Latte Stones on Guam

Although Pagat is listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation & America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, it still remains as the Department of Defense’s first choice for a firing range.  Pagat is the site of a historic Latte Village.  Lattes are ancient stone pillars that Chamorros used to build their house on (first being used around 800 AD).  Additionaly, the cultural practice of healing from herbs found at Pagat will also cease to exist. Furthermore, indigenous endangered species (such as the Mariana 8-Spotted Butterfly) that inhabit the region will almost undoubtedly be wiped out and private landowners will lose their land.

Plans to dredge Apra Harbor are delayed, but it is still their preferred option.  As I have noted before, not only is this bad for the environment, but it also hurts  marine sports, diving, and subsurface tours (by nearly 10%).  Furthermore, a nuclear powered ship would be based in this harbor.  Given the recent oil spills EVERYWHERE, this doesn’t sound very appealing.  (Yes I know a nuclear powered ship and an oil rig/pipeline are completely different, but what even take the chance?)

The document does not detail how they plan to limit the population to 40,000 during the peak of construction as they have been publicizing. The FEIS in fact predicts up to 79,178 in 2014.  This will demoralize an already horrible infrastructure, education system and housing market.

If you are on Guam and would like to find out more information then please attend a community meeting to discuss this document:

COMMUNITY MEETING
Mangilao Community Center
Friday, July 30
6:30-8:30pm
Refreshments will be provided!

You can also visit weareguhan.com to find more information.

Samoan Tim Cahill, the most skilled and most well-known Islander in the tournament, had a most-agonizing start (and probably end) to his tournament after being sent off with a harsh straight red card on a late tackle he made in Germany’s 4-0 drubbing of Australia.  While the red card means he misses Australia’s next tilt with Ghana (6/19, 10:oo AM, ESPN), FIFA could hand down a two-game suspension leaving his fate in the feet of his teammates.  Check out the tackle below:

In sharp contrast, New Zealand’s Winston Reid (of Maori descent) had a joyous start to his World Cup campaign.  Reid scored a stoppage time equalizer to steal a point from Slovakia. While all teams in Group F are tied with 1 point, New Zealand’s next game is against defending World Champion Italy (6/20, 10:00 AM, ESPN).  See the goal below:

Tim Cahill, Samoan descent, will anchor the Australia attack.

In an earlier post I mentioned that Pohnpei actually has a soccer league and a national team.  This is/was amazing to me.  (By the way, if you want an official Pohnpei jersey let me know.  First of all, you will support the team.  Secondly, how many people can say they have a Pohnpei kit?) Anyway, I digress.  For those of you not paying attention, the World Cup kicks off this Friday.  While I will  resist the urge to post some amazing advertisements and various other internet content, I will discuss the Pacific and the World Cup.  So without further ado, your 2010 Be Pacific World Cup Primer:

Key Pacific Teams:

New Zealand "All-Whites"

New Zealand: Ah, poor New Zealand.  While they are the only team to qualify from the Oceania Confederation, the horribly named All-Whites don’t stand much of a chance to do anything.

New Zealand is currently ranked 78th by FIFA and were drawn into Group F with reigning world champs Italy, a quality South American side in Paraguay and Slovakia.    At the very best, the All-Whites could win one game, but will likely drop out of the tournament without a single point.

Coach: Ricki Herbert.

Captain: Ryan Nelsen

Key player: Shane Smeltz.  Led the team through qualification scoring 8 goals.

Pacific Islanders (non-European descent): Winston Reid – Although having lived in Denmark for part of his life, Ried is of Maori descent.  Leo Bertos is half Maori as is Rory Fallon.  Jeremy Christie also has Maori heritage, but I’m not sure how much. (And it really doesn’t matter.)  So the All-Whites are really the Half-Whites, or 3/4 Whites.

Australia: After advancing out of the group stage in 2006, the Soccerroo’s are a bit unlucky this term.  Drawn into a group including the always-successful Germany, and solid Ghana and Serbia sides, Australia will have a tough time advancing out of the group stages.  Their ability to do so depends largely on the play of Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell.  If the Soccerroo’s can play mistake-free soccer, they could advance, however if they don’t capitalize on their chances then Australia could find themselves 3 and out.

Coach: Pim Verbeek

Key Player: Tim Cahill (M), Harry Kewell (F), Mark Schwarzer (G).

Pacific Islanders: Tim Cahill.  The aforementioned star is half Samoan and plays for Premier League side Everton.

Life Through My Lens – AE Raphael

I should also say that she fixed my Be Pacific header…looks great right?! She is a talent.

Nohnoh Kimiya

Sorry for the hiatus.  I just haven’t had much inspiration lately.  I delete my Google Alerts and other Pacific updates I receive without reading them.  I have been too distracted by other things happening to think about blogging. Let’s think of this break as a little Pacific-regeneration.

And if that isn’t sufficient, I will use this weekend as an inspiration.  I spent Monday and Tuesday with my Mwoakillese (pronounced Mo-kill-ease) family.  My dad, brother Dylan and Uncle Tregar traveled to Illinois to visit my Nohnoh who is staying with my Aunt Kimiya, Uncle John (not Mwoakillese) and cousin Carly.

My grandma is a character.  She has led an interesting life and this has manifested itself into her stories, opinions and views on religion.  It is hard to sit and talk with her without her bringing up religion.  I should mention that my grandma has heart problems and problems with her diabetes.  The ironic thing is she isn’t scared. I am.  She told me (in her not-quite-broken-English), “I’m not afraid of die. Don’t ever be afraid of die.  No one lives forever. The only one who knows when you will die is Jesus. He knows when you come and when you go.  So don’t be afraid of die.”  It can be heart-warming, but I am always quick to change the subject.

