Guam Buildup: Environmentally Unsatisfactory

The DoD's proposal to increase its already-massive footprint on the island of Guam recently received the EPA's lowest rating: Environmentally Unsatisfactory. While "unsatisfactory" to me calls up benign images of less-than-optimal spelling homework, this milquetoast language in fact represents a scathing indictment of the proposed buildup – and a serious roadblock to the military's expansionist plans.

We Are Guahan has posted a great ten-point summary of the EPA's findings on their website. The problems identified by the EPA include:

• contaminated drinking water
• "unacceptable," island-wide water shortages
• endangerment of Guam's aquifer
• "unprecedented" destruction of Guam's coral reefs
• inadequate protection of endangered wetlands
• lack of commitment to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and cleaner fuels
• over eight TONS of hazardous waste generated
• lack of mitigation to likely PCP contamination
• no discussion of treatment of radioactive waste
• significant noise impacts
• invasive species introduction

 ... and the list goes on and on. You can read it yourself - the report is a handy 101-page download, with a succinct table of contents outlining the 1,001 reasons why THIS BUILDUP IS A REALLY BAD IDEA, from an environmental standpoint.
 

Of course, it's a really bad idea for a number of other reasons too. For instance, it threatens to overwhelm the island's indigenous population and to further erode the Chamoru culture and language. But the US government doesn't have an Indigenous Culture Protection Agency to make these points.

The current focus on environmental issues calls to mind a conversation I had, several years ago, with the late Carlos Taitano. He said that he was frustrated when the two-legged Guam Rail raised so much concern among environmentalists, who seemed to have no concern for the local population. "What about the two-legged Chamorro?" he asked.

Admittedly, it's frustrating when environmental concerns trump the concerns of a people, culture, and language. However, in the case of the Guam buildup, I think that environmental concerns may dovetail nicely with the needs of the local population – whose drinking water, air quality, and health are being so overwhelmingly threatened by the DoD's proposal. Since the US military wouldn't dream of trying to impose this kind of a project on mainland Americans, it's my hope as well that the proposed buildup will bring Guam's colonial status out into the light of day. Because sunshine is the best – and the most environmentally friendly – antiseptic .

(Photos courtesy of Desiree Taimanglo-Ventura at The Drowning Mermaid, and David Burdick at the US All Islands Coral Reef Committee)

Taking the AFSC "Red Pill Tour" of O'ahu - Part One

I first met Kyle Kajihiro and Terri Keiko'olani at a No Bases conference in Washington DC last spring. They form the small but effective office of DMZ Hawai'i and the Hawai'i branch of the American Friends Service Committee, and they were generous co-sponsors of The Insular Empire screening in Hawaii last month.

The day after the screening, they organized a peace action at Camp Smith (headquarters of the US Military Pacific Command). A group of about two dozen people were there (many of whom knew about the action because they had attended the screening the night before), including Dr. Hope Cristobal and Lino Olopai. We also had people there representing countries from as far away as Turkey and New Zealand, all gathered peacefully in solidarity with the people of Guahan to present the Base Commander with a request to cancel or mitigate the proposed military buildup.

A fool's errand, it might have seemed - and I confess to feeling scared as we all parked our cars on the road outside and unfurled our peace-declaring banners in front of the gate. But Kyle and Terri were calm and unflappable, and there was something empowering in being there, with a group of like-minded peace-loving people, simply stating our desire for peace and social and environmental justice to a group of heavily armed, very young American soldiers.

We were joined too by an amazing woman (whom I had also met briefly in DC last spring) named Mary Ann Wright. Ann is a former Army Colonel and diplomat, who resigned her high-level diplomatic post in protest over the Iraq war. She is now a committed peace activist, working with organizations like CodePink and US Military Violence Against Women. The soldiers at the gate to Camp Smith took our request to speak to the Base Commander seriously, most likely because of her presence (they were all very deferential when they found out she was a retired Colonel), and we stood outside for almost an hour while our request was taken at the gate and then passed up the line.

