultimately calls for support from development partners and international financial mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund. This support should include nationally driven scientific studies to inform adaptation planning to address the impacts of climate change in Solomon Islands."

The Solomon Islands were among the 175 nations that signed the Paris climate agreement in New York last month.

Pacific Islands Political Studies Conference

Pacific Islands Political Studies Conference

Monday, 23 November 2009, 1:00 pm
Press Release: University of Auckland

University Of Auckland Hosts Pacific Islands Political Studies Conference

Pacific scholars, policy makers and analysts from around the world will convene at The University of Auckland for the 11th Pacific Islands Political Studies Association (PIPSA) conference.

The theme for this year’s conference is Pacific Democracy: What’s Happening? The conference provides a forum to openly and critically discuss and re-examine the problems and issues that continue to shape the dynamics, culture and institutions of political governance and democratic rule in the Pacific.

Delegates from around the Pacific including Hawaii, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, United States, Niue, Japan, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Solomon Islands will gather for the two-day conference, which will address a wide range of issues including human rights, political violence, military coups, constitutional change, traditional leadership, development and women’s participation. Sir Paul Reeves, former Governor General of New Zealand, distinguished statesman and eminent political mediator in the Pacific region, will open the conference. His speech will focus on problems of democratisation in the Pacific.

The keynote speaker on day two is Labour Party leader Phil Goff, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, who will present “Pasifika New Zealanders in the new political scene.” There will also be presentations by prominent Pacific academics on topics relating to constitutional changes, political violence, human rights, development, corruption, peace-building and conflict resolution, alternative political systems and parliamentary democracy.

“These are difficult times for the Pacific politically, socially and economically, and it is important to engage in wider discussion and analysis of issues in an open and critical way-- as well as to look for long term solutions. Unstable countries can lead to an unstable region; thus, both national and regional solutions must be sought with seriousness,” says Dr Steven Ratuva, political sociologist at the University’s Centre for Pacific Studies, chief conference organiser and president of PIPSA. PIPSA was established in Hawaii in 1987 as a forum for Pacific scholars, policy makers and analysts to engage in discussion, research and publications about political issues in the Pacific islands. The PIPSA general conference takes place once every two years in different locations around the Pacific, including Port Vila, Suva, Noumea, Queensland, Rarotonga, Honolulu, Christchurch and Guam. The conference has been made possible through the support of The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Arts, Centre for Pacific Studies and Equity Office; and the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Project at the Australian National University.

United Nations Asked to Probe Plight of Pacific's Indigenous Peoples

From the Website:
Indigenous People's Issues Today:

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Week of April 22 - May 5, 2008
Indigenous Ainu People to Press Demands at G8 Summit

Japan's hosting of the G8 summit in Hokkaido in July will afford a rare opportunity for the Ainu people who live on the island to press their long-standing demand to be recognized as an indigenous people.Officially, for the Jul 7-9 summit of rich nations, Japan’s leaders have said they would like to see global health high on the agenda as also sustainable forest development, climate change and development.But the Ainu have other plans to roll out in Hokkaido at the Jul 1-4 Indigenous Peoples Summit, ahead of the G8 event. "If the government recognizes the Ainu as indigenous people everything would change," said Saki Mina, an Ainu leader, at a press conference here last week.There are about 200,000 Ainu living throughout Japan though most are concentrated in the northern island of Hokkaido. Ainu were once thought of as the remnants of a Caucasoid group but this is yet to be proved. Read the rest of the story here....

United Nations Asked to Probe Plight of Pacific's Indigenous Peoples

Representatives of various indigenous groups in the Pacific region have asked a United Nations panel to sponsor seminars and visiting missions that would look into the rights and situations of the natives of colonized territories, whose environments are said to have been exploited by "foreign superpowers."Environmental destructions through toxic waste dumping, mining and deforestation were among the top issues tackled by indigenous peoples in the Pacific region at the Seventh Session of the United Nation's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.Michael Dodson, member of the permanent forum, said indigenous lands and waters were being targeted by industrialized nations for dumping of toxic or radioactive wastes from industrial or military operations, often without informing residents of dangers. Read the rest of the story here....

