NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

As a contemporary colony, Guam doesn't get much attention anywhere. In a world where colonialism isn't supposed to exist anymore, being a colony isn't that great. When you try to articulate your colonial existence people tend to respond in a number of different ways. They may dismiss the colonial nature of your situation since it can't be as bad as colonialism was in the past. They may dismiss your complaints because you come from a small island that should be grateful to be colonized, especially by the most powerful country in the world. They may attempt to correct you and say that Guam is really a territory not a colony. Or a dependency and not a colony. Or a protectorate and not a colony. The United Nations is one of the few places where the idea of there being colonies left in the world isn't controversial, although this remains a salient topic in only certain parts of the bureaucracy. For example, a place like Guam doesn't have much represen

The commentary below is from the Overseas Territories Review. A very good source of information about those of us and our islands who remain formally and per the United Nation's definition, colonized. Most of us are very small and the majority of the world's people could care little about. The Overseas Territories Review is a very good, centralized location for finding out information about all these scattered still colonized lands. Some of our situations today are very similar, some are very unique and distinct. But part of moving towards decolonizing is getting over the fear of being a "colony" still. Since this is something that is no longer supposed to exist, many wish to simply refuse to acknowledge the possibility since it means you are the one who carries the stain and stigma of the inhumanity of the past everyone else seems to have gotten past. Even if it is clearly the moral stain of the colonizer, you still feel like this is your mess, your problem that n