The CNMI Day of Rage

I have called for action many times in the past, and have had very little, if any, success. However, with recent events in the CNMI and the world, I cannot afford to remain silent any longer.

We can't just sit back and "see what will happen;" we need to be the change we wish to see in our country and in our world. We need to take action NOW or forever be victims of the status quo and degrading quality of life worldwide. Join the rest of the world, CNMI. It is high time we realized that we are part of the Global Community.

There are no excuses left. Either you join the revolt taking place on Wall Street and in thousands of cities across the WORLD, or you stand on the wrong side of history. Either you obstruct, in the only form left to us, which is civil disobedience, the plundering by the criminal politicians on Capital Hill and accelerated destruction of the socioeconomic system that sustains our Islands, or remain the passive enabler of a monstrous evil. Either you taste, feel and smell the intoxication of freedom and revolt, or sink into the miasma of despair and apathy. Either you are a rebel fighting for freedom from the status quo, or a slave to it.

This is your calling, people of the CNMI. The time is NOW. “If not now, when? If not us, who?” No one is going to come in and save us from our problems, because WE are the cause of the very problems that we face. We must undergo a paradigm shift if anything is to change for the better in the Marianas. This is that shift. On October 15th, we must UNITE against the system that has brought our country to the very situation that it is in today.

You have seen it yourself: politicians going on junkets and enjoying fine dining and luxury accommodations on the taxpayer’s dime, legislators ignoring the will of the people and pushing through bills to benefit the few elite on island, legislators introducing nonsense bills that serve no purpose in the improvement of the CNMI as a whole. These are just a few examples of the corruption in our government.

When will you remember that they work for us? When will you remember all the promises they made when they were asking for our vote; the very promises that to this day are still unfulfilled? It seems that along with our elected officials, we, too, have forgotten that they exist to serve us, the people of the CNMI. It is time to take the power back!

When will you say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!? THIS is the time to do so. You are not alone. We are not alone. On this day, we stand tall with our brothers and sisters across the globe in fighting against government and corporate corruption. The whole world is watching, CNMI. Do not be left behind in this global movement. You want international exposure? This is it.

Rally in Susupe at the Civic Center on the morning of October 15, 2011.

View the event information and RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/CNMIdor

Re: Saipan Delegation passes Casino Bill

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." - Robert F. Kennedy

My friends, do not give up hope. This was only the beginning. Those few who stood against this bill on Capital Hill yesterday have begun the long process of rehabilitating the minds of the people of the Commonwealth. They have shown that it is OK to stand up and protest against our government. Yes, the legislature still passed the Casino bill, but do not for one second think that the protest was a failure.

The protest was a success, if for one reason only: we have planted a seed in the minds of everyone on Saipan...we need only to continuously water that seed and give it enough sunlight to grow, and soon, very soon, we shall HAVE our REVOLUTION that we so desperately need. Keep the hope alive. We WILL succeed.

Mark my words, WE WILL OVERCOME THE CORRUPTION OF OUR GOVERNMENT. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WE WILL RID THE CNMI OF THE PLAGUE THAT IS OUR CURRENT ADMINISTRATION AND OUR CURRENT LEGISLATORS AND WE WILL BRING FORTH A NEW EPOCH OF SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY FOR OUR ISLANDS.


BIBA CNMI.

The Time for Action is NOW!

FOR decades, we have put up with the greed, selfishness, and overall corruption of our CNMI government. Our so-called "leaders" have been the main cause of the rapid decline of the CNMI, enacting laws that served themselves and reflected only their personal goals and desires. And yet we have voted these people into office over and over again countless times. So many times, in fact, that these people think that they can get away with anything. The time has come to give them a reality check and remind them who they really work for.

We are the people who elect them, and we demand that they listen to us!

The House of Representatives is intent on passing the fiscal year 2012 budget bill this Friday. Included in the bill are:

• a pay raise for the lawmakers while they cut down on discretionary funds

• a $4 million cut in PSS funding, a $400,000 cut in NMC funding

• an $11,000 raise in BOE funding

They are also intent on passing House Local Bill 17-44, the Saipan casino bill, even after voters voted against a casino twice in our history. "Representative" Froilan C. Tenorio said he knows there are people who are against casino on Saipan, but “this is not the time to be protesting against something that will generate revenue for the government.”

He knows that people are against it, yet he is intent on pushing forward with it? This is outrageous! We can clearly see that our legislators seem to have forgotten or otherwise do not care about the will of their constituents. There has been great discussion about all of this on online forums and social media outlets, but nothing has been done. It’s time to stop talking, and start doing something about it.

