NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The issue of wall funding in the United States for President Trump is another point at which we can see ideological lines become distorted and distinct when moving from the community of the colonizer to the community of the colonized. Left and right, liberal and conservative have particular meanings within a community and within groups within a community. Part of the colonizing process is not solely those things which the colonizer does to forcibly integrate the colonized peoples, but also the ways in which the colonized peoples may accept a particular framework for understanding themselves and their issues. This is a key point people often miss. Colonialism isn't inherently conservative and therefore decolonization is liberal. Colonialism can be both faces and many more. There can be liberal forms of colonization and conservative ones. Movements or conversations that are liberal or progressive in the US can still be colonial.  We are reminded about this every once in a whil

Ti å'amko' yu' trabiha hun, lao ti enao i sinientete-ku.  I am a little over a year from 40 years of age. The closer I get to 40, the closer I get reflective and ruminate on things. The closer I get to 40, the more I try to make sense of things I've been through and the more I try to figure out what impact, if any I've had on Guam or in general.  I sanhilo' i sabåna muna'lagefpågo i intan påpa'.  Whether my reflections yield things to make me cringe, smile, laugh, shake my head or want to hide away in Yokoi's Cave, changes daily. As someone who studies Guam history I can see places where I, working with other have definitely had an impact. I can see ways in which I haven't succeeded in certain goals, I have seen places where I have changed my goals as the island has changed.  I barångka muna'kåpas hao salamanka.  Robert Underwood once told me that while he was a young Chamoru faculty member at the University of Guam,

For decades Guam has been used to being a joke. Generations of comedians have used it, such as Johnny Carson, David Lettermen and even Conan O'Brien. Robert Underwood has invoked the comedy specter of Rodney Dangerfield in order to explain Guam's situation, saying it is an island that gets no respect! The mere mention of Guam in this way stems from the fact that it is a signifier that floats around, it is always out there, especially for those in the US, but there often isn't any actual knowledge attached to it. That means that you can deploy it in ridiculous ways, a familiar, but empty signifier that can create laughter as the listener confronts that awkward gap between their knowledge and whatever might lie beyond the horizon of their understanding. That's why when you would say something random like "I'm headed to Guam!" it would elicit laughter, because of the way the audience would slip on the banana peel shaped gap between their knowledge and rea

Donald Trump will be on island for a few hours tonight, following a summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Singapore. Although there had been rumors for months about a Trump visit, it was only really confirmed earlier today when the local media got a chance to look at the White House schedule this week. Pundits are trying to figure out what the meeting means, and how much credit Trump should or shouldn't receive for his haphazard and sometimes confusing attempts at diplomacy, but we shouldn't be too distracted by that discussion in Guam. Regardless of what decisions may come from this meeting, Guam remains a territory of the US and not a sovereign player in any decisions regarding security in this region. So long as we remain a colony, genuine security will always remain outside of our reach. Decolonization is the only way to ensure greater security for our people and that our island becomes more than just the tip of America's spear.

My trip to Spain took me through South Korea, where I spent seven hours in the Incheon Airport in Seoul. In the same way that Guam and Okinawa have been connected for years now because of US military plans, so too have Guam and South Korea become connected as well. Guam has been a potential target for North Korea for many years now, as it is one of the most prominent US bases in the region. But over the past year the danger to Guam has become far more pronounced, from both sides of the Pacific. Late last year, North Korean rhetoric became more focused around Guam, far more than it ever had before. The year before that, Donald Trump was elected President of the US, and his foreign policy approach hasn't been very ideologically based, but seems to be rooted in impulsive Twitter tirades. Both of them combined mean that people on Guam have no idea what to think or even worry about next. North Korea is portrayed as a tin pot regime, simply full of bluster one moment, and

Testimony to the Fourth Committee of the United Nations From Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Ph.D. Co-Chairperson, Independence for Guam Task Force October 3, 2017 Buenas yan håfa adai todus hamyo ko’lo’ña si Maga’taotao Rafael Ramirez Carreño i gehilo’ para i kumuiten Mina’Kuåtro, gi este na gefpå’go na ha’åni. Magof hu na gaige yu’ guini på’go para bai hu kuentusi hamyo yan kuentusiyi i taotao Guåhan put i halacha na sinisedi gi islan-måmi. (Hello to all of you on this beautiful day. I am grateful to be here now so that I can speak to you, in particular H.E. Rafael Ramirez Carreño, Chair of the C24, and speak on behalf of the people of Guam about recent events that transpired in our island home.) My name is Michael Lujan Bevacqua and I am a professor of Chamorro Studies at the University of Guam. I am also the co-chair for the Independence for Guam Task Force, a community outreach organization tasked with educating our island about the possibilities should

Independent Guåhan will be joining a delegation from Guam that is heading to the UN to testify before the Fourth Committee in the first week of October. We are seeking funds to help cover the costs for this trip. If you are able please donate at our Go Fund Me Page "Funds for Freedom. " ************** Håfa Adai! Every October, the United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) meets to discuss the status of the world’s 17 remaining Non-Self Governing Territories, including Guam. This is the one opportunity the people of Guam have every year to directly address the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly. This year, the General Assembly will vote on a resolution that includes powerful and important language about the continued colonization and militarization of Guam and the direct impediments to the CHamoru people’s right to self-determination. Guam's governor has also requested a UN visiting mission to assess the status

Guam gets its 15 mins of national or international media fame refreshed every few years, sometimes because of a typhoon or earthquake. Sometimes because of snake epidemics. Over the past few years, North Korea has had alot to do with Guam getting a little extra attention. Usually these periods are frustrating to analyze in media terms because Guam, even if it is mentioned as the focus of a story, still remains at the periphery of it. But this most recent North Korea scare led to a series of well-written and insightful articles that didn't shy away from Guam's colonial status, but engaged with it. Here below is probably my favorite piece to come out from all the drama. ************************* "Guam: A colonized island nation where 160,000 American lives are not only at risk but often forgotten" by Gene Park Washington Post August 11, 2017 “Total Americans affected: 3,831.” Fox News ran a video explainer  this week on the affect of North Korea’s missiles o

The past few days have been quite hectic due to the threat to Guam by North Korea and President Trump's shocking response. I am trying to catch up on my posts on this blog, and so we'll see if I'll be able this month. Here are a few articles on the initial threat from North Korea to Guam.  ******************* North Korea Claims It’s Planning to Fire Missiles Near Guam 8/10/17 SEOUL/GUAM (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it was completing plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land near the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam in an unusually detailed threat that further heightened tensions with the United States. North Korea’s army will complete the plans in mid-August, when they will be ready for leader Kim Jong Un’s order, state-run KCNA news agency reported, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People’s Army. The plans called for the missiles to land in the sea