NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

This year's regional seminar for the UN Committee of 24 was different than the three previous ones that I attended in a handful of ways. There was always some debate and some rhetorical conflict at previous seminars, but this one extended to a level I had never seen before. Other participants who have been involved far longer than I have, also acknowledged the conflict and tension reached new heights in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I’ll be writing about this later, but the conflict created a lot of wasted time and also of waiting around for events to unfold or drama to be sorted out. This led to a lot of conversations that you wouldn’t normally take place, as people anxiously waited for the work of the seminar to move ahead. A lot of these conversations ended up being humorous as people sought ways to ease the tension and also pass the time. I heard a lot of funny stories from across Latin America, to the Caribbean, the Pacific. In this mix there were stories of parliamentary

The new book from the Guam War Survivors Memorial Foundation is coming out soon. It will be titled Legacy Beyond Faces and I am honored to have a few articles in it. I've been on the board for this foundation for a few years now and written several articles for them. It is nice that after spending decades celebrating the US and their role in liberating the island from Japanese control during World War II, now we are investing more energy in documenting the stories of our elders and putting them into a more respectful context. If you look at the way Chamorros have been traditionally represented in documentaries, books and other types of media, they are mere footnotes to the exercise of American military might. They suffer, they cry, they die, they hope and most importantly, they stay loyal to the US and affirm its best elements, as an avatar for democracy, justice, liberty and freedom. But the Chamorro experience is unfortunately lost in these accounts. For even if it is compelling

For this year's Regional Seminar I wanted to accomplish a number of goals. First, the primary goal was to give my presentation as an expert on the decolonization situation in Guam. Second, was to meet with people from the other Non-Self-Governing Territories to try to develop the foundation for a solidarity network to increase awareness and communications. Third, to conduct interviews for the Guam public radio program Beyond the Fence. And finally, just to conduct research for my own academic work. For the first three, things went smoothly at the conference. In fact, other than some technical problems with my digital recorder and my struggles with jet lag, things went far better than I expected. Interviewing people to learn more about the decolonization process, the diplomatic relations involved with it was a bit more difficult. Employees of the United Nations itself were politely mum when asked about things in any formal interview, saying that they had to clear things with tho

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama recently visited the Standing Bear Sioux Reservation of the Lakota and the Dakota. Here are some pictures:

Gaige yu' gi Tumblr . I am on Tumblr. Ti ya-hu mureblog. I do not like to reblog. Hu rikokohi gi iyo-ku Tumblr, i fina'tinas-hu I am collecting in my Tumblr, things I have made. I ltratu-hu siha ginen i isla-ku. My pictures of my island. I litratu-hu siha ginen i hinanao-hu siha My pictures of my trips. Infotmasion put i che'cho'-hu gi koleho yan gi kuminidat. Information about my work at UOG yan in the community. Parehu i ison-niha yan este na blog, lao mas ha aguiguiguiya i fina'litratuh siha iyo-ku Tumblr. My tumblr and my blog have the same purpose, lao my Tumblr is primarily for visuals. Ti meggai iyo-ku followers (dadadalaki siha). I don't have that many followers. Lao kada biahi na umafakcha'i ham yan un follower, nina'gof magof yu'. But each time I meet a new follower, it makes me very happy. Ti pinacha' i korason-hu anai ma sangani yu' na ma li'e' yu' gi PDN. It doesn't do much

Found this picture on Tumblr of all places. It is of the USS New Mexico preparing for the Invasion of Guam in 1944.

Guaha iyo-ku Facebook pa'go. Pues an malago' hao sina un "add" yu' guihi. Estaba guaha iyo-ku Facebook, lao meggai matulaika desde ayu na tiempo. Meggai nuebu na patte, ya siempre bei linemlem ni ayu. Para kuatro anos ilek-hu, "mungga yu' Facebook!" Buente un faisen maimaisa hao, "Hafa tumulaika i hinasso-mu?" Ti siguru yu'. I nobia-hu guaha iyo-na Facebook ya ya-na mampost litratu guihi. I meggaina na atungo'-hu siha esta manggaige siha gi Facebook. Guaha na biahi ti ma na'saonao yu' gi i diniskuti gi i dinana' put i tinaigue-ku guihi. Estaba na'bubu este yan lalalo yu' yan desganao. Lao pa'go na'triste ha' este. Puede ha' mohon na sina manachetton ham ta'lo yan i manatungo'-hu siha. 

