Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 3, Number 6, 1 Iune 1986 — Two Respond [ARTICLE]

Two Respond

Letters in response to the recent Ka Wai Ola O OHA page one story on Hawaiian reparations have been received. Two letters and quotes from them eame from: Abbie W. Haure of Honolulu — "I personally feel reparations ean never fulfill or ever totally erase the sorrow and tragedy of my ancestors and to give our native people a bit of money is only a 'conscientious-easer' for their (U.S.) wrong doings. "We deserve the lands ('aina) and every single cent of the U.S. Treasury (deficit) and more . . . Nothing ean ever make up for it."

Someone who signed her letter simply "Leilani" — "I believe that reparations should be made for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom but should not involve taking from non-Hawaiian individuals or giving to Hawaiian individuals. Victims and offenders have passed away. Their descendants are not responsible for the overthrow. We could forever count possible outcomes of what did not happen. We should think instead of recovering from the tragedy and moving forward. "We should use Hawaiian reparations to improve existing educational, health and social services as well as to establish other necessary services for Hawaiians today. Our kupuna will survive only in us. We must therefore leam to take care of ourselves and to share our talents. We may look back sometimes in sadness, but we must always look forward to the hopeful future that is ours to live."