Despite press releases sent to all local media outlets on Oahu, the only ones documenting the event were ourselves -- and the military.  After we had been waiting a little while, a uniformed photographer came out and began taking pictures of us, laughing and claiming that he was from Guam. (We were all a bit confused by this, since he was clearly African-American, but he did seem to know the names of several local families.) He couldn't tell us which village he was from, though, so we eventually presumed that his saying the family names was simply a way of getting close enough to us to get some good photos. At any rate, for better or (more likely) for worse, all of us who were there that day have now been photo profiled by the US military.

Eventually, a military policeman came out and spoke with the representatives of Fight for Guahan (Hope Cristobal, Angela Cruz, and Kisha Borja-Kicho'cho). They collected the photos the group had prepared, showing the beautiful and historic places on Guam that the proposed buildup threatens to destroy. Ann asked them if they were Marines, and they responded that they were actually civilians 'who reported to the Marines' -- which we all found more than a bit creepy.


They were very polite and respectful, however, and took careful notes, and the whole event was quite civil. The exchange ended with Ann informing the policemen that we would be following up, to make sure the documents made their way up the chain of command, and with them assuring her that they would pass the documents up appropriately.

After the action, Kyle and Terri offered to take Hopie, Lino and me out to lunch, and to show us a few military landmarks on the way. But that story will have to wait for another post...

Hafa Adai, Mr. President! Can we have our island back, please?

Marianas Variety just published an article on Obama's upcoming visit to Guam. The fact that the US President has decided to fly 9000 miles to visit the Marianas is HUGE news... and speaks to how vital these tiny islands are to America's global strategy.

On the same day, the Associate Press reported this story about thousands of protestors in Tokyo (not Okinawa - Tokyo), asking the US military to GO HOME.

Something tells me these two things are related.

The real question now is: how do we get Obama to watch The Insular Empire? I've read Obama's book Dreams From My Father, and I really believe that Obama understands, first-hand, what it means to be colonized. I'd like to believe that if he understood the Marianas' colonial history, he'd start doing something to help the people of Guam - and the Northern Marianaas - achieve true self-determination.

California Update (#3)

I think it's safe to say that last night's screening was an unqualified success. We had a great turnout, and everyone seemed genuinely moved and pleased with the film. We raised $500, and several people offered to throw house parties to help raise more money to help get the film finished. I also got to catch up with Hope Cristobal, Jr., and Amy Robinson, and a bunch of other friends and family I hadn't seen in a long time.

I also succeeded in shooting photos for Kunal, the film's animator. I took photos of Ben Servino, his daughter Emily, Martha Duenas, and an unsuspecting but gracious Frank Flores (who didn't know until he got there that he'd been volunteered as a model).

Today I'll finish up working with Todd and Gus on the music -- and then take some much needed time off...

California Update (#2) - Parking

For those of you coming to the screening on Wednesday -- please park in Lot B on the CSU Hayward campus, right across from the screening venue (Old University Union, Room #102). Ben Servino has gotten us free access to this lot from 4-8pm. 

See my post below for maps and directions to the screening.

As we gear up for tomorrow, all is going well. Todd (and Alex, his assistant) and I finished up our spotting session this morning, and I'm even more excited to hear what they come up with. Gus will join us tomorrow to infuse the score with some local flavor...

California, Here I Come...

We're packing up and getting ready to head south! After almost 8 years of planning, shooting, editing (and re-editing and re-editing), we are LOCKING PICTURE on Monday, putting the files on my laptop, and driving it down to California. Yeeha!

A zillion details still to sort out, but the film at least is finally solid, and I'm feeling really good about it. I showed it to my TV-director friend Mona last week and she said, "wow, it's really good... and definitely one of the best docs I've seen made by someone I know!" (Since she went to USC film school and worked in LA for years, this does actually mean something.) 

We're driving down to SF in Nik's trusty VW Westphalia, aka Verne the Van, and stopping along the way to visit family in Seattle and in Quincy, CA. We'll be in the Bay Area by next Monday, where I'm going to be working with Todd Boekelheide (Academy-award winning sound designer and composer) and Gus Kaipat (recording artist and ukulele player from Saipan) on the film's musical score. With the help of Martha Duenas and Hopie Cristobal I'm also going to be setting up a still photo shoot, to get photos of Chamorro faces for my animator Kunal Sen to use in the animations... AND it looks like Ben Servino of Cal State East Bay is going to set up a fundraising screening for Wednesday, May 13th at the Hayward Campus. (So if any of you want a sneak peek at the film, and want to help get this thing DONE and on the air, come on out and show your love!) I will post more details on the screening once he's nailed down a time and venue.

