As we recall, the many conferences, involving both the male and female Palauan traditional leaders, which were called to discuss what were considered as “traditional and cultural aberrations” in the country did not produce solutions “with legal teeth” to combat the problems.
Let’s review a few of those problems. It is said that the Toluk, the Palauan women turtle shell monies, could be bought in some stores or from some individuals for as much as $160.00 apiece. It is even alleged that these “toluks” were manufactured outside of Palau. Fake Palauan monies are so common it is difficult to distinguish the genuine articles from the phony ones. And activities such as house parties and fund raising practices have taken on the appearances of “Palauan customs”, replacing Ocheraol, which, by traditional custom, involved only the members of closely related clans. One of the proposed Constitutional Amendments to be considered at the next General Election could help resolve problems involving Palauan customs and traditions. It is Proposal No.17 of the 22 proposed amendments or CP No.2-272. This proposal would amend Article V of the Constitution by adding a new Section 3 to Article V which would read as follows:Section 3. The national government shall take affirmative action to assist traditional leaders in the preservation, protection, and promotion of Palauan heritage, culture, languages, customs and tradition. These days, everybody in town is invited to donate money for the purchase of someone’s home or to help pay other home-related expenses of people who are not relatives of the donors. The rationale is that when the donor, in turn, has a house to purchase or passes away; his earlier favors would be reciprocated. But most donors never get to pay for a house or live to see their donations returned. The situation wouldn’t be so bad if the people living in the villages outside of Koror have sufficient, regular incomes to pay for these types of expenses. The overwhelming majority of these people do not have regular paying jobs and that’s where the problem lies. There are very few paying jobs in the villages. The few big sources of income that once sustained village economies have all dried up. The Copra Industry died many years ago. The harvesting of trochus is highly irregular and no one can depend on it for his livelihood. The fishing coops, which once provided steady income for many village fishermen, have all faded away. The idle and rusting “ice-making machineries”, donated by the Government of Japan, are the only reminders that the docks outside of Koror were once busy with fishing activities. Even the Division of Marine Resources, the arm of the National Government charged with the responsibility of overseeing and guiding fishing activities in Palau, seems to have disappeared. And the Division of Agriculture is difficult to locate. Our public leaders, both in the National Government and the state governments, should eliminate lengthy useless debates, stop fighting each other, and begin thinking about establishing programs and projects that could provide regular paying jobs for the people. The people need paying jobs today, not in ten years from today.