Indigenous People's Hunger Strikers in Mexico Released from Prisons

After years of asserting their innocence, a group of indigenous Zapatista advocates are free, for now.The Mexican government released 149 political prisoners in the first two weeks of April, including 37 hunger strikers, almost all of whom were indigenous people from Chiapas who had been alleging they were the victims of torture, false imprisonment for political reasons, and other abuses. Another 20 prisoners are still incarcerated in Chiapas and Tabasco, but activists have not relented in their efforts, as further abuses in and outside the prisons are coming to light.The vast majority of the freed prisoners was indigenous activists, and had been imprisoned at some point between 1994 and 2006. They were involved with social change groups such as the Zapatista Other Campaign, the Independent Agricultural Worker and Campesino Center (CIOAC in Spanish) and the Pueblo Creyente (Believing People), a group of indigenous Catholics active in social justice issues. Most of the freed men were from the Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal or Chole communities in the Chiapas region. Among the leaders who first came out were Zacario Hernandez, Enrique Hernandez, Pascual Heredia Hernandez, Jose Luis Lopez Sanchez, Ramon Guardaz Cruz and Antonio Diaz Ruiz. Read the rest of the story here....

Hearings of Proposed Tipaimukh Dam Available: Indigenous Peoples Resource

Tipaimukh Dam Public Hearings from 2004 till 2008.The month of March 2008 events two public hearings for proposed Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project, one at Tipaimukh dam site, Churachandpur District on 31 March 2008 and another at Keimai village, Tamenglong District, Manipur on 26th March 2008, both organized by the Manipur Pollution Control Board. The public hearing at Keimai village registered extraordinary support from the Assam Rifles and the Border Security Forces camps nearby and slaughtering of pigs for handpicked participants by project proponents in both hearings. The first public hearing on Tipaimukh dam project at Darlawn Community Hall, Darlawn, Mizoram on 2 December 2004 was severely criticized for its lack of transparency of the project proponent, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) and failure to provide vital documents, including Detailed Project Report, Environment Impact Assessment etc.The Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydroelectric Project, to be constructed 500 Metres downstream from the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers, in South-western corner of Manipur over Barak river, with firm generation capacity of 401.25MW, has been one of the most controversial mega developmental projects in Manipur. While the project proponents, the Government of India and Manipur and NEEPCO hailed the project as bearing immense potentials and economic benefits, several issues remained unresolved, primarily the insensitive attitude of the Government and the project proponents to the legitimate concerns of the project affected villagers in the upstream and downstream portion of the Barak River. Find the resource here....

Indigenous People's Voices Demand Climate Justice

In the massive half-moon shaped United Nations conference auditorium filled with hundreds of individuals robed in colorful traditional clothing, jewerly and ceremonial items, a young female’s voice echoes from the center of the room.“We indigenous peoples are emphatic in stating that those primarily responsible for climate change are the governments and companies of the industrialized world,” said Edith Bastidas, executive director of the Centro de Cooperación al Indígena in Bolivia, during a day of testimonies April 22. “[They] are encouraging a production and consumption model that is destroying the biodiversity and natural resources of our Mother Earth.” Catch the rest of the story here....

From a Footnote...To the DNC

MINAGAHET ZINE
Tulu'Nga'Fulu'Gualo
"From a Footnote...To the DNC"
October 3, 2008

ARTICLES

May 15, 2008 - Bei Falak Denver - I'm Headed to the Democratic National Convention
Yanggen ilek-hu na "excited yu'" siempre ti nahong este na fino'-hu para u na'tungo' hamyo i tinahdong-hu i minagof-hu put este! Mampos excited yu'! Mamposssss.

May 19, 2008 - From a Footnote...To the Democratic National Convention
My new audience, and one which I am definitely happy to engage with is a liberal, Democratic, progressive one. There is so much terrain, so many issues and so many ideas upon which there is a strong affinity between what I believe and what these other bloggers believe, but I know that given my political status, there will be very fundamental divisions and distinctions, that cannot be simply explained away as "politics" or simple differences of opinion, but stem directly from the ambiguous and colonial status of Guam.