It should be a very full and very productive week, and I'm really looking forward to it. But now... back to the grindstone. Lots to do before we leave...

One time in Madrid...

We spent many, many hours with Carlos Taitano -- but this is still one of my favorite Carlos moments:

Money, money, money

It seems that the closer I get to the finish line with this documentary, the more financial hurdles get thrown in my path. Who knew it would cost $2500 for 25 seconds of archival footage from Japan? And $3000 just for a lawyer to help me get E&O insurance? (Not to mention the $5000 for the insurance itself?)

Undaunted, I am soldiering on... but a small voice in the back of my head (along with the clearly audible voice of my husband) keeps asking, "Hey, how are you going to pay for all that?"

What I am saying, dear reader, is that we are not yet out of the woods. We need money to finish this film. So if you have even $5 or $10 to spare -- please donate. If you have more, so much the better (here at Horse Opera we are experts at stretching pennies, so even small donations can go a long way). 

Other ways you can help:

• If you know of a funding source we should apply to, please let me know. 
• Throw a fundraising party! It's fun, it'll make you really popular, AND it will help us out. Send me an email and I'll send you a DVD screener w/ info on how to collect donations. It's that easy!
• Tell other people about the film and show them how to donate. Hey, it's tax deductible! It's good for the economy! It's good for the planet! And it's easy. 

Donating is good for your karma and will make you feel good all day. Plus helping us to finish this film will be really, really good for the people of the Marianas, who have been getting the shaft for a very, very long time.

Thank you for reading this, and for your support.

Adios, Tun Carlos

It is with real sorrow that I am blogging today about the passing of Carlos Pangelinan Taitano, who died last week at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 92. The Guam Pacific Daily News published this obituary for him -- but they've left off many details from his long and illustrious life. 

Many people don't know, for instance, that Carlos was a professional dancer during his high school and college years in Hawaii, or that he was one of the first Chamorros to receive a college degree (in, I believe, 1940 -- though that might be off by a year). He was one of the first (if not the first) Chamorros to become an attorney, and that distinction opened many doors for him back on Guam -- including becoming the official bottler for Coca-Cola throughout Micronesia. Carlos served as a legislator in the Guam Congress (in which he eventually served as Speaker of the House), and he led the congress in the now-famous Walkout of 1949, which led to the Organic Act of Guam. 

Later in life, Carlos returned to his passion for dance by researching the historic dances of Guam's original Tao Tao Tano people, reconstructing cultural practices that had been all but erased by five hundred years of colonization. This research forms the foundation of many of the dances now performed by Guam's Chamorro cultural organizations, such  as Pa'a Tao Tao Tano. Right up until his death, Carlos remained active -- speaking publicly about the need for change on Guam, and continuing his research on Chamorro and Austranesian culture and history.

I was lucky enough to have seen Carlos only three weeks before he died, while I was in Los Angeles for the preview screening of The Insular Empire. While he was too weak by that point to attend the screening, I am pleased to say that I was able to show the film to him in his hospital room, and that he seemed quite pleased with the way it portrayed him. I'm also pleased to report that -- even in the hospital, as weak as he was -- he seemed happy and alert, and not in any pain. He even asked for a pen and paper, so that he could take notes while watching!

The Insular Empire would not be the film it is with Carlos' support and participation. He was unfailingly generous with his time, and allowed us to interview him (twice, at length) as well as giving us complete access to his extensive personal archives. He was also gracious about letting us follow him around with a camera, on occasions too numerous to mention. His family, too, was open and helpful, and we owe them a debt of gratitude as well.

We are culling some of Carlos' finer interview segments from the many hours of footage we collected, and this weekend I will post some of that footage here. For now, I offer up my sincere condolences to his family, and a short prayer for Tun Carlos – may his spirit go in peace.

