Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 7, 1 July 1994 — South Pacific Commission; Makapuʻu occupation [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
South Pacific Commission; Makapuʻu occupation
bv Moanike'ala Akaka Trusfee, Hawai'i Trustee Kealoha and I attended the South Pacific Commission meeting held May 25 in Noumea, New Caledonia. Pacific nations and countries that colonized the
Pacific — the United States, France and England, along with New Zealand and Australia — attended. The latter fund the SPC, since small Pacific nations laek financial resources. SPC members meet several times a year, in closed and open sessions, to discuss how to improve conditions of Pacific islanders in agricul-
ture, fishing, sustainable development, heahh care. and social programs including technical assistance. However, the donor nations try to control proceedings through purse-string manipulation. The Pacific Women's Resource Bureau, part of SPC, aspires to unite Pacific women to help their families, communities and themselves in development of their island nations. In the past, needs and problems of Pacific women have been obscured when Pacific women were grouped together with Asian women. For example, in 1976 I
attended a U.S. Pacific Women's conferenee in San Francisco. There were over 30 Asian women and three Hawaiian women representing the Pacific. Though we were all females, we experienced different problems, for our histories are very different
and cultural traditions even more so. This May, a Pacific women's conference was held at Noumea, where a Pacific platform for global action was formed. This platform will be shared at an upcoming U.N. conference of women in Beijing. lts key concerns must be addressed in a holistic and integrated way:
• Culture and family • Environment • Heahh • Education and Training • Eeonomie Empowerment • Agriculture and Fisheries • Legal and Human Rights • Shared decision making • Mechanisms to promote advocacy of women • Violence • Peaee and justice • Poverty
• Indigenous people's rights At the SPC, Pacific nation representatives supported the women's platform, knowing their island nations woukl benefit. Delegates of the United States, England and France resisted. These countries give no specific financial support to the Pacific Women's Bureau, and kept trying to denigrate the women's platform, though they elaim to support women's rights in their own countries. Some Pacific islanders felt that the donor nations fear the crucial global issue of indigenous rights. Being part of the United States, we Hawaiians attended this SPC as observers. Some Pacific nations said that we should apply for SPC membership to the SPC. Guam is a member, even though it is part of the U.S. South Pacific nations of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia struggle for self-detennination in the SPC, as we do at
home. We have many of the same problems: we all strive to make things better for our 'āina and people. Although distant, we have mueh in eommon. We must leam from and support eaeh other's slruggle to find our plaee in the global family of nations. Makapu'u At Makapu'u, Truth and History are being played out. As long as Hawaiians are eeonomie and social victims, there will be land occupations. Activism is about a eall for change, so differences within the Hawaiian movement must be expected. Makapu'u is a testing ground. Is it the "1 got mines" Hawaiians versus "I ain't got mines yet." Or shall we eome together in solidarity? Though we may disagree, we all strive to make things better for our people and 'āina, and to keep aloha alive! Mālama pono. Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono.