HERE’S an interesting analogy for all readers to digest and evaluate Mrs. Lifoifoi-Aldan’s outburst. The issue of establishing a Chamorro village is not a new idea. As a matter of fact, former Rep. Frank G. Cepeda, now director for military and veterans affairs, once proposed to create a Chamorro Affairs Office either by renaming the Indigenous Affairs Office or by establishing a new office. He saw that we have become a minority and one of his first and foremost agenda was the creation of a Chamorro village.
Then Rep. Dino M. Jones also proposed a Chamorro village because we were losing our culture and a place for it was urgently needed. Did you ever write a letter to the editor on either of them to oppose their views and quest? Guess not! And suddenly here comes an ordinary citizen deep inside the community who had the guts to tell the government that enough is enough and give us our “patte pareha” and we want it now!
But somehow you had the guts to state that my letters to the editor “does nothing but incite racism and prejudice,” and yet you don’t have the courage, or better yet the “crabs,” to tell the two gentlemen the same thing. Is it because both men are in the political arena, more or less in the “executive and/or managerial level” and so you couldn’t reveal your true feelings, but rather you “fuñol i mala’el-mu” and bombarded someone who is not in a prestigious status? What makes me any different from the two gentlemen?
As I mentioned earlier, I supported your husband’s House Bill 13-46 which calls for the…”creation of a cultural center (consisting of a museum, performing arts center, convention center, coral ocean/seaworld center, ancient Chamorro village, ancient Carolinian village, Micronesian village, handicraft center and food court all arranged around an enhanced wetland and linked by a Sugar King train) to be sited in the undeveloped section of American Memorial Park and to secure the requisite financing for this development….” But just ask around and you’ll be surprise how the indigenous people would rather see their cultural village first and foremost and there will be those who want to see a Carolinian village which I also endorse. Whether be it a “center” or a “village”—what’s the difference?
A center is a place where a particular activity is concentrated whereas a village is a small group of dwellings in a rural area and in this sense culture is the main attraction.
Somehow, Mrs. Lifoifoi-Aldan misconstrued the intent of a Chamorro cultural village, saying that my letters to the editor have no merit, that their content or intention was misleading and detrimental, that they do nothing but incite racism and prejudice. Because I am yelling at the government to give us our “patte parehu”? Is there anything wrong in demanding our government to designate a site long overdue so that I can practice and keep my culture alive? Have you ever wondered for a minute or so why for decades we haven’t had a place to practice our culture? Is it okay for you that we keep our mouth shut and let it pass for another decade? Am I being racist and prejudice to my Micronesian brothers and sisters when I at one time offered to put together a Comprehensive Master Plan for a Micronesian Cultural Center comparable with the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii? And lastly, have your ever wondered what triggered this scenario?
Here’s a closing thought. Create a new cage in your zoo and collect all kinds of “panglao”: “panglao oros,” “panglao lunas,” “hagahaf,” “aguhi.” It will be a unique addition so that visitors can see first hand the different kinds of local crustaceans we have in the Marianas.NOEL QUITUGUA
Chamorro Advocate
Koblerville, Saipan