We must come together and protest against these lawmakers and their intent to pass these bills. It’s time, CNMI. We must show them who’s boss! Together, with a united voice, we will remind them that they work for us, and we are not happy employers. They most certainly do not deserve a pay raise, and we do not want a casino on Saipan. On Friday, Aug. 26, 2011, we will make sure that they fully understand this. Meet us in front of the Legislature at 1pm, and bring your signs and your voices. On this day, CNMI, we will make history. Join us.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164979866912694 to let others know you'll be there and to invite others to the event.

Re: Respect each other (Letter to the Editor, Marianas Variety, 03August2011)

I am not sending this letter in to the papers.  If you wish to comment on it, you may do so here.

You may read her letter at http://mvariety.com/2011080238992/letter-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-respect-each-other.php

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to thank Ms. (Mrs.?) Winnie Atalig for her response to my letter.  It is great that the newspapers allow us to have such an exciting discourse.  I hope she is ready to take my response and understand that I am not attacking her as a person, for I do not know her personally.  I am simply replying to her letter and the beliefs and ideas she put forth in it.  Here goes...

Ms. Atalig believes that if someone was paid to help the CNMI grow, then “he doesn’t deserve credit for ‘helping’ the CNMI.”  If that is the case, then I suppose, according to her beliefs, none of our politicians deserve credit for “helping” the CNMI.  After all, they have been handsomely rewarded with lavish pay and benefits the entire time that they have been “helping” the CNMI, right?  Also, if we go by her beliefs, then I guess none of the other workers in the CNMI who have helped to develop our Islands (local indigenous included) deserve any credit for “helping” the CNMI.

She then goes on to give her own personal definition of what a resident is, which is inconsistent with the definition of the word “resident” in the dictionary.  She says that “a resident is someone who is born here, who has lived all his life here, who owns property here and is a voter.”  Having been born and raised in Saipan, and having lived there my whole life until after I graduated from high school, I consider myself to have been a resident at one point.  Unfortunately, I don’t meet the criteria set forth by Ms. Atalig.  Actually, if we go by her definition of a resident, that disqualifies a huge chunk of locals as well, considering that most of us can’t own land due to a controversial law which advocates racial discrimination.  Since we’re talking about legal issues here, let’s see which definition holds up in court; the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, or her own personal definition.  I apologize if my definition hurt her, but the fact is, that is the dictionary definition of the word, and that trumps any personal belief of what it should be.

Apparently, she still believes that the granting of a better status to the non-indigenous resident workers of the CNMI will somehow cause the local indigenous population to lose their voice when it comes to the future development of our Islands.  I fail to see why many people believe this to be the case, so if anyone can please explain it to me, I would greatly appreciate it.  As far as I know, there is nothing in any current or proposed legislation that grants a better status to non-indigenous resident workers that will also take away the right to vote from the local indigenous population.  Again, if I haven’t done my homework, please, do correct me.

Then, she defends her Chamorro blood, saying that it separates her from the “nonresidents,” and she says that she wants to protect what is theirs, meaning “what we have been given the right to own and claim under the law.”  I have some news for her, and anyone else who aligns themselves with her idea of Chamorro supremacy: WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS.  WE ALL BLEED RED.  Take down the racial and cultural barriers for once and actually look at these human beings.  They wake up each day and think of how they can sustain their family.  They brush their teeth, they shower, they eat meals, they go to work, they love their family.  They try to make an honest living.  How are they so different from you and I?  

As far as her wanting to protect what is theirs, I didn’t realize that you had the right to own and claim racism under the law.  That’s really the main thing that I can see that they want to protect: their ages of racist ways and taking advantage of slave labor.  You won’t find a foreign contract worker in the United States who has lived here for over fifteen years and is still considered a foreign contract worker, because Americans believe in equal rights for all human beings and provide a way to gain lawful permanent residence, and possibly even citizenship.  Slavery was supposed to have been abolished in the United States a long time ago, but apparently, it is alive and well in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

She says that in protecting their assets and culture, “nonresidents should not be permitted to fish, hunt, make children, get married and take anything from our environment for free.”  I swear, I feel like I am reading this out of an American History textbook!  Her line of thinking sounds eerily similar to the racist caucasian population of 1950s America.  How is it possible in today’s America that anyone could be so self-righteous and ignorant that they believe they are superior to anyone not of their race; that people who are not of their race do not deserve to enjoy the same rights and freedoms that they enjoy?  That these non-Chamorro people don’t deserve to fish, hunt, make children, and get married?  This is ABSURD!  I cannot believe that anyone can honestly sit back and let this kind of thinking go unchecked.  I hate to break it to you, but we are all the same race.  We are all members of the HUMAN RACE.  Therefore, we all deserve equal rights.  You aren’t better than me or anyone else who isn’t “Chamorro” because we are all HUMANS.