June 26, 2008 - Fache'
TRUE RUMORS ABOUT OBAMA: Barack Obama is spearheading a movement to rename “Marine Corps Drive” “Marine Drive Magazine Drive.”...Barack Obama is the white lady in Mai'ina...Barack Obama was really the one who grabbed the gavel from Judi Won Pat...Barack Obama closed down Gameworks...Barack Obama is the reason that it always rains on Liberation Day...Barack Obama is the one who keeps putting casino gambling on the election ballots and who also keeps organizing the Lina’la’ Sin Casino movements...Barack Obama is the one who wrote all the terrible Guam jokes for Bob Hope, Johnny Carson and Jon Stewart...When the Marines and their dependents get to Guam and the roads get worse, the infrastructure becomes even more strained and the cost of living shoots up even more, it will all be Barack Obama’s fault

July 9, 2008 - Racial Fantasies
From this perspective Obama does represent a huge shift. He is not just another rich white guy, who came from a perfect American home and had plenty of perfect American opportunities. He is not part of that fallacy of American normativity. Since he comes from modest means and a broken home, he does have a much more actual American story than most Presidents. But as a person of color, he also knows the pain of being an American who must constantly endure the racism of American race relations, where those with different names, skin colors, phenotypes or religions can always be treated like outsiders and always be told in both polite and impolite ways to "go home" or back to where they came from. Obama, as a Presidential candidate still isn't exempt from this. Despite being born in the United States and being a US citizen, there are still very strong rumors working their ways through "hard working" communities that argue that he isn't an US citizen and was in fact born in Kenya, and that he believes in one of those "non-American" or "anti-American" religions.

August 15, 2008 - Bloggers at the DNC
Whether this year results in significant gains for racialized groups is unlikely, but the Democratic National Convention will be a potent symbolic event, creating a huge emotional bubble amongst people in the United States, built from two very intimate, yet transcendent hopes. The first is the laudable hope that racism in this country can be surpassed and that dream of Martin Luther King Jr.'s is possible. The second is the selfish and self-protecting hope that should America at last elect a black person to its highest office, then white people who never owned slaves or killed Native Americans, will no longer have to feel guilty for the slaves owned and indigenous people that their ancestors killed or profited from

August 23, 2008 - Kao Sina Hu Interview Hao?
To tell you the truth, there is some hope on the horizon for this dream of decolonization for Guam, a faint trace fell into my inbox this evening. It is not much, and probably won't amount to anything, but it is still something.

August 24, 2008 - DNC Preview
Tomorrow is the first day of the convention and I'll have a lot more. I was able to meet up with the Guam delegation today. They all sported red Hawaiian shirts which made them very popular with the other delegations and they were often asked by complete strangers if they could take pictures of them. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this...

August 25, 2008 - DNC Day 1- The AAPI Matrix
I attended four Asian Pacific Islander Events today, and for the part of me that has lived out in the states for the past four years, and become accustomed to pan-ethnic rubrics such as “Asian Pacific Islander Americans” it was an exciting day. For the other part of me which is rooted in Guam, and had never even used the term “Pacific Islander” until I came out here, the day has been a bit disconcerting.

August 25, 2008 - DNC Day 1 - The Return of the Native
I think the crosswalk lights had been white for a while. Because he immediately darted off, in a different direction than which we had both been initially facing. In the last look that I got of his face, I saw a mixture of fear and confusion, as if the foundation for his identity in that moment had just completely collapsed and fallen away, leaving him to dangle without any certainty. I imagine that so many people who come to Guam serving in the military, or even tourists who visit Hawai’i get that look after they realize that a place that they imagined as theirs, whether it be a paradise or just another military base, in reality belongs to someone else, and has natives who claim it.

August 26, 2008 - DNC Day 2 - The Half Vote Dilemma
I've written before about the half-vote delegates that Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Americans Abroad receive in the Democratic Presidential primary process. For me this is just another sort of way in which the island is included and excluded, how it is never made a full part of the United States, but instead treated to small token gestures to make it feel more American then it really is. But this is my view on things, a member of the Guam delegation Taling Taitano...looks at it in a different way.

August 26, 2008 - DNC Day 2 - Okinawan Realities
I briefly met one elected official this afternoon, who had spent several years of her life in Okinawa. I introduced myself as the blogger from Guam. She mentioned having always wanted to visit Guam but never having the chance too. I took this opportunity to discuss the impending military buildup there...At first her face went ashen, and she said, oh no, how terrible.

