UPDATED, May 26, 2001 - 8 pmpm
Marshall Islands Ambassador Visits Springdale High School
Springdale - (May 26, 2001 Springdale Morning News)
Marshall Islands Ambassador Banny de Brum visited Springdale High
School on Friday as part of an outreach to Springdale Marshallese
students. De Brum, along with First Secretary Kristina Stege and
Deputy Chief of Mission Mattian Zackhras, sat in on a meeting with
school officials as well as several Marshallese students. According
to Springdale High School Principal Don Love, the high school has
about 70 Marshallese students. The growing number of Marshallese in
the Springdale area is at least partly attributed to Tyson Foods
facilities. The company has about 300 Asian/Pacific Islanders
employed in Northwest Arkansas and a significant number of those
workers are Marshallese, a Tyson spokesperson said. At the meeting,
several of the Marshallese students spoke about classes, career
goals, cultural challenges and the ESOL Program, a program designed
to help non-English speaking students become more comfortable with
the English language. "I think it's good they can come and go to
school," De Brum said. "It's a freedom. I like them to come here for
education, but if they come here to play around, I don't like that."
NWAonline.net
Ambassador Helps Tell Story Of Marshall Islands
Springdale - (May 26, 2001 Springdale Morning News)
Photo: Banny de Brum, ambassador of the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
was touring various facilities in the Northwest Arkansas area Friday
in preparation for today's annual celebration commemorating the
constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Festivities
will begin with a brief ceremony at 9 a.m. today at the Jones Center
for Families. The president of the Marshall Islands is sending his
representative, Senator Ruben R. Zackhras, to deliver the keynote
speech. "This is my third visit here," De Brum said Friday during a
luncheon stop at the Jones Center. "I've visited the schools and now
the Jones Center -- all the places in the area to pay my respects to
the people who make people who move here from the Marshall Islands
feel at home." Springdale has a growing Marshallese influence, with a
population of approximately 300 in the Springdale School District.
Although the anniversary of the constitution and proclamation of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands is on May 1, Marshallese in the
United States have traditionally held their celebrations on Memorial
Day weekend so that they can have time off from work to take part in
the celebration. De Brum said people from as far away as California
and Oregon come to Arkansas to participate in the three-day
celebration.
NWAonline.net
UPDATED, May 25, 2001 - 6:30pm
RMI Featured Property for Celebrate Asian-Pacific Heritage Month
Joachim de Brum House (Likiep Island, Republic of Marshall Islands)
Constructed by Joachim de Brum around 1900, this house in the central section of
Likiep Island, part of Likiep Atoll (a ringlike string of coral islands and reef
that enclose a lagoon), is believed to be Marshall Islands' only intact plantation
home retaining many original furnishings reflecting the assimilation by islanders of
foreign customs. The house and its remaining contents reflect a bygone era of plantations
and trading during German and Japanese occupation, colonization, World Wars I and II,
and the early Post War Period. It was passed to his descendants at his death and now
remains vacant since many of the family members migrated. Of at least equal historical
significance to the house was its occupant, Joachim de Brum, a true Marshallese
renaissance man. A successful business man--copra (coconut) planter, shipbuilder,
and merchant--he was also a self taught scientist, engineer, and artist of exceptional
ability. Before his death he had designed and built more than 100 wooden sailing ships,
all completely hand crafted without power tools.
National Park Service Registry
National Asia-Pacific Heritage Month
May 2001
The National Register of Historic Places is pleased to promote awareness of and
appreciation for the historical contributions of Asian and Pacific peoples in the
United States and its associated territories. From the early 1800s to the late
20th century, Asian and Pacific peoples have played a vital role in the development
of the United States and made lasting contributions in all elements of American society.
The month of May is recognized as National Asian-Pacific Heritage Month. This year, as
part of the celebration, we are showcasing the rich heritage of Micronesia by
highlighting the islands' listed historic places.
Park Net
UPDATED, May 25, 2001 - 7:00am
In Focus Special: Canoes connect youth to the old ways
(May 25, 200 Pacific Archive)
Traditional canoes are proving a successful way to transport at-risk
young people in the Marshall Islands on a journey of discovery back
to their cultural roots. A community organisation known as the Waan
Aelon in Majol (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) is on a rescue
mission to save the art and skills of canoe building. The project
grew out of an initiative in the late 1980s for the country's museum
to venture to the outer islands and record ancient designs and
building techniques.
At-risk young men and women are being broght into the Waan Aelon in
Majol canoe-building programme, where they are taught how to build
and sail canoes, as well as how to use and maintain the tools
properly."We're teaching them not only to sail these canoes for
sport, but also for fishing, chartering and food-gathering. We also
teach the youth how to build houses, cabinets and fibreglass boats".