My brother Dylan (also quite a character)  hasn’t been able to spend a lot of time with my grandma.  Needless to say, he really enjoyed talking to her and getting to know her.  She was teaching him various words and phrases in Ponpeian.  His favorite was ”ke mehn mwau” which means “you are beautiful.”  She also taught him various swear words and bad things to say.  Most insults were directed at the smell of genitalia, but I will spare you the details.

For me it was just great to see her again.  (For those of you that don’t know, in June of 2007 I went to Guam to meet up with Nohnoh before flying to Pohnpei with her.  We spent almost 2 months together.) She is so funny.  She gave me a hug and said, “Wow.  You lose so much weight.  Your brother is solid and you are so soft.”  Of course Dylan loved to hear that.

Back (L to R): Robert (my dad), Nohnoh Kiniya, Uncle Tregar, Aunt Kimiya. Front (L to R): Me, Carly (cousin), Dylan (brother).

The more I talked with her, the more I started to remember the language and mannerisms from the island.  For example, they measure things with their fingers and arms.  Let’s say you catch a fish: instead of using your two hands to show the length of the fish, you would show the length from your fingertips to a point in on your arm.  Also, raising your eyebrows once means yes.  So instead of nodding your head you raise and relax your eyebrows.  Finally, you point with your nose, not your finger.  Just scruntch it and point!  (If none of these make sense just skype me and I’ll show you.)

It was fun to have all of us Micronesians in one place.  I feel so far removed from the Pacific that it is nice to share stories of the islands and hear the language.  I almost forget that I am in the Midwest and not on Pohnpei, even if only for a moment.  I’m definitely struck with nostalgia.

I’m not sure how long Nohnoh will stay in the States.  She seems to be getting a lot better and may move back to Guam relatively soon.  While I hope to make it out for a visit again, I’m not sure if that will happen in time, so I am thankful to have had the time this weekend.

So far the Grey Papers have discussed education, tourism, and the environment.  The latest edition is out, this time discussing housing.  Once again, things look bleak.  As always, I’m here to relay the message.

In January 2009, Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (GHURA), at the request of the Civilian Military Task Force (CMTF), conducted the “Guam Comprehensive Housing Study”.  The aim of this study was twofold: 1) to produce a comprehensive housing study for Guam; and 2) to develop a dynamic, interactive housing model to generate housing need forecasts for Guam.

So what did they come up with?The predicted population increase from a military buildup will create an increase in demand for over 11,800 homes.  This does not include military personnel living on base or H-2B (one-time worker visa) workers.  While Guam’s housing industry produces between 400 and 1,000 units on average per year, the buildup would require over 9,000 units constructed by 2014 in order to meet the expected demand.

Currently, housing costs in Guam are at their highest point in history.  This cost will skyrocket with a shortage of labor, materials and homes on the island.  In turn, low to moderate income families will not be able to afford the costs to build, purchase or rent a home because of the higher prices.

Furthermore, if the demand for constructing new homes is actually met, the result would be an oversupply of housing after 2014 which will in turn drive prices down meaning substantial losses for landlords and developers that invest in the initial buildup. It would also cause a number of problems associated with maintaining large amounts of vacant units (think Detroit).

If you are keeping score at home, the further militarization of Guam would have devastating impacts on the following markets:

• Education
• Tourism
• Environment
• Housing

At this point the only advantage to the buildup would be strengthening our empire in the Pacific.  There are many that would consider this advantageous, but it’s not 1944.  We are no longer fighting Japan.  China is our ally.  So fortifying our presences in the Pacific is not worth the damage that would be inflicted on the island of Guam or its people.

What do you think?

13 miles x 13 miles

(Cautionary Notice: What follows is not a discussion of genitalia.)

One of the most irritating assumptions about Pacific islands is that they are small. Sure these islands pale in comparison to the vastness of the Pacific, but what doesn’t? Size is of course a matter of relativity. I think these islands shrink when one assumes they are isolated, but these islands are not isolated.  (However, they may be shrinking.) Whether by canoe or plane, Pacific Islanders have always traveled freely between islands.

And how small are these islands in comparison to your hometown or county?  And what if you think of an island not just as land or water?  If you think of the size of an island’s size in the context of the diaspora of it’s people, then these islands become much bigger.  For example, Mwokilloa Atoll, my ancestrial island, is 7,065 miles from Traverse City, MI, my birthplace. And I’m not alone.  I have met Samoans, Fijians, Chamorros, Hawaiians, and I am quite positive that there are many more.  Certainly, when you judge the size of the Pacific Islands from the context of diaspora, these islands become much larger.

But does size matter?
Size does not matter, but the assumption that these islands are small will always irritate me. For one, I have been to many of these islands and have experienced their vastness and diversity, so to say these islands are small is to say I am a liar, but I can get over that.  I’m being somewhat facetious here, but really.  They are not small.

But more importantly, implicit in calling these islands small is that somehow they are primitive places.  Somehow because the islands are “small” the people are less intelligent, less happy and live less fulfilling lives.  Of course, not all think this way and not all are conscious of this thought, but it exists.  I’ve seen it and it will always annoy me.

What do you think?

Damon says, "What you lookin' at?"

Thanks to my girlfriend Alex, friend Larry Cunningham, and friend/former professor/basketball-er (un)extraordinaire Damon for some of these links…

From Damon’s The American Lake: Polynesian Racial Profiling in Alaska

From Alex: Civil Unions in Hawai’i

From Larry: I’ve been trying to move away from the Buildup, but this is the best article I’ve seen on the militarization of Guam.