NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The UN C24 Regional Seminar in St. Vincent and the Grenadines was my fourth occasion to testify as an expert in this setting. My first invitation was in Ecuador in 2013. This was followed by twice in Nicaragua in 2015 and 2016. After going through my old testimonies in preparation for this year's seminar I did not cringe, as I normally would when reviewing old work or writings. I noticed in my first instance of testifying that I was very general and almost theoretical. I was using elements of the dissertation in Ethnic Studies that I had just finished a few years earlier. In the years since I have shifted to providing more updates to the C24 and more facts about what is happening and the impediments that Chamorros and Guam face.  As a bit of nostalgia, I'll post here my testimony from the regional seminar in Quito, Ecuador. ************************ Statement to the Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Third Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism Quito

I am currently in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the United Nations Committee of 24 Regional Seminar. I was invited to intend to speak as an expert on the situation in Guam and the Chamorro people's ongoing quest for self-determination and decolonization. This is my fourth time to be invited to speak at the UN C24 Regional Seminar, as I attended once in Ecuador in 2013 and then twice in Nicaragua in 2015 and 2016. I have never been to this part of the world before, meaning the Caribbean, and so I am excited not only to represent Guam, but also to learn more about the struggles for independence and decolonization that have ta ken place on these many islands. I'll be writing about the happenings of the regional seminar and my experiences under the theme of "Decolonization in the Caribbean." Watch this space over the next few weeks to read my posts.

A very good overview of the global network of US bases in the world and also the movements against them. It was written in 2008 but still has lots of relevant information for readers today. As I've been teaching my course, articles such as this have been very helpful in giving my students a very brief by thorough overview of US military plans and strategies in terms of their bases. ************** "Resisting the Empire" by Joseph Gerson Foreign Policy in Focus March 19, 2008 Ecuador’s decision not to renew the U.S. lease for the forward operating base at Manta (see Yankees Head Home ) is the culmination of just one of many long-term and recently initiated community-based and national struggles to remove these military installations that are often sources of crime and demeaning human rights violations. A growing alliance among anti-bases movements in countries around the world, including the United States, is preventing the creation of new foreign military

Although the world could probably agree on the fact that colonial should no longer exist and be eradicated from the world, this does not mean that much of the world will lift a finger to do anything about it. The consensus over something can in a way kill the possibility of doing anything about it. It is an interesting dynamic that creates this effect. The more people agree that something should not exist, the more they tend to assert its existence as being marginal and small. Or that it contemporary emergence is irregular and unique, it does not represent much of the world save for itself. The fact that all can agree on colonialism being eradicated also creates the impression that it is beyond contestation or beyond intervention. For instance, almost everyone in the world would agree to some form of the notion that "politicians are corrupt." The commonsensical quality of this can be problematic. The larger and wider spread a notion like this is, the more difficult it can b

"The Road to Nowhere" Michael Lujan Bevacqua Marianas Variety 6/12/13 Last week I wrote about “decolonization stagnation” on Guam and how for a variety of reasons the quest for decolonization, at the level of the world, the UN and the United States isn’t moving very quickly. This week I wanted to discuss more about the role of the United Nations and the United States in decolonizing Guam. Despite the fact that most people have become accustomed to speaking in universals, and speaking about this world that we inhabit, most on earth see themselves in a national framework, as attached first and foremost not to this planet, but to an imagined territory upon its surface. Because of this the United Nations can have great power symbolically, representing the world’s international potential, but has little practical value. Nowhere is this more true than for those 17 territories that the UN recognizes as still being colonized and still requiring a process of decoloniz

Decolonization today Monday, 15 Jul 2013 03:00am BY MAR-VIC CAGURANGAN | VARIETY NEWS STAFF Hits: 211 (First of a two-part series) ON JULY 21, Marine Corp Drive will be filled with parades to mark the day the U.S. Marines took Guam in a bloody 1944 battle that liberated the island from the Japanese forces during World War II. Sixty-nine years since Guam’s liberation, political leaders are again seeking liberty – this time for self-governance. “Our journey will never be complete unless we undertake to resolve our political status and to decolonize Guam,” Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo said during her congressional address before the 32nd Legislature on May 30. “We must renew our determination to take the necessary steps that will define our political relationship with the United States, and to give the people of Guam the political dignity that they deserve,” she added. 17 colonies Guam is one of the 17 remaining colonies in the

Colonialism isn't supposed to exist anymore, which is why it is intriguing every time I hear someone use it and its imagery in order to make their point today. People who are trapped in relationships call them colonial. People who feel exploited name it colonial. People who feel oppressed refer to it as colonial. I have even heard it used in positive senses, as in moving into a place and changing the way it operates, for the better, as being colonial.  The colonial mention of the day comes from a group of Latin American leaders from countries who have long resisted United States hegemony in the region. The United States is trying to play is very su'anu with regards to the Edward Snowden scandal. They want to pretend like its nothing, like he's lint you just brush off your shoulder. It is no big deal. But at the same time they are applying very real pressure throughout the world in order to punish him and take away his options. The issue is not Snowden himself of cour

Published on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 by The Guardian Edward Snowden: A Whistleblower, Not a Spy by Guardian Editorial It is now 10 days since the former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden , source of the Guardian's NSA bugging revelations, flew out of Hong Kong, apparently en route to Ecuador. For 10 days he has been stalled at Moscow airport, while his passport has been annulled and repeated attempts to continue his journey to sympathetic jurisdictions have failed or been foiled. Over the weekend, Ecuador aborted the idea that he might find sanctuary in Quito. Mr Snowden submitted a request for political asylum in Russia, later withdrawn. Several other asylum bids also faltered at the start of this week. On Tuesday, Mr Snowden remained in Moscow, still dependent on the Russians while waiting on the apparently diminishing chance of being welcomed elsewhere around the wo

A student asked me today about Edward Snowden. I found that I had only general information about his case and wanted to know more. If my student had asked me about ? I would have proudly shown off my ignorance. But not being able to talk for more than a few minutes about Snowden made me feel embarassed and so I just spent the last hour reading up on his case. I signed a petition on the White House website to pardon him for his role in revealing US surveillance programs.  Today he is on his way to Ecuador, where I just was last month, to request asylum. Below are some articles to check out. ********************** Wikileaks Defies US to help Edward Snowden By Peter Griffiths LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - WikiLeaks' decision to help U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden escape Washington's extradition attempts in Hong Kong has cemented the anti-secrecy group's reputation as a thorn in the side of the American and British governments.