change

Letters

Tides of

Madam, I have only been here a few weeks, barely enough time to unpack. But in this short time I have been a witness to events that have had a profound effect on me.

It is a daunting task to be the represen tative of our people here in Washington, and it is a task that evokes both great honor and frustration. I listened in frustration to the debates during my first week here on allowing the delegates to vote in the House Committee of the Whole, and I knew then that we have a long way to go in achieving our goals as

a people.

On the steps of the Capitol on January 20, I could see and feel in the 800,000 people gathered there a sense of hope and optimism that President Clinton’s inaug uration embodied.

A tide of change swept the nation in November, and a sea of people testified to the strength of the tide. For a long time \mericans waited, and, as the President >aid, “Our time has come, let us embrace t.” It is a change so deep and wide that t is called generational.

One person who longed for the Tange, and lived just long enough to see

t, was Supreme Court Justice Thurgood

Vlarshall. His life’s work was to effect Tange in the way Americans view ninorities and the less fortunate among is. His monumental arguments against acial segregation in schools and public nstitutions forever uplifted the lives of nillions.

His unwavering defence of civil rights md individual liberty was the corner tone of a new social fabric in America; i new relationship between the races and thnic groups that make up this great ountry.

The people of Guam are asking for no ess than a change of the same magni ude. We are asking to be viewed lifferently; in a new light; in ways that •reak the old stereotypes. We are asking ur a relationship with the federal ;overnment that uplifts us as a people nd empowers us with the dignity of self letermination.

Like Justice Marshall's work, the •regress may be slow, even at times mperceptible. The tide comes in slowly, »ut when it crests, the high tide is

overwhelming. We must not lose our commitment and we must not give up the fight for our dignity when difficulty arises. We must be the agent of change because, ultimately, our time will come too.

Robert A. Underwood,

Guam Delegate, United States Congress Washington, DC

Marshalls’

status

Madame, I enjoyed very much reading about “The fastest canoe in the South Pacific” in your December 1992 issue. We at the Institute have been following this project for some time and are delighted that it has not only succeeded but has received the recognition it deserves.

The publication of this article cer tainly voices your acknowledgment of the importance of maintaining island cul tural identities, an area which is among

our highest priorities.

We were distressed, however, in the

reference to the Marshalls as a “strategic trust of the United States”. Yes, from 1947 until October 1986 it was indeed a strategic trust territory of the United Nations administered by the United States. In 1986 the Compact of Free Association came into effect, recognising their international status in free associ ation with the United States. We were very pleased and we were there when the Republic of the Marshall Island became a member of the United Nations in the fall of 1991.

We very much appreciate PIM, and find it useful in keeping up with what’s happening in the Pacific.

Patricia Luce Chapman, Chair,

The Micronesia Institute, Washington DC, United States of America

Letters To The Editokmust

include writer’s full name, address and telephone number. All letters may be edited for purposes of clarity and space.

Letters should be addressed to: Pacific Islands Monthly, PO Box 1167, Suva,

Fiji

or faxed to: (679) 303809