NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Today is the first day of the United Nations Committee of 24 Regional Seminar in Managua, Nicaragua.  Although the seminar started 90 minutes late, once we began things seemed to be fine, although the seminar chair Rafael Ramirez from Venezuela called upon people to help create a serene and calm atmosphere today. Speakers who followed him also requested that our discussions today be filled with serenity and calm. These comments struck me as strange at first, although I soon learned what was compelling this emphasis on comity. The first time I attended a United Nations regional seminar it was for the most part uneventful. After I presented, there were no questions for me. My presentation didn't come up again for the rest of the seminar and so formally, my contribution boiled down to seven minutes of talking, the electricity to run the mics and translation devices, and the paper and ink on which each attendee was given a copy of my remarks. The second time I attended a regional s

Bolivia: 'For a lasting solution to the climate crisis we must destroy capitalism" EurActiv.fr by Cécile Barbière translated by Samuel White 14 Oct 2015 - 08:22 Bolivia's national contribution to the COP 21 describes capitalism as "a system of death" that has to be destroyed to protect humanity and Mother Earth. EurActiv France reports . The Bolivian government's slightly late national contribution to the COP 21 contains many radical proposals for safeguarding the future health of the planet, accompanied by the argument that capitalism is responsible for "consumerism, warmongering and [...] the destruction of Mother Earth". Some 122 countries have now shared their national contributions to the international climate conference in Paris, where countries will attempt to reach an agreement that will limit the global temperature rise to +2°C above pre-industrial ti

--> I've spent quite a bit of time this past week talking about the term native inhabitants. It is something which is at the crux of how decolonization law is written in Guam, but is confusing since it is different than the way that most people feel or talk about decolonization. There is a spiritual and human movement and process which is wide-reaching and brings together anger, resentment, dreams, hopes, practical concerns and justice. This is decolonization in general, and it is something that more and more people on Guam accept as being an important and necessary part of life. It has not been an easy conversation, many people resisted it in certain forms, such as cultural for a long time. But we can thank the last two generations of Chamorro/Guam activists for helping create the conditions whereby "self-determination" is an acceptable and positive part of daily discussion, wrapped up in the feelings that people have for an improved, more pro

“Okinawan Independence” Michael Lujan Bevacqua April 10, 2013 The Marianas Variety Professor Yasukatsu Matsushima is a strong, but polite voice for Okinawa's Independence. I first met him last year while he was in Guam doing research. I ended up taking him on a hike to Pagat. Later he invited me to come to Okinawa and speak at several conferences on decolonization. On my most recent trip to Okinawa, I was fortunate enough to hear him give a lecture at Okinawa International University on “The Myths of Okinawan Independence.” Although the topic of Okinawa’s independence is very new and somewhat taboo, his talk was crowded with people wanting to know more.  Professor Matsushima may seem assuming at first, but make no mistake he is resolute in his belief that Okinawa should be an independent country. This advocacy has made him somewhat notorious. In both Okinawa and Guam independence is something considered taboo, impossible or anti-Japanese/American.

After attending two international conferences in Japan, the initial luster has faded a little bit. The conferences are still impressive, but I am starting to see their limitations, but also the ways the organizers are attempting to overcome them. When I attended the 2010 World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, I was completely blown away. Nina'manman yu' ni' i lini'e'-hu guihi. Compared to conferences that I have organized in both Guam and California around similar issues, the level of attention and precision at this conference, (which by the way lasted for more than a week) was incomparable. Kalang taiparehu este. There were more than 100 overseas delegates, and in Hiroshima over 7,000 conference attendees (more than 2,000 in Nagasaki). And despite this logistical nightmare, almost everything started on time and finished on time. Compare this to the three Famoksaiyan conferences that I helped organize in San Diego and the Bay Area California in 2006

Today I'm heading to a peace and demilitarization conference in Okinawa. I'm travelling as part of a delegation of people from Guam who are going to discuss Guam's role in the larger strategic vision that the US has for the Asia-Pacific region. Delegates will also be coming from Hawai'i, Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Philippines, South Korea and mainland Japan. For my part, I've written a speech on the dream of a world without nuclear weapons that I'll be sharing the day after tomorrow. For me, this trip to Okinawa is a dream come true. I have read and heard so much about Okinawa since it was first announced as the place that Guam was scheduled to receive 7,000 Marines and 8,000 dependents from in late 2005. Since then, the buildup has changed many times, I've changed many times, and the people around me who discuss this issue and work on this issue has changed as well. Okinawa has become an strangely intimate part of my life over the past few years b