She says that their culture is now dominated by other cultures and that “we are forced to change our language and our behavior.”  I have said it before, but I will say it again, for those of you who seem to have forgotten.  The changes you see in the Chamorro culture today are NOT solely the result of all these foreigners coming to live in the CNMI.  In fact, the only change in Chamorro culture that I see as a direct result of the foreigners coming to live in the CNMI is that it is apparently now a growing part of Chamorro culture to be extremely racist, hating all other races and believing in the supremacy of their own.  The other changes you see, whether it be in the way people talk or the way they act or dress, is a result of cultural globalization due to the television shows, video games, movies, and magazines that “your people” are exposed to.  If you cared so much about preserving your culture, perhaps it is not the non-indigenous residents you should be worried about, but the TV shows, movies, magazines, and video games that your children are so addicted to these days.

If she considered it such a threat for foreigners to come in and live on island, why on earth was she ok with it back when they invited all the foreigners to come develop their island and perform the jobs that the local indigenous population did not want to do?  She wants them to go through the same process as everyone else, but the laws in the CNMI prevent them from doing so.  In the U.S., foreign contract workers are provided with an opportunity to become permanent residents for their services to the country.  There is a process that they follow in order to do this.  Unfortunately, no such process has ever been set up in the CNMI; therefore, they are NOT able to “go through the same process as everyone else.”

No one started judging locals.  The “locals” brought it upon themselves when they decided to blatantly display their racism.  There is no judging involved; there is only the simple observation of the truth.  I don’t hate her for stating her opinion, because that is a right that she is entitled to under the Constitution of the United States of America, which I swore to protect and defend at one point in my life, even though I was not afforded those same rights while serving in the military.  I simply hate her opinion, which is so obviously rooted in racism and Chamorro supremacy.  I never said that I built the roads, airports, and hospitals.  Apparently, Ms. Atalig is so emotionally blinded that she now associates me with the non-indigenous resident worker population.  Sorry, Ms. Atalig, but I was born and raised on Saipan, and I am proud to be a local of the CNMI.  Furthermore, I never said for her to get out, or that this land was mine.  She misses my point every time because she is so blinded by her false beliefs.  In case anyone else misses my point as well, let me state it for you here and now:  My dream is for everyone in the CNMI, Chamorros, Carolinians, Filipinos, Chinese, Bangladeshis, Indians, Thais, and all other races alike, to live together in peaceful harmony with equal rights in a prosperous CNMI.  A CNMI where it’s not “you vs. me” or “Chamorros vs. non-Chamorros,” but US, UNITED as ONE people; the PEOPLE of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  A CNMI where we can ALL work together towards the constant growth and improvement of our Islands and our people.

The foreign worker population in the CNMI does not desire conflict with the Chamorros.  All they want is an honest chance for a better life.  All they want is to no longer be treated as slaves.  All they want is a voice.  A voice, so that they can work together in equal standing with the Chamorros to help the CNMI become a better place.  They want the CNMI to succeed just as much as the local indigenous population wants to.  Please erase all thoughts in your mind that the foreigners are trying to steal the Islands from the Chamorros.  The non-indigenous population does not wish for a hostile takeover of the Islands.  They do not wish for any takeover.  They wish for harmony and equality and a peaceful life.

She wonders how I was treated here in the U.S., for me to have “all this hateful judgment” against her thoughts.  I was treated by my fellow Americans with kindness and acceptance, even though my skin color and ethnic background differed from theirs.  They gave me the same treatment that they expected me to give them.  I served alongside people from all over the United States and the world to protect and defend the Constitution that gives you the right to speak your mind.  We lived and worked together in harmony, regardless of where we came from.  THIS is why it upsets me so greatly to see that there is such great racism going on in MY homeland.  I cannot believe that I have been defending people’s right to speak racist thoughts and ideas back home.  It sickens me.  It disgusts me to a level I have never been disgusted before, and I have seen some pretty disgusting things in my time in the military.  

“Sadly, I thought that if you want to be part of a group, you should make friends, respect each other and help each other.  But many among us would rather fight for power than work as a team.”  Those were her exact words, and in saying them, she unknowingly tells us that she does NOT want to be part of the group that is the CNMI population.  Instead of making friends with and respecting the non-indigenous population, she insists that her race of Chamorros is superior and should always have a say in keeping the slaves as slaves, no matter how long they have been living and working legally in the Islands.  It’s absolutely disgusting.  “The CNMI should have the right to decide who should stay here?”  Well you obviously have decided that it was ok for them to stay there, since they have been living and working there for over 10 years (many even as long as 20!).  Why suddenly change your mind now?  Is it because they finally decided that enough was enough, and that they were tired of being treated like slaves?  Oh, so you’re alright with foreigners working for you and staying on island, as long as they obey your every word and live in conditions you give them and don’t complain.... I see.

