I am grateful for the government’s quick response but it tells me that my letters are having an effect because the government was for the January checks and they were also released the day after my letter appeared in the news.
But if there had been a large contingency of parents and students present in the dozens or hundreds to support the protest the delays in disbursing the scholarship checks would NEVER happen again. I know a lot of people are just scared and even ashamed but they need find the will to take ownership of THEIR government or non-locals eventually will and that’s a fact. However, after getting the checks (the pacifier) most parents and students were no longer concerned enough to come and protest. But they need to be reminded that a pacifier is not a permanent substitute for real nourishment — meaning the release of the checks in a timely fashion, the monitoring and accountability of the scholarship program with a repatriation plan in place to put our college graduates to work in the CNMI.
The pacifier worked because no one showed up to help me with the protest, but that didn’t deter me because I know “one person” can make a difference and I also know this letter will reach thousands – a lesson I learned from Dr. King that “the media is your friend if you are doing the right thing and your worst enemy when you are doing wrong”. I have tried too many times to make inquiries of our Governor only to get no response. So I just decided to take this issue directly to his boss, the PEOPLE, which is why I got a positive response each time on the following day after my letter appeared — the sad part is I’m the only citizen publicly holding the governor accountable.
But I do want to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations to our new Finance Secretary Ms. Larrisa Larson on her appointment and I want her to know that I’m wishing her the best and that I hate putting this burden on her office. It is really not so much about her office as it is about our government and the future leaders and professionals of the CNMI. I know the government is very short on cash and maybe the scholarship programs need to make hard decisions and restructured the scholarships to eliminate the flaws in the fair disbursement and the shortage of cash. But the message must be sent that our children’s future and the CNMI’s future are tied together and this relationship CANNOT be compromised by poorly funded and faulty scholarship programs.
The damage is also done for some students who got their checks too late as they have already dropped-out and started working just to keep a roof over their heads and food in their mouth. I know the local people are a proud people but sometimes you can’t let shame ruin your game. There is nothing wrong with letting your government know what you want, as every election season they are knocking on your door asking to be hired as your public servant. There is a real need for locals to expand their will to protest beyond cultural issues because it is your civic duty to hold the people that work for you accountable to YOU — and remember that the next time a politician asks for your vote!
I know there are challenges to fixing the scholarship programs but I’m sure if our leaders pursued fixing the scholarship funding with a repatriation program like we have seen our leaders pursue casinos to no end, I am sure a solution can be found. We ask our students to get degrees and contribute to the CNMI. BUT the challenge is really a two-edge sword that cuts both ways. We have scholarship programs that are facing very difficult times in funding the scholarships, which is now causing students to drop out of college and defeating the whole purpose of the scholarship programs. Many students that receive these scholarships ARE NOT returning mainly because of the lack of jobs available for them and the low paying salaries in the CNMI. There is also no “Repatriation Program” in place to monitor scholarship recipients and put these students to work in our efforts to conform to a primarily U.S. citizen workforce.
The CNMI government MUST find a way to maintain the funding for our children if there is to be any hope of preserving the integrity of the local workforce in all the professional fields and this scholarship issue has the real potential to be another — I Told You So. The government MUST start doing serious work beyond the “pie in the sky casino” because we are not sending students to college to come back and work in casinos but to be leaders and professionals. Furthermore, casinos on Saipan will only cause a few hundred people to get jobs, if that many, and most of the jobs will be minimum wage. It is time to stop the “stalling game” to force us to accept casinos and to commit to one of the many alternatives available to re-vitalize our economy.
If wages don’t increase the CNMI may be DOOMED to be run by a non local workforce in all the professional fields and that is a real possibility for the future of the CNMI. So if you think the scholarships are not so important I hope this will make you think again and again because it is not just about students getting a check but the future of local leadership and professional workforce. One people one direction for helping our children and preserving the future for locals!!!
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Former BOE Teacher Rep