August 27, 2008 - DNC Day 3 - Another Dispatch from the AA/PI Matrix
Guestblogged by Rashne Limki
The fundamental difference between the two groups (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) can be captured in one word – ‘colonization.’ The AAPI rubric is as absurd as AANA (i.e. Asian American Native American). But what makes the indifference, lack of awareness and absurdity starkly evident is that the majority of the speakers at the caucus stumble over the ‘PI’ part, hesitating about where exactly the letters P and/or I fit into the label. And of course, when not using the abbreviated version, the group is addressed simply as ‘Asian American.’

August 27, 2008 - DNC Day 3 - Looking for the Other Side of American Militarization
Coming from an island which has a far more intimate relationship to the military than any other military community (with the exception perhaps of the Marshall Islands), I'm struggling to find a place for the expression or even just mention of Guam's particular relationship with the United States military. Can any "real" "formal" American community, meaning those in states, know the feeling of being occupied in an American war, being displaced from your land to transform your island into a massive base, and also have your people then serve and die in that same military in record numbers? And this is all history which is not ancient, but has all taken place in the lives of my grandparents and thousands of other Chamorros.

August 27, 2008 - DNC Day 3 - War Reparations and Self-Determination are on the Table
Pilar Lujan also made an impact on the proceedings with her short, but to the point introduction to Guam, prior to providing the tally for the Guam delegation. She began by invoking that they were the delegation from Guam, "Where America's Day Begins" which was met by applause. She followed up this statement with a reminder that the Guam delegation seeks self-determination and war reparations from the United States. She again repeated a moment later, the reminder about self-determination for Guam.

August 28, 2008 - DNC Day 4 - The Lost Pacific
To say that this convention has been frustrating because of a lack of Pacific Islander presence would be a sen dongkalu na understatement. I've attended this week all of the events which were marked as "Asian-American Pacific Islander" or "Asian Pacific Islander American" and even "Asian Pacific American." I've had little to no luck. The delegates and representatives from these islands haven't been attending these meetings or even speaking at them.

August 28, 2008 - DNC Day - Operation New Life
She was considering how far things had come, how things had changed, how they hadn't, and how people came full circle. She is currently teaching journalism at Kent State University, and more than thirty years ago, over that war and its expansion into Cambodia had sparked even more protests, and at her current university several protesting students were killed to protect that idea of American exceptionalism, and that it above all has a right to wage whatever war it wishes.

August 28, 2008 - DNC Day 4 - Of Course...
I spent Barack Obama's speech crawling around on the floor of Invesco Field, trying to worm my way close enough to the candidate so I could get a decent picture of him with my cheap digital camera. Unfortunately, the closest I was able to get was right in the middle of the Texas delegation, so I have several dozen photos of a brown blur in a black suit that still has plenty of gravitas.

August 29, 2008 - DNC Day 5 - The War We Fight
Guestblogged by Victoria Leon Guerrero
Like Obama’s advisor, most political advisors know nothing about Guam . The DNC taught me that we will never have a presence until we make a statement. No one is going to listen until we shout loudly for our rights. There is no hope in fighting another country’s war. It’s time to fight for our own nation and her people.

August 29, 2008 - DNC Day 5 - Breaking News - Sarah Palin as Republican VP
I'm watching CNN right now and it seems that the Republicans have decided to make major history this election, by not just picking a woman for Vice President, but bringing together the first Father -Daughter Ticket in History!!!!

August 29, 2008 - DNC Day 5 - Some Quotes from the Week
Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo: "When I first sat in the Armed Services Committee, my first meeting. They said now, the question you ask, I was on the lower tier, the first row, now I'm on the second row. They said the question should be kind of generic and not too specific. So I had this question written out. Then I heard the rest of them, "my base" and "my state." I says, "Hey!" So when it came down to me, I said, "I want a carrier sent to Guam."