“Yes, those born here have the right to become one of us, so I agree they should be residents.”  I had to laugh at this ridiculous statement.  First of all, who is she to say whether or not she agrees with U.S. citizens being residents of the CNMI?  Last I checked, the CNMI is a U.S. territory, and U.S. citizens can live there with no problems.  I think she is under the false impression that the CNMI is a sovereign country and that they have control over even the U.S. citizens who decide that they want to take up residence in the Islands.  I hate to burst her bubble, but that is simply not the case.  Secondly, what does she mean by “become one of us?”  If, by “one of us,” she means a racist xenophobic local, I think I’ll pass on that offer.  I prefer to live in a CNMI that gives all its residents fair and equal treatment, no matter what the color of their skin, their country of origin, or their religious beliefs.  Mutual respect for all human beings is truly the only way to live in this day and age.  

Her letter definitely explained her thoughts better than her last one.  Unfortunately, it also painted her as a racist xenophobic Chamorro supremacist.  Whether she truly is that, or if she is merely misguided into thinking that way, I do not know.  I do not know her personally, so I will refrain from passing judgment on her.  Everything that I know about her, I know from the letters that she sends to the papers.  I can only judge the ideas and thoughts that she puts forth in her letters, and it is very obvious that she has racist thoughts about the current situation.

Thank you for reading my letter.  I appreciate your time.  However, I am but one person.  Alone, I cannot make a difference.  But united with those of like mind, we CAN and WILL change the CNMI for the better.  I encourage all of you to stand up and speak out against the injustices that you see happening around you today.  Let your voice be heard; you never know who is listening and willing to support you.  Check out www.facebook.com/cnmiyouthrevolution, and if you agree with our manifesto, “Like” us and join the Revolution today!

Re: The NMI's nonresident issue (Letter to the Editor, Marianas Variety, 25July2011)

So this week, Winnie Atalig wrote another letter to the editor, this time sharing her "thoughts on how the CNMI should decide on this nonresident issue."  First of all, I would like to begin by checking with our good friends at Merriam-Webster just what exactly the word "resident" means: living in a place for some length of time.  I know I have stressed this before, but apparently people still don't quite understand it, so I will say it again: going by the dictionary definition of the word, most of these contract workers are NOT guests or nonresidents; they are actually residents of the CNMI.


Moving on to her first point, she says, "Nonresidents and residents should come to an agreement that proves that nonresidents are needed here and that without them our lives would be affected."  To this I say: the residents of the CNMI do not need to come to any such agreement; the proof that the non-indigenous residents are needed in the CNMI is all around us.  Just take a step outside your house or work place, and look at the paved roads, the schools, the government buildings, the banks, and other local attractions: the non-indigenous residents of the CNMI whom you insist on calling "nonresidents" were the ones who, over the past few decades, were mostly responsible for their development.


In her next bullet she states, "All problems that can be corrected by a regulatory agency should not be used as testimony as it invites more negative thoughts."  Just what, exactly, does she consider a problem that can be corrected by a regulatory agency?  Last I checked, none of the local "regulatory agencies" were capable of correcting any of the labor & immigration related problems; wasn't that the main reason that the federal government stepped in and took over the system?


She then goes on to say, "Changes require a lot of things.  That is why nonresidents should tell us, the people of the CNMI, why they want to stay with us and become one of us so that we can welcome them to stay here, our homeland. All of us must apologize for our mistakes and help make them right."  While I am not completely against this one, because I do believe that we all must apologize for our mistakes and help make them right, I fail to understand why she needs all of the non-indigenous residents of the CNMI to declare their reasons for wanting to stay in the CNMI.  They sought a better life, and found it in the CNMI.  I cannot speak with full-on certainty that this is true for the multitudes of non-indigenous CNMI residents, but I believe that for many, the reason is as simple as that.  Is it so wrong to dream of a better life and to do whatever it takes to achieve that dream?


Next, she really sticks her neck out there by stating, "Testimony that applies to one person is not enough to prove you deserve to be welcomed here."  To this, I have but two things to say: 1. It can be said that a testimony that applies to one person can most likely apply to many others as well, due to the general similarities in the plight of many non-indigenous CNMI resident workers.  2. Why do any of these non-indigenous CNMI resident workers have to prove that they deserve to be welcomed here?  If tourists are welcomed to the Islands without having to prove that they deserve a warm welcome, why should CNMI residents who have been working in our country for many years have to do so?  If the case were that everyone in the CNMI had to prove that they deserved to be welcomed here, then could it not be said that the non-indigenous CNMI resident workers deserve to be welcomed here more than the unemployed members of the local indigenous population who live out their days taking advantage of SNAP and waiting for handouts?


