Faninayan Meetings
-->
Independence for Guåhan Task Force launches Fanhita Campaign
Continues
educational outreach by discussing security threats to Guam and Singapore as a
possible model for independence.
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 – The
Independence for Guåhan Task Force held its second General Assembly on September
22nd at the main pavilion of the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña. More
than 70 people gathered to listen to information presentations, pay tribute to
a Chamorro educational pioneer and also help coordinate small family and organization-based
conversations meant to diversify the ways in which we educate our community
about decolonization and independence.
The meeting opened
with a tribute to Dr. Bernadita Camacho-Dungca, the Chamorro linguist and
indigenous rights activist, best known for her writing the Inifresi who passed away earlier this year. The Inifresi calls on the people of Guam to
pledge to protect and defend the precious natural and cultural resources of
their island. It was in this spirit that this month’s meeting focused on
various ways in which these core elements of our lives are being threatened by
Guam’s use as a strategic base by the United States. Guam’s media and elected
leaders often portray the US bases on island as keeping us safe, however in her
educational presentation Victoria Leon Guerrero, co-chair of the Independence
for Guåhan Task Force, challenged that idea. By weaving together statements from
military commanders and government officials in Asia, she argued that any
current threats to Guam are not aimed at the island or the people themselves,
but rather the US military presence. A presence, that as an unincorporated
territory, Guam has no formal authority over.
Co-chair of the
Educational Development Committee Ana Won Pat-Borja conducted the first in a
monthly series of educational presentations on independent nations that Guam
could use as examples on its own quest for self-governance. Singapore, one of
the Four Asian Tigers and widely considered to be one of the richest countries
in the world was selected given that it is an island and is slightly larger
than Guam in terms of land mass.
The meeting
concluded with Co-Chair of the Campaigns Committee Melvin Won Pat-Borja
introducing the Fanhita initiative,
which aims to bring the Task Force’s educational outreach directly into the
homes and offices of Guam. In addition to offering education through public
meetings such as this, the Task Force is also offering to organize educational
conversations called faninåyan with
smaller groups that are organized by interested members of the community. The
meeting ended several dozen individuals committing to organizing their family
or co-workers to host such a gathering.
The Independence
for Guåhan Task Force will continue to host general assemblies every month, in
addition to other outreach activities, thus providing a regular forum for the
community to ask questions, obtain information and sign up to promote
decolonization and independence for the island. The next General
Assembly Meeting will take place October 27th at the Main Pavilion
in the Chamorro Village.
Comments