NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The issue of Governor Calvo "deporting" people (primarily) from the FSM has been one of those issues that I wish I was following more closely, but haven't been able to. I've collected some articles here offering basic timelines and info over the past few months. I look forward at some point in the future writing more about this, as it goes right to the heart of Guam's status as a continuing colony, whereas the other islands in Micronesia have been able to move towards a greater sense of self-government. This exasperates and complexifies the long-standing problem of whether or not Chamorros and others on Guam identify as being Micronesian, being part of Micronesia or being anything other than Pacific Islander Americans. Gaige iya Guahan giya Micronesia. Lao atan i sinangån-ta yan i kustumbre-ta? Kao ta na'magågahet este na ideha? Lao achokka' siña ta sångan na gaige hit gi halom este na hinekkan isla, ti mamparehu hit gi pulitikat na bånda. Manggaipodet s

Ilek-na Si Henry Kissinger, ayu na sen dangkolu na galabok taotao, put iya Micronesia, “There are only 90,000 people out there. Who gives a damn?” I meggaina na taotao guini ti ma tungo’ put este na sinangan ya ti ma tungo’ lokkue’ hayi este na Henry. Lao para i manggaitiningo’, ti mannina’manman nu este. Ayu na hinasso, ayu na pine’lo, put i mineddong-ta guini gof annok gi i na’an-ta. Atan i na’an ni’ mana’i hit para este na lugat: Micronesia. Kumekeilekna “dikike’ na isla.” Sigun hafa hu fa’na’an i “pragmatics of size” taya’ gaibali giya Micronesia, todu taibali. Hunggan, buente anggen malago’ hao bumuteya hanom tasi, sen gefsaga’ este na lugat. Lao dinirihi i hinasson i taotao sanhiyong ni’ tano’. Ayu nai muna’hasso siha put finitme, siguridad, yan anggokuyon na fuetsa. Para siha i hanom yan i tasi, ti anggokuyon, machalek, todu tiempo matulailaika. Todu i tumuge’ i Bipblia ginen ayu na hinasso. Hafa ilek-na guihi put este? Estague ginen as San Mateo: Enao i humungok

The issue of FAS citizens, people from the FSM primarily, is something that brings together so many divergent and divisive discourses in Guam. It is something that is not easily unpacked and not easily resolved because of the many ideological contact points, overlaps and contradictions. It is easy for some to make a blanket statement one way or another, but those voices tend to consider very little. They don't account for much of the overall nebulous ideological structure that gives meaning to this issue.  When talking about the issue of FAS citizens and their impact on Guam, so many things end up being touched upon and most people only want to admit to the relevance of one or two of those many possible discourses. We see multiculturalism giving the impression that all people are just people. We see immigrant stories, the way they play essential and often undervalued roles in sustaining economies. We see expressions of racism and expressions of anti-racism. People who shriek if

It is frustrating dealing with the ways that so many people, on Guam, on the internet and in so many places talk about race, or rather talk about it in ways to try to neutralize it as a potential issue to be taken seriously in life today. While we can self-identify as a race, while we can say we are this color or that color, and can take pride in what is culturally or historically or linguistically associated with that race, this doesn't take us very far in terms of understanding how race operates in our lives and therefore how racism persists in life, even when race is not "mentioned." Racism is not so much about difference, or the differences between racism, but at its core it is a dynamic between those who are "raced" or "racialized" and those who are not. Those who carry the stigma of race as they move, entangled in various systems and those who do not. Race is a stain, a mark, something that allows for certain bodies to be treated differently, t

Check out this article below from KUAM. It deals with meetings that the Federated States of Micronesia Association of Guam had in order to draw up some plans on how to deal with violence and crimes that are being attributed to the Micronesian community of Guam, in particular the Chuukese. They even created an education plan with alot of ideas on how to alleviate the social problems within Micronesian communities and those which spill out into the general public. I don't want to speak to the specific issue of Micronesians in Guam, as the available language and ideas makes it almost impossible to have a productive conversation. The "Micronesian problem" is what it is usually referred to as, and it is a textbook example of how a class or group of people become associated, in a way which becomes too commonsensically and too natural, with the ills of the world. Every society has problems, and every ethnic group has problems or roles in creating those problems. The problem