I am skipping her next bullet, because all it does is show an example of her idea of how a non-indigenous CNMI resident worker can prove that he or she deserves to stay in the CNMI.  Seeing as how I have already covered that particular topic in my previous paragraph, I will instead cover the bullet after that, in which she says, "90 percent of the residents agree to have nonresidents as residents."  I hate to break it to her, but one-hundred percent of the residents agreed to have "nonresidents" as residents.  They did this when they all agreed to have foreigners come in as labor units to fill the jobs that they (the local indigenous population) did not want to do.  Because most of these foreigners stayed in the CNMI doing these jobs for years, they essentially became residents of the CNMI, and this was completely fine with the local indigenous population, as long as these workers kept doing their jobs.


Her next point is that "Local residents are given enough proof to welcome the nonresidents and at least 99 percent of the outcomes are to our liking. "  I already went over the issue of needing to provide proof when it comes to welcoming the non-indigenous residents, so I won't repeat myself down here.  What I do have to say to this is, what makes the local indigenous residents so special that "at least 99 percent of the outcomes" must be to their liking?  The way it sounds to me, she's trying to say that the local indigenous population should have the final say in everything when it comes to the issue of these non-indigenous CNMI resident workers.  Can someone please explain to me how this is fair?


She brings out a final point, saying that "Laws should be in place to protect CNMI Chamorro and Carolinian assets and culture."  I agree with this one-hundred percent, but I do not see how it relates to the non-indigenous CNMI resident issue.  I definitely believe that laws should have been in place a long time ago to protect and preserve the Chamorro and Carolinian language and culture.  However, I fail to see a connection between that and the current issue.  Is she trying to spread fear by implying that the non-indigenous CNMI resident workers pose a threat to the local Chamorro and Carolinian culture?  This simply is not true, because these people have been around for decades, and to the best of my knowledge, they have not done anything to try to attack, alter, or remove the local Chamorro and Carolinian culture.  Any changes to the local Chamorro and Carolinian culture are a result of cultural globalization and were not caused by the non-indigenous residents moving in.


She ends her letter saying that those were a few thoughts that she felt were fair, and asks if we felt so as well.  I think you already know that my answer is an intense and resounding "NO!"  Thank you for your time, Marianas; I apreciate every second of it that you have spent reading my letter.

Re: Questionable thoughts (Letter to the Editor, Marianas Variety, 20July2011)

Winnie Atalig of San Jose, Tinian wrote a letter to the editor on July 20th, 2011 that was titled “Questionable thoughts.”  In this response to her letter, I attempt to answer a few of her questions.

She asks why everyone is fighting for U.S. citizenship for contract workers.  Everyone is NOT fighting for U.S. citizenship for contract workers.  Everyone is fighting for lawful permanent residence in the CNMI for qualifying alien workers.  Contrary to popular belief, lawful permanent residence and U.S. citizenship are not the same thing.

Then, she goes on to say that she is a U.S. citizen and she didn’t have to make the choice that these thousands of children will be forced to make.  I am glad that she is a U.S. citizen and did not have to choose between her father’s country and her citizenship.  She is a grown woman, so this is understandable.  However, the people today who will be forced to make this choice are mostly children who are anywhere between the ages of 7-17, maybe even older or younger.  Is she honestly saying that these children, using their “freedom of choice,” should have to choose between staying here in the only home they have ever known or following their parents back to their home, a land and culture that is completely foreign to the children?

She then asks, “Who is the United States favoring?”  The United States is not favoring anyone.   The U.S. is simply trying to give what is due to the CNMI residents who came from elsewhere to build a better life in the CNMI.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word "resident" as:  living in a place for some length of time : residing.  Going with this definition, there are MANY foreign workers who are CNMI residents.  They have been living in the CNMI for 10-20 years and consider it their home.  They have raised numerous children in the CNMI as U.S. citizens and have put them in the public schools that have taught them to love the CNMI Anthem.  These CNMI residents are only seeking to be officially recognized as legal permanent residents of the Islands.  There is nothing in H.R. 1466 that grants or even guarantees U.S. citizenship to foreign workers.  H.R. 1466 simply seeks "to provide certain persons residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands a status applicable solely within the Commonwealth in order to allow such persons to remain lawfully in the Commonwealth."  Subparagraph (A) of H.R. 1466 describes this in detail:

(A) CNMI-ONLY RESIDENT STATUS- Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an alien described in subparagraph (C) may, upon the application of the alien, be admitted as an immigrant to the Commonwealth subject to the following rules:

     (i) The alien shall be treated as a permanent resident of the Commonwealth only, including permitting entry to and exit from the Commonwealth, until the earlier of the date that--

          (I) the alien ceases to permanently reside in the Commonwealth; or

          (II) the alien's status is adjusted under this section or section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined under section 101(a)(20) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20)), if the alien is otherwise eligible for such an adjustment.

