SAYING “goodbye” to World Peace is pretty much too early in my opinion. I believe that there should be room for negotiation first before even thinking of “goodbye.” Remember that the CNMI at present cannot meet the revenue generation requirement to satisfy her basic need—the budget. World Peace is an opportunity to be discovered not pre-judged.
We should not close the door to Rota as well as to our beloved CNMI. I love my brothers and sisters in the whole CNMI. However, we need help right now. The garment industry is not on stable grounds. The business community is suffering. The employees in the government may not be maintained in the near future. Though many families may be affected dramatically through unemployment, we cannot just simply terminate alien workers who work very hard to help their poor families overseas because we have to hire unwilling, untrained and ungrateful brothers and sisters that are in the first place simply unwilling to work. Remember that land is not ours. We are only its caretakers. Every human being on this earth is our brother and sister. We should not treat foreigners any different from our own.
Now what do we need? Do we need more gambling that destroys families and increase the revenue for the very few, or do we look for other means that can contribute to the CNMI coffers without so much destruction to families. We should be open minded and look for more options. What are the options? Well, for Rota, maybe we should offer part of the island. We should maybe offer one of our uninhabited islands close to Tinian or north of Saipan. We should not simply close the door and say “goodbye.” Remember that we need revenue and in generating revenues there should always be give and take.
Rumors going around say that the group is full of doctorate degrees from prestigious universities and they believe in peace and have found ways to promote peace worldwide as well as reduce poverty. Well, what’s wrong with that?
If our religion is not to be affected as well as our relations with our motherland, maybe we should look deeper and think of other options. Peace is what the world needs right now. Maybe we should be a contributor to the cause. Our leaders should not simply close the door. They should discuss the matter further. The mayor of Rota is simply trying to help his people and in doing so may even help the world.
Let us be open minded on the matter. Ask yourself the question: Do we want to stay where we are where many will be unemployed and the future looking very bleak or should we find ways to improve the future? The way things are going, no promise from any of our leaders can tell us that the future is bright. We should not make hasty decisions. Perhaps our leaders should visit this world peace facility elsewhere and see for themselves who and what they really are and what they stand for.
As a parent, I wish my children to grow up to be doctors in the field they choose. The most educated people are willing to help us. What is wrong with that? We should ask ourselves one question. Why do we send our children to school? Peace to you all.
FRANK M. ATALIG
Sinapalo, Rota
