NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Protecting Paradise on Pagan Island by Jerome Kaipat Aldan Earthjustice June 14, 2016 http://earthjustice.org/blog/2016-june/protecting-paradise-on-pagan-island I was eight years old when Mt. Pagan, one of two volcanoes that created Pagan Island, erupted. I have many precious childhood memories of that beautiful island. I remember going for swims in the ocean. Small houses made of wood and tin blended in with the natural beauty. To this day, Pagan remains a paradise, a place to go and be close to nature. The water is clean and uncorrupted. It is a pristine place, a natural wonder. The U.S. military wants to destroy that paradise, turning it into a live-fire training ground for sailors, pilots and Marines. In 2013, the Navy and Marines proposed expanding training activities in the Mariana Islands. In addition to expanding existing facilities on the island of Tinian, the Marines have set their sights on taking over the entirety of Pagan, displacing those who still c

--> The island of Pagan, in the northern Marianas has made international news as it might soon become yet another beautiful island to be destroyed by the US military for its testing and training purposes. Although now I regularly hear news about Pagan, in years past I scarcely heard about it in a Chamorro context, but rather always in either a strict environmental context or in a Japanese historical context. Environmentalists are the first line of defense in some ways against militarization, although history has shown they often have trouble working cooperatively with the locals and natives who claim those lands. For them Pagan is an ecological paradise and needs to be protected. I would hear random tidbits about Pagan in this regard, as being a place with exciting species (including snails) that should be researched and explored.  I also heard about it in the context of Japanese, as settlers lived there during the Japanese colonial period in the CNMI. In fact in historical

Next week public comment and informational meetings will be taking place in Tinian and Saipan with regards to recently proposed plans to militarize Tinian and Pagan. For people that are wanting to follow the discussion there between leaders and activists I've gathered together some recent news from The Saipan Tribune and The Marianas Variety. CNMI leaders are putting out a request for help in terms of analyzing and disseminating information about the DEIS or draft environmental impact statement for the build up proposals. They are also requesting an extension as the document is close to 2,000 pages long. It has also, as far as I know, not been translated into Chamorro or Carolinian. *************** 'CNMI will benefit from military trainings here' by Jayson Camacho Saipan Tribune 4/20/15 The U.S. Department of Defense’s planned military buildup in the region has put the CNMI community in a quandary, with some supporting military activities on Tinian and Pagan

As the focus is drawn away from Pagat, we must remain vigilante. Pagat was the buzzword for several years in terms of conceiving and resisting the buildup for many people. It is surreal the way it came to stand beside other terms such as "jobs" or "economy" in the way people imagined the buildup. It was one of the first critical or negative things that made it into the conversation to help counter much of the unrealistic positive perceptions of the buildup that were out there.  Pagan, a word so similar sounding to Pagat, will most likely be the next buzzword. As it is far north in the Gani Islands, it remains to be seen if it can be given the same visibility and transformative power that Pagat received.  ****************************** "On Pagat and Our Continuing Concerns" By Senator Ben Pangelinan Marianas Variety September 19, 2013  RECENT information from the Joint Guam Program Office (JGPO) indicated that the infor

More on Pagan. Hopefully one of these days I'll be writing on this blog about how I am gonna make a trip up there.  **************************** Beautiful Pagan paradise PUBLISHED ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 02, 2013 00:00 BY JENNY SANTOS - FOR VARIETY WHEN I was growing up I always wondered what it was like 5,000 years before I was born. My parents were raised on an island with vegetables, fruits of different sorts, local produce and wild animals. There were few worries and they had everything including food from the sea and birds, fruit bats not to mention giant coconut crabs. I was 16 when I first went to Alamagan and it was an experience that I never could have imagined. A long and breath-taking boat trip from Saipan, passing three other islands before reaching, the island of Alamagan was worth every hour it took. Along the way I saw dolphins riding the blue waves and surfacing alongside the boat as we sailed up to the Northern Islands

Mangguife yu' put Pagan gi painge. Kao mangguife hao lokkue' put Guiya? Gi este na ma'pos na simana maeyak yu' meggai put Pagan yan i ginefpago-na. Guaha fina'nu'i gi i Marianas History Conference put Guiya. Manakuentusi ham yan noskuantos na "activists" kontra Fina'militat gineni CNMI. Ma sangani yu' mas put Guiya. Ma sangani yu' na i guihan guihi mantaima'a'nao. Ti guailayi na un espiha siha. Siempre siha umespiha hao.  Achokka' estaba managa' guihi taotao. Gi tiempon i manmofo'na, guah managa' guihi. Ti durante i tiempon Chapones giya i CNMI, managa' taotao Hapon yan Okinwa guihi lokkue'. Ti mampayon i ga'ga' guihi nu taotao pa'go. Un taotao manna'i gui' unai as Guahu. Hu pacha i inain Pagan gi kalulot-hu. Malago' yu' bumisita gui' mohon.