     (ii) Unless otherwise authorized, the alien shall not be permitted to travel to, or reside in, any part of the United States, as defined in section 101(a)(38) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38)), other than the Commonwealth.

This should not affect other alien workers in other states, because other states treat their alien workers humanely and consider them a viable part of their community.  They don’t see them as permanent aliens or temporary workers.  Also, this won’t lead to more questions and thoughts among others who are applying for U.S. citizenship in other states, because H.R. 1466 has nothing to do with U.S. citizenship.  As I explained earlier, it deals solely with CNMI permanent residence.

In her letter, she asks the question, “What if you were us and we are in your country and we are to do the same?”  While she asked that question regarding a slightly different issue, I must ask essentially the same question, regarding the issue of H.R. 1466: What if the tables were turned and you were in the foreign workers’ position?  What if you had been living and working in a particular place for 10-20 years and were still considered nothing more than a “temporary foreign worker” with none of the rights afforded to other residents (again, refer to the dictionary definition of “resident”)?  Would you not be upset?  Would you not seek lawful permanent residence?  If you answer “no” to these questions, then I must say, you are either lying, or you are just a very inhumane person.  

She asks why the U.S. Congress is entertaining testimonies for granting citizenships in our home (the CNMI).  To this, I say, please direct me to these sessions of Congress in which they are entertaining testimonies for granting U.S. citizenships in the CNMI.  The only session I can find is one in which testimonies were given on why these residents of the CNMI deserve to become lawful permanent residents.  If you can show me the session which you speak of, I would greatly appreciate it.  She continues to ask questions about giving these CNMI residents U.S. citizenship, and I’ve already gone over that point numerous times in this letter, so I will refrain from commenting on that particular point from now on.

Many people on island are trying to depict these thousands of CNMI residents as greedy aliens seeking a free hand-out.  While I cannot speak for the entire foreign worker population of the CNMI, I can say that this is simply not the case for most of them.  Most of these people have been living and working in the Commonwealth for a very long time, much longer than it would take to qualify for residency in the United States for college state resident tuition purposes.  They have poured their time and effort over the years into the active development and improvement of the CNMI and its public services.  In all honesty, they are the lifeblood of the CNMI’s development.  They have built our roads, our hospitals, our schools, and our hotels, among many other things.  These people, these RESIDENTS of the CNMI are asking only one thing in return for everything that they have done for us all, and that is the ability to legally reside in the CNMI.  We can’t even give them THAT?  Why?  I’ll tell you why.  It’s because the greedy people in charge want to keep exploiting these human beings and making them work their life away to develop the Islands without a voice.  They want to keep them as slaves until the day they die.  We cannot let this go on, my fellow Americans and CNMIslanders.  These CNMI residents deserve to have a voice, too.  They deserve to be heard just as much as we do.

I do have to agree with something that she said at the end of her letter, however.  It is my personal belief that something needs to be done to ensure the continuity of the Chamorro and Carolinian language and cultural history in the Islands.  Perhaps someone on the Hill can introduce something that makes Chamorro and Carolinian studies (language, culture, and history) a mandatory part of a school’s yearly curriculum.  The islands are so rich with Micronesian culture, but I feel that we are not doing enough to ensure that everyone is familiar with it.  I know when i went through high school, the only requirement in this area was that I take NMI History.  This is simply not enough.  We need to make sure that every child that goes through our schools learns everything they can about our local indigenous language, culture, and history, every year.  This is what sets us apart from the rest of the world, and we need to give it much more attention.  Everyone I came across that I showed the local culture to while I was in the military was absolutely fascinated by it.  Just think about what would happen if we could broadcast our historical culture to the entire world!

In closing, I would like to remind you all that no matter what people would like you to believe, H.R. 1466 has absolutely nothing to do with granting U.S. Citizenship to contract workers in the CNMI.  This is the most important point of this letter, and if you take away just one thing from reading this letter, please let this be it: LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE CNMI IS NOT THE SAME AS U.S. CITIZENSHIP.  Don’t be fooled.  If you have not done so yet, I highly encourage you to read the text of H.R. 1466 so that you can gain a true understanding of what it entails.  Thank you for your time, fellow people of the CNMI.  Every second of it is precious and much appreciated.

Re: Testimony regarding H.R. 1466 (Letter to the Editor, Marianas Variety, 15July2011)

Hafa Adai CNMI!  I hate for this to be my debut “return to the press” piece, but I feel so strongly about this particular subject that I could not let another day pass without writing this letter.

