NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The one the reasons why so many scholars, activists and often times community members feel the need to rethink or rearticulate or reimagine "Liberation Day" is because of a recognition of hope integral it is or has been to our relationship to the US. World War II changed dramatically the relationship between the Chamorus of Guam and the US. It changed it somewhat from the US perspective, but it was dramatically altered from the Chamoru side of the equation. Chamorus who felt a clear distance to their colonizer, even if some were eager to be patriotic, prior to the war, emerged from the war eager to find whatever way possible to express their loyalty, their newfound attachment to America. But as I've written many times before, what Liberation Day does as the basis for Chamoru identity in an American context, is create the Chamoru as a subordinate subject, a minor footnote, that must always be superpatriotic for fear that America will withdraw funds, support, recognition an

Hami, i Taotao Guahan by Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Marianas Variety July 29, 2015   On December 17 th , 1901 a group of more than thirty men, primarily Chamorros gathered in Hagatna. Most prominent on their minds was the political status of their island Guam, which had been taken by the United States during the Spanish American War three years earlier. Since the transfer of power, confusion over Guam’s future hung like dark foreboding clouds. Although the American flag flew over Guam, the United States had not set up a government in which Chamorros would now enjoy the glories of American democracy. They had established a military regime which the US Navy total control over the lives and lands of Chamorros. The group that gathered in Hagåtña represented some of the largest landholders, the wealthiest families and some of the most educated Chamorros of the day. They carried last names familiar to us today, such as Perez, Torres, Dungca, Quitugua, Martinez

The article below comes from the Liberation Day commemorative booklet published in 1994 on the 50th anniversary of the retaking of Guam by American forces during World War II. It covers the story of the men of Merizo/Malesso' in the south, who fought and killed the Japanese in their own village, liberating themselves prior to the US return. For the past six months I've been working with one of the last survivors of this fight against the Japanese, Mr. Jose Mata Torres, featured in the article. Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll be publishing his memoirs of the war titled Massacre at Atate. Until then, here is the article telling the story from a slightly different perspective, written by the late PJ Borja.   *************** Men escape nightmare in Merizo By PAUL J. BORJA So near, yet so far. In July 1944, the ships of the U.S. Navy could be seen off Merizo, almost as close as the waves rushing over the reefs that fringe the southern village.

I've been so out of shape this past year, I'm committed to going hiking at least every other week this summer. In order to fulfill this promise, I'm coordinating Miget's Secret Summer Hikes, that will take place at random intervals this summer. There is no schedule for the hikes. There is no real order. It is a mixture of places I love to visit and new places that people are introducing me to. The only place I really post info about them is on Facebook. If you aren't a friend of mine on Facebook then you won't be able to learn much about them. Asi'i yu'. Here is a pick of where I went to today.

Last week a small group of people started walking at 5:30 am in front of the Malesso Church. They headed north along Route 4 for hours, passing through Inarajan and Ipan and eventually ending in the middle of the day at the Manengon Memorial in Ylig, Yo’na. For those who finished the journey it was a difficult trek of 19 miles the last half of which was under the unforgiving Guam sun. The name of this walk was "Remember Our Strength" or "Hasso i Minetgot-ta." I started off with the group in Malesso, but by mile 13, for my own personal reasons felt like stopping and didn't continue. Although I was tired by that point it wasn't an issue of physical pain that made me stop. I made this decision because in my eyes the walk had become something I didn't want to participate in anymore, and with only 6 miles left I decided to catch a ride back to my car. My personal issues with the walk however shouldn't detract however from the event's potential impor

This is what I'll be doing tomorrow. Wish me luck. **************************** HASSO I METGOT-TA July 17, 2011 Southern Guam On December 8, 1941, the Japanese began their attack on Guam, marking the beginning of the war-time occupation of the island. The people of Guam were ruled by the Japanese military until the United States returned to Guam on July 21, 1944. For the over 950 days of Japanese occupation, the Chamorros who lived on Guam experienced great uncertainty, tragedy and suffering. But the Japanese occupation, and the years that followed, are also filled with remarkable stories of determination, love and strength. On July 17, members of the groups We Are Guahan and Halom Tano will walk 19 miles from the Tayuyute’ Ham Memorial in Malesso to the Manenggon Memorial Monument in Yona. The walk, entitled “Hasso i Metgot-ta” or Remember Our Strength, is to remember the Chamorros who died during the war and to celebrate the strength of those who survived the Japanese

On July 17th, myself and some of my friends will be walking 19 miles from Merizo to Manengon, Yo'na in honor of the Chamorros who endured Japanese occupation in World War II. The name of this event is "Remember Our Strength," in order to explain why we are walking and from where to where I wrote the following: In July of 1944 Guam had been turned into a warzone. As the Japanese, recent occupiers of the island dug in, erecting haphazard defenses and brutalizing Chamorros in anticipation of an American invasion, 13 days of Americans bombs fell on the island, all with the calculated intent of destroying every structure on the island. Chamorros were caught desperately in the middle. The final weeks of World War II in Guam or I Tiempon Chapones, were filled with tales of violence and suffering. After 32 months of Japanese occupation which was difficult and trying to say the least, the final month of the war on Guam is riddled with massacres, rapes, torture, and a long collec

I am helping organize a special solemn mass to be held on Wednesday morning, December 8th to commemorate the anniversary of the attack on Guam by the Japanese in 1941 which brought World War II to Guam. In preparation for the event I conducted research, helped write articles and I'll also be helping facilitating a storytelling session with four survivors of World War II on Guam, one of whom is my grandfather Tun Joaquin Flores Lujan, the Chamorro Master Blacksmith. The hope for this event is to not focus on the atrocities, the violence or the liberation, but instead issues of peace and what we can learn from the war. There is also meant to be a dimension of forgiveness in this event, helping the island to move on from that horrible period. This event includes an exhibit of images from prewar Guam and information from the Guam Humanities Council and the War in the Pacific Museum about the war experiences of Chamorros. The whole thing is organized by the office of Senator Frank Blas