September 4, 2008 - Why Obama Has a Vision, While Palin Doesn't...Or Why I'm (sort of) a Community Organizer
When organizing communities, you are often working with an injustice and a vision. A community which is being mistreated, is not getting their fair share, has been ignored or forgotten, and you reference this historical or contemporary mistreatment in order to activate them, to propel them forward into a progressive, more inclusive, more prosperous, more equal or simply, just a better vision of the future. In Barack Obama's campaign you can see this, and contrast it with the McCain campaign's approach.

September 7, 2008 - Change You Can Handle - A White Compromise
But whereas Obama represents a change that "you can believe in" or a change which is derived from hope or dreams in a better future (something which, even if incrementally pushes you forward), McCain's campaign has changed this race back into the question of "change that you can handle." For all of those white voters out there who are uncomfortable or uneasy about voting for black man, who might be Muslim, and talks like he's smart and "uppity" McCain has offered them a chance to still change this country, but to still protect its perceived identity as a "white" nation. Protect the whiteness of America, but still be part of that bold pioneering American spirit!

September 13, 2008 - An Indigenous View on Palin's Alaska
There is far more to "Native America" than just casinos, and if you don't know about the fragile relationships that reservations or tribes have with their state governments in your state, its probably not because it doesn't exist, but its either because of the metaphorical erasure of Native Americans from American consciousness, or its because they were physically erased and displaced from your area or state.

Regional Leaders Discuss Military Buildup

Regional leaders discuss military buildup issues, ideas
by Clynt Ridgell,
KUAM News
Monday, May 05, 2008

Members of the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures are on Guam, meeting with local leaders as well as military officials in order to gain a better understanding of the Guam military buildup and how their member nations can fit in. American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Chuuk State, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, the Republic of Palau, the state of Hawaii and Guam make up the APIL's membership.

It's an organization created to contribute to the acceleration of economic and social development of the member states individually and collectively. While today they were on Guam to learn more about the military buildup it appears that Guam itself still has a lot to learn. According to one of the major findings of a recently released General Accountability Office report, the U.S. Department of Defense has yet to determine any specifics with regards to the Guam buildup. For example what units, U.S. Marines, facilities, and equipment will be placed on the island.

Joint Guam Program Office forward director USN Captain Robert Lee admits that the planning process is ever changing because of the constantly changing world in which we live. "Even for the Marine Corps, as they're making this move each and everyday, they have to look at what are we going to see in 5, 10, 20 years, and so you know you can take the 8,000 Marines and transplant them. But are they the right 8,000? Exactly which forces do we need to go?" he said.

Senator Ben Pangelinan (D) says that the GAO's report is not surprising, telling KUAM News, "It's no news to me, I think that's how I would sum that up - it's no news to me that the military is still not set in their plans that they haven't identified exactly what their going to do to Guam and what their going to do for Guam. Who are they going to move?"

While Cpt. Lee says that the agreement between the governments of Japan and the United States is still set on moving Marines to Guam, he also admits that no one can says for sure whether or not a change in the U.S.'s administration will mean a change in the Marines' movement. "Anything can affect this move, but keep in mind we've already got commitments from the military, the Government of Japan, the U.S. Government. You've heard the presidential candidates talking about their commitments, so there is a possibility anything's possible. But the wheels are in motion money is being put in place assets are being put in place, so it would be a big surprise if it didn't happen."

While the move of Marines may not be a sure thing, Republican senator Jim Espaldon says the island still has to prepare for the move as if it were going to happen, saying, "The reality is and we're going to have to accept and I think we can acknowledge that we need to prepare ourselves, and so going forward even without the military plans in place and us not being able to finalize and develop our own master plan. And again, we can't do a master plan until we fully understand what the military is going to do and what kind of impact it's going to have. And yet the military, even in its draft master plan, basically states that they're waiting for us to develop a master plan, which is nonsense."

In anticipation of this military buildup, APIL president Sabino Sauchomal explains the importance their visit to Guam. "It looks like the military is here to stay," he said, "So we might as well learn what is in store for all of us those of us who are in the neighborhoods of Guam. I know there are not only bad consequences of this buildup, but there are even more opportunities good things that will happen to Guam."

Sauchomal says the buildup will no doubt open up opportunities for his people and the people of APIL's membership nations, as well.