In my continuing efforts to make sure that I have way too much to do, I'll be moderating a forum tomorrow on decolonization and self-determination at UOG. Details are below. ************************* Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice and the University of Guam present:. PUBLIC FORUM on Political Decolonization Dr. Carlyle Corbin United Nations Advisor and Internationally recognized expert on decolonization "The Role of the United Nations in the Self-Determination Process" Attorney Julian Aguon Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice "Defrosting the Self-Determination Imagination: The Trajectory of Right Under International Law" Wednesday, October 19 5:30 - 8:30 pm University of Guam CLASS Lecture Hall THE PUBLIC FORUM WILL BE LIVE STREAMED AT THE FOLLOWING CHANNEL FOR THOSE OFF-ISLAND: Tuesday, 12:30 am PST http://www.ustream.tv/channel/we-are-guahan

“The First of Many” Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Marianas Variety 10/5/11 It is natural in life to be enamored with the aura or the prestige of being “first.”To be the first of something, the first to do something ensures that amidst the seemingly endless throngs of humanity, you may always be guaranteed some significance. Your name may appear in almanacs or encyclopedias. You might become trivia for crossword clues. You and your legacy may be something that nerds use to outdo each other in terms of random knowledge accumulation. To be the first means that when you are remembered people will use active, yet often times cliché metaphors to describe you; you are a trailblazer, pathfinder, boundary buster, glass ceiling shatterer and a history maker. The excitement around the “first” of something can sometimes be peculiar, especially for those receiving the title. Even if it is your name that is written down, it is truly the world that should get the credit. Too often you being “the

An Open Letter from Gaza: Two Years after the Massacre, a Demand for Justice December 27, 2010 We the Palestinians of the Besieged Gaza Strip, on this day, two years on from Israel's genocidal attack on our families, our houses, our roads, our factories and our schools, are saying enough inaction, enough discussion, enough waiting – the time is now to hold Israel to account for its ongoing crimes against us. On the 27th of December 2008, Israel began an indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The assault lasted 22 days, killing 1,417 Palestinians, 352 of them children, according to main-stream Human Rights Organizations. For a staggering 528 hours, Israeli Occupation Forces let loose their US-supplied F15s, F16s, Merkava Tanks, internationally prohibited White Phosphorous, and bombed and invaded the small Palestinian coastal enclave that is home to 1.5 million, of whom 800,000 are children and over 80 percent UN registered refugees. Around 5,300 remain permanently wounded.

At the 2010 World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, everything is conducted in English and Japanese. Since most of the people attending the conference are from Japan and do not speak English, all the overseas delegates have headsets and during the proceedings off to the side there is an interpreter who is telling us what people are saying. While I was in South Korea I had the experience of attending a conference where I did not understand a single word, and while I did get a lot of other work done during that time, it was disappointing to not be able to follow what was being said. One thing that the organizers of the conference request in order to make their job easier is that we turn in our speeches ahead of time so that it can be translated into Japanese ahead of time, or so the interpreter can have it in front of them while you speak to help guide them. I submitted my speech a week ahead of time, but was told the day I arrived to make some changes and cut its length. In

Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama has just resigned , and from the news reports that I've read, they are all attributing this to the fact that he could not keep a campaign promise that he made, to resolve the US basing issue in Okinawa. This is a very interesting turn of events. As I posted a few weeks ago, the road for the US military buildup to Guam is far from smooth, uneventful or straight. It is instead gof matahlek , very twisted and looks to only get mas matahlek as time goes on. A recently posted piece on The Huffington Post by Steve Clemons, can help shed some light on how it came to this: *********************************** Of Presidents & Prime Ministers in the Age of Obama by Steve Clemons Jan ken pon. Scissors cut paper. Paper covers Rock. Rock smashes scissors. There is an interesting drama playing out between several world leaders today that reminds of this game. President Barack Obama seems to be smashing the political fortunes of Japan Prime Ministe

Published on Monday, July 27, 2009 by The Telegraph/UK Climate Change to Force 75 Million Pacific Islanders From Their Homes by Bonnie Malkin in Sydney A report by the charity Oxfam said Pacific Islanders were already feeling the effects of global warming, including food and water shortages, rising cases of malaria and more frequent flooding and storms. Some had already been forced from their homes and the number of displaced people was rising, it warned. "The Future is Here: Climate Change in the Pacific" predicted that many Pacific Islanders would not be able to relocate within their own countries and would become international refugees.It urged neighbouring wealthy countries to take urgent action to curb their carbon emissions to prevent a large-scale crisis. Half of the population of the Pacific live less than 1.5km from the coast and are incredibly vulnerable to sea-level rise and extreme weather. But as well as moving out, the report found that some countries had st