On this anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy, I find myself revisiting this video I shot in 2010 at the A.B. Wonpat International Airport lobby in Guam. The colorful yet somber display of “The Fallen Brave of Micronesia” is a reminder to us of the spirit of unity, bravery of the sons and daughters of Guam, CNMI, FSM, Palau, Marshall Islands…yes, the whole of M-I-C-R-O-N-E-S-I-A. Together. In Death. For Freedom. One Region.
How easily the Governor of Guam has forgotten these fallen heroes, the best of our collective Micronesia while he focuses on deporting convicts and declaring the top FSM diplomat in Guam as persona non grata. He has thus brought to our consciousness the negative narrative about Compact of Free Association (COFA) immigrants. We should be honoring the memories of the fallen soldiers whose heroism remind us of the real fight against global terrorism and tyrannical governments.
Times have changed since I graduated from University of Guam in 1986. My last year on Guam, President Ronald Reagan signed U.S. Public Law 99-239 approving the COFA treaty between the US and my country of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Marshall Islands. That opened the US borders to citizens of the COFA nations. The actions and words of the governor of Guam these last two weeks have, in my opinion, done more harm than good.
Governor Calvo has every right to make decisions on behalf of the people of Guam who voted him into office. But the way he is handling this to make a point to the US government and the government of the FSM is simply not the most constructive way to heal, unite, help, and to inspire the best of ourselves as a common Micronesian community.
Allow me to share some thoughts with the people of Guam in the same spirit as Fran’s post entitled, “Dear FSM: Don’t Go to War with Guam over Deportation.”
1) I’m sure the majority of the Micronesian diaspora share the same frustrations with the people of Guam about the criminal elements among us. Any criminal should be locked away to prevent them from ever harming any other human being. Every time we read in the news or social media about a Micronesian committing a crime on Guam, the majority of us curse silently at these thugs. They don’t represent the best of our community yet they make the news every time while the majority of our people silently do their best to fit into the fabric of life on Guam.
2) COFA migrants know full well our status as guests in the US or on your island. Most of us work real hard at our jobs, pay our taxes, stay humble, worship the same God with you. We want the same hopes and dreams as you to better ourselves and build a better future for our children. We love our homes in Micronesia, but have chosen to move to Guam, Hawaii, Saipan and elsewhere because of these interwoven goals and aspirations for a better life.
3) We come from cultures in which we are expected to be respectful when visiting someone’s house or another island. Most of us do that quietly, respectfully, humbly on your island, in your villages, at your churches, on your school grounds.
4) The majority of us want to contribute to the building up of the communities in which we live. We want to be given a chance to worship in the same church with our local hosts and be afforded the same respect, dignity, and love outside of the place of worship. We want our children to have a safe learning environment in schools without feeling shameful for their ethnic roots. We are a humble people who would rather bear injustices done to us just to keep the peace. I believe this is what Fr. Hezel is asking the FSM leaders to do…bear the little pain of racial injustice for a better future. I think there is indignity in it, but that is what it is.
5) Guam has been a great host for us for which we are grateful. We understand your leaders were not part of the COFA negotiations between the US Government leaders and the founding fathers of our 3 COFA nations of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau. Most of us were not part of those negotiations either. But we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to pursue the American Dream for our children in exchange for giving your country of the US strategic military access to our territorial waters.
6) We understand the frustrations of the Guam leadership about the financial impact on the local governments. We join you in wanting the US Government to pay GovGuam the funds to offset the government expenses. We are reminded of that everyday because we are in fact putting our kids through your public education system, driving on your roads, utilizing social services, accessing your healthcare, and of course in your jails. Let us join you as fellow taxpayers to fight for what you deserve from Uncle Sam.
Do you blame us for not feeling welcomed when your governor decide to focus on the criminals among us to make a point to the US federal government? Most of our COFA citizens on Guam are law-abiding and would not dare speak up against the governor because that’s not in our cultural DNA to speak up against our leaders.
We understand the Governor’s desire to deport convicts back to our home islands. Good riddance. But I fear the long term unintended consequences of the negative narrative being played out in the media by the governor and our leaders. It is not helping anyone; it’s simply bidding us against each other. It legitimizes those who feel that all Micronesian immigrants should go home.
We should be talking about the things that bind us together. Since the COFA was ratified in 1986 our young men and women have also been afforded the same opportunity to serve and die in the same US Armed Forces alongside the sons and daughters of Guam. In fact, according to a 2008 Time magazine report, the FSM suffered more casualty of war per capita at a rate “five times the U.S. national average.” In 2010, the Christian Monitor reported that the “US military recruiting from the Federated States of Micronesia, per capita, leads all American states.” More of our citizens have entered the US military since those observations were made.
Do you blame us for feeling frustrated by the governor’s decision to focus on the few convicts who burden all of us while neglecting to thank the Gold Star Mothers in Micronesia whose sons and daughters you proudly display in your airport lobby for the world to see? Do you blame us for feeling the irony in that display case while watching the Governor define our community by our worst members?
I ask humbly for the Governor, the Presidents of the COFA nations, his fellow governors to sit down together as adults and work out their differences as leaders. They need to build on the values that connect us together in the region of Micronesia, as neighbors with common indigenous struggles against oppressive colonizers. We are all better together. And we are definitely better than this.
COFA citizens are not US citizens, but many of our children certainly have died and will continue to die alongside your citizens to defend all of our freedom. Is it too much to ask for a little more respect and dignity from your governor?