Read the full report at GAO.gov

Obama's Letter to the People of Guam

Obama's open letter to the people of Guam
The Marianas Variety - 5/2/08

Growing up in Hawaii, I learned firsthand about the unique issues facing Pacific island communities, while also appreciating the wonderful traditions of Pacific islanders. As a candidate to be the first President of the United States born and raised in the Pacific, I am determined to bring about real change for the people of Guam.

Our campaign is based on the premise that change happens from the bottom up, no matter how far you may be from Washington. That's why we have extended our grassroots movement to Guam, where we've opened a campaign office, put a leadership team in place that was born and raised on Guam, and drawn support from elected officials and community leaders from across the island.

On Monday, we presented a comprehensive policy agenda to make sure that Washington works better for Guam. As President, I will ensure that the people of Guam are heard during any military build-up, and make investments that lead to more jobs, improved infrastructure, and lasting development on the island. I'll also work with Congresswoman Bordallo to address Compact Impact reimbursements, while extending access to quality health care and education.

My commitment to making these changes is backed by a record of working for Pacific islanders in the Senate. I've stood up for Guam War claims, recognized the status of Native Hawaiians, and worked to tackle the unique health care challenges that Pacific island communities face.

That's why it's so disappointing that some have chosen to play politics and question my commitment to critical issues related to Filipino veterans. Because as a native son of Hawaii – and grandson of a World War II veteran – I know that the patriotism of Pacific islanders is rooted in shared values and the legacy of shared sacrifices during World War II.

Let me set the record straight. I co-sponsored the Filipino Veterans Equity Act in the Senate because I believe deeply that we must honor the heroic sacrifices of Filipinos who fought side by side with Americans on behalf of freedom. My staff stayed in close contact with key national organizations like the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans as well as the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity, which heralded my support "at a critical juncture for this bill."

Earlier last year I was proud to join my friend Chairman Daniel Akaka in voting to pass key elements of this important measure out of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and send it to the full Senate as part of an omnibus package of long overdue benefits for our veterans. I was on the campaign trail when the Senate voted on final passage of this measure, but since the bill passed with a comfortable margin, I knew my vote was not needed.

I strongly support swift action on getting this package, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act (S.1315), sent to the president for signature. This bill finally provides Filipino veterans and their survivors with the benefits that they were promised, and that they bravely earned in battle. Indeed, throughout my time in the Senate, I have fought to increase care and benefits for our veterans and their families And I will continue to fight to ensure we are keeping that sacred trust.

The United States has a special relationship with Guam and the Chamorro people. But under Democratic and Republican administrations, Washington has failed to keep its promises to the people of Guam. If you support me on May 3rd, we can finally bring about the change that is needed in Washington to benefit the people of Guam. If you stand for change, I will stand up for you as President.

Barack Obama

Senator
U.S. Senate

The Despair of the Indigenous People

Letter to the Editor: The despair of the indigenous people
December 14, 2007
The Saipan Tribune


MR. John Kapileo’s recent letter to you will resonate in the minds and hearts of the indigenous people of the CNMI and I am very happy that people like him are beginning to participate in the discussion on the issue of immigration and migrants in the CNMI.

Mr. Kapileo recognized the despair of the indigenous people when their homeland is being bastardized by the most powerful nation in the world and people are flocking to these islands in search of the American Dream at the cost of the people that were here first.

If democracy is at work, Mr. Kapileo is right — Rep.-elect Tina Sablan is heading in the direction that will perpetuate more poison to the despair of the indigenous people of the CNMI.

Democracy is at work and being a trashcan after an election is a normative political behavior in the eyes of the freshman representative who is supposedly under moral obligation to give and divide equal attention of her official time to the problems of the land.

The bad news to Mr. Kapileo, however, is that you and scores of other voters like you in Precinct 1 have forfeited your votes even before the games are played to the freshman representative who is now a foreigner and careless about your need for representation in the Legislature.

You see how ironic democracy is, turning the tides against the people who voted you to office is perfectly acceptable. We asked those caring elected representatives in the new Legislature to hold the fort of the indigenous people because we are counting on your true and genuine concern in advancing the cause and aspirations for those people who have struggled and lived the lives of their ancestors and witnessed every human turmoil of war, and Godgiven hardship so that we value and give meaning to a permanent homeland for future generations of our kind.

