As a newcomer to the island, I took a trip up to the observatory a few days ago. I gently asked the few remaining protesters there what was going on. They were quite informative and told me that their purpose was to protect their sacred ground at the top of the mountain. I thought this was reasonable, because there are many peoples around the world who have sacred grounds, especially on mountains. However, as the conversation continued, I told one of the people there that it was my intention to try to find a home on the island, at which time he told me in no uncertain terms not to do this and to please go home to where I had come from.
I am a British person who was born in Kenya when it was a colony. I was lucky, at age 27, to be able to become a resident of the United States. I love America and a lot of what it stands for in the world today, as much as I love Britain, my native land … truly two great nations which have risen to positions of power, and which, as history has shown, will likely lose those positions eventually to other nations.
As a person of relatively senior years, it has been my observation that it is only “tribal” conflicts that seem to cause problems in the world today. Growing up in Africa, I was exposed to a lot of tribal conflicts. Tribalism and religious intolerance are the things that cause all the problems in the world. I feel that the sooner we all realize that this is one world with one race … the human race … the sooner we will be able to end conflicts and hatred between people.
I felt that is was a shame that a few lost souls sitting it out on the mountain for almost 200 days, some of whom were clearly not Hawaiian (one black man was in the group), were more concerned with dis-annexing Hawaii from the United States and getting rid of all the visitors, than they were about the progress of science and astronomy. The lack of education was evident, and I felt a sadness for these folks because their hearts were filled with resentment. Instead of wasting their lives protesting on the side of the mountain, these young people should be working at jobs and building their lives to become better citizens of this planet.
Surely they must know that their ancestors were also once visitors to these islands, and that since their arrival multitudes of foreigners have arrived here from all over the world. That mix cannot be undone. Trans-migraton is a fact on this planet.
I have been fortunate to have lived and traveled all over the world, and I have never been treated so coldly and rudely, or told by native people to leave their country. This was truly a first for me. My heart was troubled for some time after leaving as I came with only good intent to learn about their protest.
The issue of the sacred land should be addressed, and perhaps there is an answer that could be mutually acceptable to both sides. There are many instances in the world where sacred sites have been moved to allow for progress … churches, cathedrals, monasteries and temples and indeed, even burial grounds … have all been exposed to the movement of progress. This is nothing new.
It occurred to me that there was a deeply magical aspect to the issue because the Polynesians had been the world’s greatest navigators by the stars, and now the world’s largest telescopes that can penetrate into the depths of our universe are positioned on the very land theses Polynesians discovered. The native protesters should be heard and respected, but in turn they should also respect the wheel of progress on this land and not dishonour those who protect them and bring them progress, and perhaps they should be proud that this magnificent aspect of science in located on their island home.
Alexandra Star is a resident of Homer, Alaska.
Viewpoint articles are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of West Hawaii Today.