I am writing this letter in response to a letter that was written by Susana Blas Deleon Guerrero, the president of the CNMI Women’s Association, on Friday, July 15, 2011.  This letter will cover many points that she mentioned in her letter and explain why I, as a human being, believe they are misguided statements or otherwise simply inaccurate.

In her fifth paragraph, she mentions that the CNMI indigenous people who attended the hearings for the implementation of Public Law 110-229 rejected “any improved status of thousands of aliens.”  She says that the reason behind this “is not that those in opposition refuse aliens to have some status, but the people oppose being displaced in their own ancestral homeland.”  Unfortunately, I don’t think she understands the meaning of the word “displaced.”  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of “displace” is: to remove from the usual or proper place; specifically :to expel or force to flee from home or homeland.  Now, I may be wrong, but I don’t think that any foreigners who have come to the CNMI to work have gone around forcing locals to flee from their homeland.  Have any of you seen a contract worker holding a gun up to a Chamorro or Carolinian’s head and telling them that they need to leave the islands or die?  If you have, please let me know so I can stand corrected.  

Now, some of you might be thinking at this point, “Why use such an extreme example?”  I used the gunpoint example because when I was in the military, all my superiors would ask us during hard times if anyone forced us to sign the dotted line and join the service.  To those who would say “Yes,” they would respond, “No one forced you to join the military.  Did anyone hold a gun up to your head and tell you that you had better sign on the dotted line if you want to live?  No?  Then no one forced you to do anything, and you did it completely of your own free will.  Now you must live with the consequences.”  So, Ms. Deleon Guerrero, you can claim that the indigenous people of the CNMI are being displaced by the foreign contract workers all you like, but all it will ever amount to is a claim, because according to the dictionary definition of the word “displace,” your statement simply is not true.

She then makes the claim that most of the 30,000 U.S. citizens residing in the CNMI are   Chamorro and Carolinian, but she immediately follows that claim with saying that there are approximately 23,000 aliens residing in the CNMI.  She says that “it is arguable that there are more aliens residing in the CNMI than there are indigenous Chamorro and Carolinians.”  This simply cannot be logically sound, based on what she has written.  If there are approximately 23,000 aliens residing in the CNMI, and even just half of them are married couples who have children born on island, and if the average household has 3 children, then that equals about 17,000 non-Chamorro or Carolinian U.S. citizen children.  This number is over half of 30,000, therefore, I do not see how she can honestly say that most of the U.S. citizens in CNMI are Chamorro or Carolinian.

She tries to avoid blaming the CNMI Department of Labor and Immigration by saying that “many agencies over the years have failed to control the immigration of aliens into the CNMI.”  Now, I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that until the federal takeover, the CNMI DOLI was the sole authority on foreign people entering and exiting the Commonwealth.  I honestly don’t know 100%, so if I was under the wrong impression, please, do let me know.  

She then talks about the live births in the islands from 1990 to May 2011, and she goes into the demographics of it all, saying “out of 31,180 live births, 18,431 were of Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Nepalese, Bangladesh Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Burmese, and Sri Lankan descent.”  I fail to see where this is a problem, but apparently it is a huge problem for her, as she goes on to say that “This appalling number of 18,481 live births of aliens in the CNM has begun to disenfranchise the local indigenous population.”   Disenfranchise?  I’m beginning to wonder if she truly understands the meaning of the words that she is using, because I, for one, cannot see how the children born to alien workers are disenfranchising the local indigenous population.  

Let’s refer back to the Merriam-Webster dictionary for the definition of this word: to deprive of a franchise, of a legal right, or of some privilege or immunity; especially : to deprive of the right to vote.  Can someone please tell me how the births of all these children (whom she also wrongly calls “aliens”) in the CNMI has deprived any of the local indigenous population of their right to vote?  If there is something going on in the shadows that I don’t know of where children born to alien workers are preventing local indigenous people from voting, then I am sorry for my ignorance in this matter.  Also, I must say that it is a shame that she thinks of the children born to aliens as also being aliens.  These are children, mind you, who were born and raised in the CNMI as U.S. citizens and have contributed to the society just as much, if not more, than the average Chamorro or Carolinian child.  Take, for example, John Edward M. Elenzano, who was recently credited with an NMI first when he took home the gold while representing the CNMI at the NFL Nationals in Dallas, Texas.  Is he simply just another “alien” to you, Ms. Deleon Guerrero?  Because to me, he is a CNMI youth hero and a bright example of how the youth of our islands should be.