The islands in the CNMI are not for auction to anybody — these islands are meant for the indigenous people. This is a cause that will divide people who are new to these islands and people who came to these islands first, but once you see the despair of the indigenous people, you cannot unsee it.

We all know that Saipan, in particular, is over populated. The island could not forever sustain the current level of population. Hence, elected officials like Rep. Cinta Kaipat said that overpopulation and the potential of permanent migration of people to the CNMI is a serious threat to the life and livelihood of the indigenous people. This is not a congenital defect in our particular brand of democracy! The CNMI is not the place where the American Dreams could be found as gold that lies at the end of the rainbow.

For those that have given false hope to desperate migrants in the CNMI, giving encouragement that it is moral and democratic to desecrate the indigenous people of the CNMI in launching their platforms for the American Dream — the indigenous people will view this as bad to their well-being, and consequently, a new democracy will come.

At the end of day this matter will be too overbearing and the masses will be awakened and chaos will emanate across every heart and mind of the indigenous people to fight and recover what was once their own homeland.

Scores of Pacific island people in modern times are being pushed aside by foreigners in their own homelands. Guam and Hawaii are examples where the indigenous people are being outnumbered because of U.S. immigration policy. Fiji is a prime example where migrants from India are overtaking the survival of the indigenous people in their own homeland and chaos in this region of the world is a sad story and this is imminent in the CNMI if the U.S. plants its own immigration policy here.

As indigenous people in the CNMI, are we to stop and wait for the worst? We need to act in a proactive manner and have a voice and a unified force to protect our existence as a people and let everyone know that the CNMI belongs to the Chamorrosand Carolinians wo are attached to these islands as their homeland. We welcome visitors, but you are only a visitor and one day we expect that you will leave us and these lands.

Ms. Tina Sablan’s position will ignite further division of the people that she thinks she is representing and those that she has publicly abandoned. Perhaps the people that voted and supported her in the election did so in haste, but are now regurgitating their decision.

Language was used to pacify and fool the people. The words of Ms. Tina Sablan were misunderstood. We hope that as she plays her politics of justice she would give some special attention to the indigenous people’s despair and promote their desire to be left alone and to flourish as a people in their homeland. She should search and find the balance as she is introduced and welcomed to the world of politics of immigration, migration, education, health care, resistance, morality, governance, opposition, accountability, the environment, the indigenous people, and the sickening uncertainty for future generations like my grandchildren and those that follow my foot steps.

I hope Ms. Tina Sablan would find in her heart that the indigenous people of the CNMI are a people that have only their land to have and the language and tradition to be identified with. We hope that as the church teaches us to give respect to others, those that come to our house should respect us as well. But if that is not the case, we ought to ask that you leave us.

Ms. Tina Sablan should realize that when those who are advising her have achieved their aims, they will leave the commonwealth and the world will start collapsing and she will be viewed as one who helped desecrate her own people.

Idealism is good, but people fight for idealism because it is the right thing to do in their minds. We need to connect thoughts and language in the same way that we integrate idealism to realism. We know our language and our thoughts as indigenous people of the CNMI, and once you see how we feel and value our life, you cannot unsee it.

FRANCISCO R. AGULTO

Chalan Kanoa, Saipan

Guam Included for First Time in Pacific Islands Forum

Guam included for first time in Pacific Islands Forum
by Michele Catahay, KUAM News
Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Governor Felix Camacho, during his recent trip to the mainland, received some positive news at the Eighth Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders in the nation's capitol. Guam's governor will be part of the state delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum, which will be the first time the territory will attend.

Camacho told KUAM News on Monday, "We have always been not allowed to attend even as observers and our argument is that although we are U.S. governors, that we are in the Pacific and we have vested interest in what happens. Decisions that are made out there affect us, so we should have a voice."

The conference in Washington, DC was hosted by the U.S. State Department. The main topic discussed was the impending military buildup and how the opportunities for labor and employment can spill over to the other islands in the region. In addition, the East-West Center out of Honolulu, Hawaii has agreed to conduct a study on the labor opportunities for Guam and other islands in the region.

The fund for the study will come from the Department of the Interior.