NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Pagan Island, the “Crown Jewel” of the Marianas, is again slated for certain environmental devastation, this time by a proposal from the U.S. Military to use it for “live-fire training” which includes everything from artillery to bombing. Pagan is a small island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). It is one of the most biologically and geologically diverse islands in the archipelago, and is home to many threatened and endangered species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world. Aside from its stunning beauty and rich ecological resources, Pagan is also one of the most habitable of the northern most islands in the CNMI. In fact, this island has supported the ancestors of Pagan islanders for over 3,000 years, as evidenced by Chamorro stone ruins found skirting its beautiful beaches. The U.S. Military plans to occupy ALL of Pagan Island for live-fire training and military exercises, ignoring the indigenous rights of Pagan Island

Sometimes I wonder if any of the things that I do on the internet matter. I write regularly on this blog, I have my zine Minagahet , I run or help run several different websites, such as Decolonize Guam or Chamorro.com . On all of these sites, I'm analyzing, cutting and pasting information about what's happening on Guam or what will soon happen to Guam. Because of this, a lot of people assume that I have a level of influence, that I'm not sure I actually do. When I come across letters such as the one below however, I start to feel better. Kulang magom yu'. Fihu hinasso-ku na taiga'chong i Chamoru siha gi este na mundo, sa' kalang todu ma aksesepta na i Amerikånu siha i dueñu-ta. Lao este na taotao ha tutungo’ i minagahet. Kada na hu taitai este, hinassosso-ku, “taimanu na siña ta taka’ mas taotao?” ********************************* BOSTON GLOBE - LETTER TO THE EDITOR GUAM SHOULD BE WARY January 11, 2009 "US PLANS for military buildup leave Guam wary

I posted several months ago, that I was one of the people being put in charge of running Chamorro.com, one of the most visible and visited Chamorro websites out there. In the future, the running of this site might entail overhauling it and remaking it, but for the past couple months and until I become gumof kapas mama'titinas websites, my helping run it has been relegated to updating existing pages. With the help of i sen mangge na palao'an Charissa Aguon we've been able to keep the Chamorro.com calendar , which I've come to realize is a crucial tool for Chamorros in the states to stay connected to each other through the fiesta, novena and social club networks. Its been more difficult however keeping up with the updating for the Chamorro.com clubs page and the main page. On the clubs page, you'll find information from/on the different Chamorro social and cultural groups scattered throughout the United States. On the main page, you'll find daily updated informat

When I first started voyaging out into the internet full force several years ago, meaning I started using Google and Yahoo to search for random crap, interesting things would always pop up when I was looking for stuff related to Guam and Chamorros. For instance, if you do just general Guam searches you will find a surprisingly alot of Gay community website. I never imagined Guam as some gay oasis in the Pacific, but apparently around the Pacific alot of people do think of Guam as just that. Also, if you do just general searches for Chamorro, you will receive a bunch of sites for Chamorros in Nicaragua. These aren't ethnic Chamorros but people with the last name Chamorro, such as Edgar Chamorro , a contra fighter and former ambassador to the United Nations, or Violet a Chamorro , a President of Nicaragua in the 1990's. When I would do searches for Chamorro language however, a certain type of page would constantly show up, "I Love You Pages." I'm sure that most