NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

My testimony give last week to the United Nations Committee of 24 Regional Seminar on Decolonization held in St. Lucia. ***************** A Growing Foundation, but still an Uncertain Future for Guam’s Quest for Decolonization Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Ph.D. Co-Chair, Independent Guåhan Curator, Guam Museum   Si Yu’os Ma’åse na makombibida yu’ mågi ta’lo para bai hu saonao gi este matua na dinanña’. Gi tinestigu-hu på’go, bai hu sangåni hamyo put i halacha na hiniyong gi islå-ku yan i kinalamten-måmi para in gi’ot i direchon-måmi komo taotao.    Your Excellency Chairwoman Keisha McGuire, distinguished delegates, representatives and experts from fellow Non-Self-Governing Territories, I am honored to be here again speaking before you on the topic of Guam and its continuing quest for decolonization. I also want to thank the government and people of Saint Lucia for hosting us on their beautiful island.    In my statements today, I want to provide updates on important w...

"Kao pau hånao ha' si Uncle Sam, anggen manindipendente hit?" Fihu hiningok-hu este na chathinasso ginen i kumunidåt. Anggen mamindipendente hit, u fanmalingu siempre todu i kosas motdeno. U hånao ha’ si Uncle Sam, pau dingu hit ya pau laknos yan bo’ok todu i chinile’-ña mågi. Ti magåhet este. Fihu ti ya-ña i Estådos Unidos umatmitde este, lao guaha obligasion-ña nu hita. Put i ha fitma i charter para i Unidos Nasiones, ha aksepta i responsibilidåt, este mafa’na’an “inanggokko sagrådu” a sacred trust. Na para u ga’chungi hit gi este na chålan mo’na. Guaha meggai na klasen ayudu na ha oblibliga muna’guaha, lao para este na kuestion, uno mås propiu para ta diskuti, i tiempon “transition.” Este na klasen kontråtan, fihu masusedi gi taiguini na klasen tinilaikan pulitikåt gi otro na tåno’ lokkue’. Siña este na tiempon tinilaika tinaka’ uno año, tres años, dies años, pat bente pat trenta años. I inapmåm-ña ha dipepende gi håfa diniside ni’ dos na n...

Media Shouldn't Defend Colonial Status Quoby Michael Lujan Bevacqua January 5, 2018 Pacific Daily News As we crawl out of the dumpster fire that was 2017 for much of the United States and its territories, we inch cautiously into 2018 and hope for the best.  As someone who has been working over the past few years to elevate the community consciousness about decolonization,  I am most interested in what the coming elections and federal cases will bring in terms of changing the island’s political status. What occupies my thought process is the role of the media in helping build that consciousness or impede it. The media institutions in any society don’t just exist to report or investigate. These institutions also, often in less perceptible ways, promote values and norms, usually on behalf of elite segments of society. In a colonial context, these roles gain a colonial dimension. Both institutions and individuals often will be compelled to defend and natur...

It is common in Guam to feel very alone in terms of decolonization. History books and political commentators tend to argue that the age of decolonization is over. It happened in the 1960s or 1970s, and that those who remain colonized missed the boat. They missed the decolonial sakman and are therefore stuck, in whatever political status they have. It is an intriguing way of justifying the status quo. A way of arguing that the current world order or framework isn't simply something that has happened. But rather the end. Teleological or evolutionary, but ultimately that an apex is reached and there can't be any further reconfiguration of power or reality.  In the 1980s this notion was called "The End of History" after Francis Fukuyama. It wasn't real or true, but it felt authentic, in the same way each epoch achieves a certain character or feeling of self-realization. We have seen History continue marching on. And those who still have claims ...

At this year's Regional Seminar for the Committee of 24 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, attendees were treated to two presentations by experts on decolonization from the UN perspective. I'll discuss both presentations through my "Decolonization in the Caribbean" posts, but today I wanted to focus on the remarks from Dr. Carlyle Corbin, from the US Virgin Islands, who is a longtime ally with Guam and the Chamorro people in their struggle for self-determination. He offered a number of recommendations that the Committee could take up in terms of moving ahead with its mission of eradicating colonialism from the world and assisting the remaining non-self-governing territories. What is refreshing in terms of the seminar overall is the way it mixes scholars and experts with diplomats or government reps. The debate or discussions between country representatives and committee members tends to move in familiar and sometimes frustrating directions. Regardless of what is t...

The UN C24 Regional Seminar in St. Vincent and the Grenadines was my fourth occasion to testify as an expert in this setting. My first invitation was in Ecuador in 2013. This was followed by twice in Nicaragua in 2015 and 2016. After going through my old testimonies in preparation for this year's seminar I did not cringe, as I normally would when reviewing old work or writings. I noticed in my first instance of testifying that I was very general and almost theoretical. I was using elements of the dissertation in Ethnic Studies that I had just finished a few years earlier. In the years since I have shifted to providing more updates to the C24 and more facts about what is happening and the impediments that Chamorros and Guam face.  As a bit of nostalgia, I'll post here my testimony from the regional seminar in Quito, Ecuador. ************************ Statement to the Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Third Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism Quito...

As a contemporary colony, Guam doesn't get much attention anywhere. In a world where colonialism isn't supposed to exist anymore, being a colony isn't that great. When you try to articulate your colonial existence people tend to respond in a number of different ways. They may dismiss the colonial nature of your situation since it can't be as bad as colonialism was in the past. They may dismiss your complaints because you come from a small island that should be grateful to be colonized, especially by the most powerful country in the world. They may attempt to correct you and say that Guam is really a territory not a colony. Or a dependency and not a colony. Or a protectorate and not a colony. The United Nations is one of the few places where the idea of there being colonies left in the world isn't controversial, although this remains a salient topic in only certain parts of the bureaucracy. For example, a place like Guam doesn't have much represen...