Published on Sunday, December 9, 2012 by Common Dreams   There’s No Country That Would Tolerate Missiles by Johnny Barber   ( Photo: Johnny Barber) Walid al Nassasra and two of his daughters stand staring into the pit where his brothers sheet-metal roofed, cinder-block home stood until it was hit in a pin-point strike with a precision guided bomb from an F-16 fighter jet (provided by the United States) on 19 Nov 2012 at 10 pm as the family slept. If not for the clothes and bedding strewn about, it would be difficult to tell that a home once stood here. His brother Taqwfiq, like Walid, is a farmer. Their family has been farming in the Rafah area for 35 years. They are poor people, scratching out a living on a small plot of land. As we sat and talked with Walid, Israeli F-16's roared across the sky. His brother as well as a 12 year old nephew remains hospitalized, the nephew is in the ICU with skull and hip fractures. His sister-in-law is bli

While I was in Okinawa last month my girlfriend and I committed to writing a poem to each other for everyday that we were apart. Below are three of my favorites that I wrote for her: ********************** I am typing on my love's laptop I am missing her with every stroke When my finger presses a I wish my arms were wrapped around her When my finger presses k I wish my lips were on her When my finger presses l I wish I could tell her how much I love her ******************* I found a knife while walking in Ojana Okinawa I swore it was the knife you gave me with love One sweaty Saturday morning The knife looked like it would fit in one of the chambers of my heart I plunged the knife into my chest and found that I could breathe again I had forgotten the feeling of breathing ********************** I wrote in my diary “I love you” a thousand times Then I tore it up and walked to the store to buy a new one I drew in stars on every page “I love y

During my first day here in Okinawa I ended up taking 600 pictures. When I go on trips like this I often end up taking a lot of pictures so I have plenty of evidence when I go back to Guam that I indeed did travel somewhere else and talk to people, look at things, etc. When I was in Hiroshima in 2010 for the World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs I was methodically taking pictures of every speaker, no matter who they were, even if they weren't really that interesting. I would take at least three pictures of every speaker, each from a different angle. A European at the conference later laughed at me saying that I was Aerosmith for my constant picture taking. Although I smiled in a very friendly native sort of way, I was confused as to why he would call me this. Was it because I look like steven Tyler? (sa' siempre ti duminga ham). Was it because he was crying when he met me and now he was dying to forget me? (lao sa' hafa? sa' kalang ti umatungo' ham

My brother Jeremy held his Senior recital over the weekend. This month he'll graduate from UOG. Here are some pictures from his recital that he will no doubt cringe at. I've included below his play list for the performance. ******************** Golliwog’s Cake-walk from “Children’s Corner” By Claude Debussy (1862- 1918) Arr. A. Christopherson Bist Du Bei Mir, Aria from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, 1725 By Gottfried Heinirch Stolzel (1690-1749) Previously attributed to J.S. Bach (1685- 1750) Andante et Allegro By Guy Ropartz (1864-1955) Introduction and Dance By Dmitri Shostakovich (1906- 1975) Concert Rondo By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756- 1791) Arr. J. Ernst Short Intermission St. Thomas By Sonny Rollins (1930-) In a Sentimental Mood By Duke Ellington (1899- 1974) Blue Bossa By Kenny Dorham (1924- 1972) Blue Train By John Coltrane (1926- 1967) Chameleon By Herbie Hancock (19

Taigue yu' pa'go giya Guahan. Sa' gaige yu' giya Osaka, giya Hapon.

For the past week I've been pasting pictures of my many hikes to the Pagat area of northern Guam. In a one year period I hiked down there 14 times, and in the process exploring so many different areas there and finding lots of cool things. I don't have thousands of pictures of my trip, since more than once I lost a camera down there. But I do have enough to show different aspects of the Pagat area, most of which people don't really know. Pagat proper is the trail that takes you to the freshwater cave and then through a trail of lusong, past a single latte house, to get to the natural arch and the cliffs. Pagat is so much more than this, and I've been blessed to be able to explore and see so much more. On the Pagat loop trail you can see the limestone wall there which no one seems to be able to explain how it was made (but there are many fun theories). At Pagat point you can see two massive limestone rocks known as Chelef's Hands, named after a 17th century C

I've been posting for the past few weeks about my trip to Okinawa last month where I participated in the 2011 Japan Peace Conference. The posts can be found under the tag O Dreams . For the next week I'll be posting pics on my tumblr as well. Head over there to  I Pilan Yanggen Sumahi... in order to check them out.