In her next paragraph, she says that H.R. 1466 will have a negative impact on the amount of social programs that will be available to local residents.  What exactly is her definition of “local?”  I’m pretty sure if someone is born and raised in a particular place, that makes them “local,” doesn’t it?  I know I’ve always considered myself a “local” of Saipan.  Even here in the continental U.S., when people I meet ask me where I’m from, I always tell them I’m from Saipan.  That is home to me, and that is the only place in this world where I would consider myself to be a “local.”

She goes on to say that “H.R. 1466 will also place the local indigenous population at a disadvantage in terms of employment and voting in local elections.”  I’m sorry, but I’ve got some bad news for her: H.R. 1466 has absolutely nothing to do with putting the local indigenous population at a disadvantage in terms of employment.  Unfortunately, the local indigenous population put themselves at a disadvantage in terms of employment when they chose to look to foreign lands to provide the CNMI with a workforce.  This created the separation of “classes of jobs,” i.e. the jobs that indigenous locals were more than happy to do, and the jobs that they absolutely refused to do.  This led us to the situation we are in today, where the contract workers take whatever jobs they can, which usually, if not always, fall into the first category, and the indigenous locals take up all the government jobs.  Please don’t go blaming H.R. 1466 for something that you all brought upon yourselves.

As far as her saying that H.R. 1466 will place the local indigenous people at a disadvantage in terms of voting, well, hey, that’s democracy and fairness at work.  These people (because that’s what they are, PEOPLE, not ALIENS) deserve nothing less than a voice in the community that they live in and have been living in and contributing to for many, many years.  If you disagree with that, then I’d have to say that you’re trying to bring slavery back into the U.S., but instead of using African-Americans as slaves, you’re using Filipinos, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Thais, Indians, Nepalese...you get the picture.  

The last of her statements that I’m going to address is found in her second to last paragraph, where she says, “Not only will H.R. 1466 displace thousands of indigenous Chamorro and Carolinian people, it will also deprive them of full potential benefits from social programs and another small benefits provided by the CNMI government...”  I’ve already covered the displacement thing, so we won’t revisit that here.  Instead, I’d like to focus on the racist aspect of this statement.  Essentially, what she’s saying here is that ONLY Chamorro and Carolinian people are entitled to benefits from social programs and other benefits provided by the CNMI government.  Last I checked, we are all human beings here, so what, exactly, makes these legal alien workers so different from the Chamorro and Carolinian people, that they do not deserve to receive the benefits from social programs as well?  Obviously, they can’t receive the “other small benefits” provided by the CNMI government, since they aren’t local indigenous people with relatives working for the government who can hook them up with jobs and whatever else “other small benefits” covers.  But they do at least deserve every bit of benefit from the same social programs that Chamorros and Carolinians enjoy.

We are all human beings here.  It matters not what color your skin is, what country you came from, what god(s) you worship, or what political affiliations you possess.  What matters is that everyone gets the same chance to succeed and that everyone is treated fairly and equally.  A human being deserves nothing less than that.  To be against H.R. 1466 is to be against giving human beings the voice that they deserve.  It is to be against the very same fairness and equality declared by the United States Declaration of Independence’s famous opening line: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...”  

In closing, she says that they “humbly and sincerely ask your committee to think of our indigenous Chamorro and Carolinian people of the CNMI.”  Well, for my closing, I humbly and sincerely ask you all to think of our fellow human beings who have been working for us, building our roads and buildings, handling our garbage, washing our clothes, cleaning our offices, and bringing revenue to our local business establishments over the years.  They are just as much a part of our society as you and I are, and they deserve the same rights that are afforded to us.  Don’t let racism get the best of you, when you know in your heart that they deserve the same rights that you enjoy having.  After all, you wouldn’t want these rights to be kept from you if you were in their place and you knew you deserved nothing less for everything you’ve done.

-----------------------------------------------------

For those of you who are interested, you can read her original letter to the editor here: http://www.mvariety.com/2011071438469/letter-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-testimony-regarding-h.r.-1466.php

Welcome to my blog!

I created this blog because I have become quite the political activist lately, and I needed some place to post everything that I write.  I've been quite prolific with my writings as of late, and I can't exactly send a letter to the editor every day, now can I?  Well, I could, I suppose, but it would be quite impractical.  I could post it on Facebook, too, but it's a lot easier for me to just post whatever I write on here.  And so, I have created this blog for all of you to be able to read the things that I write.  I write things in response to current events and letters to the editor that are published in the Marianas Variety and Saipan Tribune.  I'll try not to write too often, but I can't make any promises.  :)  Please, feel free to leave comments.  Let me know what you think of the things that I write!  I look forward to hearing from all of you.  Also, please don't hold back.  If you disagree with something that I wrote, let me know!  A little bit of friendly debate is always good.