Finally: A (Non-Voting) Delegate for the CNMI!

On Thursday, May 8, President George W. Bush signed into law Senate bill S.2739, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. It's ironic - if no longer a surprise to those of us familiar with the way the United States treats its offshore territories - that a bill on "natural resources" contained legislation addressing immigration and representation for the people of the Northern Marianas - who until now have been able to control their own immigration laws, but who have had no voice at all in the US Congress.

Tucked into this omnibus bill - which designates and expands wilderness areas and national parks, funds some water projects, and modifies two existing energy programs - are provisions federalizing the CNMI's immigration laws, and creating a non-voting delegate from the CNMI to the US House of Representatives. (Makes sense, right? Parks... energy... immigration? Anyone?)

Pete A. Tenorio, who is featured in The Insular Empire, has served as the CNMI's Resident Representative to the US (a position with no real power within the US federal system - and one that, with the passing of S.2739, is now obsolete) since 2002. He is now deciding whether or not to throw his hat in the ring for the new Delegate spot.

"Too many people are saying that my support for the immigration portion of this law was a trade-off for the delegate seat,” said Tenorio in a recent interview with Marianas Variety. “The choice before the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs and myself was to apply federal immigration laws with or without a delegate — either way federalization of immigration was going to happen.” Given the current Democratic Congress, the long-standing stink over labor abuses in the Northern Marianas' garment industry -- championed by Democratic congressman George Miller -- and the subsequent Jack Abramoff scandal, I would tend to believe him. 

Pete's been trying to get the CNMI a delegate since he set foot in Washington six years ago. And who can blame him? It's a no-brainer that the US citizens of the CNMI should at least have the same (marginal, non-voting) representation that the other unincorporated US territories have. When we spent time filming Pete in DC back in 2004, he was lobbying hard for it - but back then he had the support of some top-ranking (and mighty shady) Republicans, like Richard Pombo. Ironically, it took a Democratic congress to pass the legislation that Pombo was helping Pete to champion four years ago. Politics, as they say, makes strange bedfellows.

But what about the other part of this bill -- federal control of immigration? On the one hand, it cleans up a messy situation, in which the US citizens of the CNMI have become outnumbered by foreign "guest workers" -- workers who had few rights within the CNMI and who were often subjected to labor abuses by factory owners (who themselves were often non-residents, mostly from Asia). But on the other hand, applying US immigration to the tiny islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota is like having surgery done by a surgeon located 9000 miles away from the operating table, using a remote-control chainsaw. After looking at what has happened to the local indigenous people of Guam -- where they are also outnumbered in their homeland, but have absolutely no recourse to change the situation --  I for one am very worried about how this law may adversely affect the indigenous culture of the Marianas as a whole. My distinct impression (despite what people from Guam have to say on the matter), is that the NMI has become the cradle of Chamorro culture -- and, in particular, the Chamorro language. It is also the homeland of the Refalawasch people -- who share ties with the Caroline Islands, but who for many generations have called the Northern Marianas home. It seems to me that the last barrier between the preservation of this homeland, and its total absorption into the homogenized, anglo-centric, consumerist, individualistic American empire, is Article XII of the CNMI constitution, which comes up for a vote in a few years.

Guam's Women Leaders Say No to U.S. Military Build-Up

By 2014, the United States plans to spend $10 billion to move 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam. This move will more than triple the military's already massive presence on the small island of Guam (population 172,000), flooding the island with an additional 40,000 people associated with the military build-up.

The decision to increase the U.S. military presence on Guam is being made without the consent of Guam's people. On August 13, 2007, a group of Guam's maga'haga* - or women leaders - met with U.S. Congressional representatives to protest the buildup, and Eklectiyk Creative Media created Maga'haga, a short film documenting this meeting. Maga'haga illustrates the unwavering strength and determination of the island's women to preserve their island home, and to make their voices heard.

Maga'haga (the film) can be viewed on youtube in two parts:

• Part one
• Part two

*In Ancient times, "maga'haga" were the eldest daughters of a clan, who shared the responsibilities of running the clan's affairs and governing its resources with the "maga'lahi," or the eldest sons. Today, the term refers to a strong female leader.