One of the projects' 18-foot canoes was recently entered in a
national race and came in second, which Alson Kelen says brought
great pride and self-respect to the young people who built it.
ABC - Go Asia-Pacific
The Death Penalty in Asia-Pacific
Tokyo (May 24, 2001 AFP)
The following is a list of countries in the Asia-Pacific region which
have abolished or retain the death penalty, accordingto Amnesty
International. Asia-Pacific countries whose laws do not provide for
the death penaltyfor any crime:Australia, Cambodia, East Timor,
Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia(Federated States), Nepal, New
Zealand, Palau and Solomon Islands. Asia-Pacific countries whose
laws provide for the death penalty only forexceptional crimes such as
under military law or crimes committed inexceptional
circumstances:Cook Islands and Fiji
China Times
Marshalls Kabua Wants US to Continue Kwajalein Use
Kwajalein (May 11, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
Senator Imata Kabua wants to extend the term of U.S. use of the
Kwajalein missile range in exchange for an increased financial
package, he told the Journal this week. Moreover, he's told U.S.
Ambassador Mike Senko that he won't lead any more "sail-in" protests
at the range. "But there is an agreement (for U.S. use of
Kwajalein). I didn't sign it, but I will honor it." "Everyone agrees.
We don't want the U.S. to leave," he said. "Speaking for myself, I'd
like to give the U.S. indefinite use of Kwajalein, with money put up
front into a trust fund." The issue isn't to get the U.S. out but to
come out with a more fair deal, he said. The U.S. has another 15
years under the current lease, but "if we want to extend it, now is
the time," he said. All of the major Kwajalein landowners are
expected to meet later this month, he said. The gathering of senior
landowners would mark the first of its type since the early days of
the Compact (of Free Association), he indicated.
U.S. Ambassador Senko is also expected to meet with leading Kwajalein
landowners on Ebeye this Friday, which some landowners view as a
significant development in terms of gaining the ear of a top-level
American official.
Pacific Islands Report
Resource: Printable Map of Marshall Islands
Xpeditions Atlas (April 2001)
Detailed map of Marshall Islands made for printing and copying.
National Geographic Society
UPDATED, May 24, 2001 - 7:00am
Marshallese get grant to share culture
SPRINGDALE, AR (May 22, 2001 NWAOnline.net)
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a $10,000 grant to
the Multicultural Center of Northwest Arkansas to assist people who
have moved to the area from the Marshall Islands.
The grant, to be used to share knowledge of Marshallese native arts
and cultural traditions, is the lone recipient in that category
nationally. The Marshallese ambassador and two legislators will visit
Springdale on Thursday through May 29. A brief ceremony is planned at
9 a.m. Saturday at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale in
honor of Marshallese Independence Day.
Northwest Arkansas
Area has more Pacific Islanders
Salem (May 22, 2001 Statesman Journal)
The number of people who call themselves "other Pacific Islanders" in
Marion County surged dramatically between 1990 and 2000, according to
new census data. Those who make up the group come from Micronesia,
Polynesia, Fiji, the Marshall Islands and other islands that until
recently have not been assigned a collective census niche of their
own. Lilly Anni, an 18-year-old Marshallese immigrant who lives in
Salem with her parents and eight siblings, said word does get around
between families in the Salem area and their friends abroad. Her
father, Kiten Anni, a pastor at the Salem First Marshallese Ministry,
said residents of the Marshall Islands — a former American
dependency — can come to the United States easily without going
through the usual immigration channels because of an agreement
between the two governments.
Staemanjournal
Taiwan Makes $1.1 Million Donation
MAJURO (May 18, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
Last Thursday, ROC Ambassador Leo Fu-tien Liu turned over a check for
nearly $1.1 million to Acting Minister of Finance Brenson Wase and
Foreign Minister Alvin Jacklick.The funding, which continues a Taiwan
practice of supporting various government-identified priority areas,
was for the following projects: Majuro fire station, $44,578.10;
Nitijela/capital building repairs, $107,730.07; Majuro Atoll Local
Government City Hall project, $14,611.55; Majuro secondary road
paving, $688,562.22; Majuro Legal Services/Public Defender offices,
$81, 153.56; Mobilization for Laura police substation, $26,717.70;
Mobilization for elementary school roofing and repairs, $127,699.53
(Delap Elementary School, $58,800; Rairok/Ajeltake Elementary
Schools, $43,987.50; Laura Elementary School $24,912.03).
PIR
Hong Kong Firm to Begin Shark Fishing
MAJURO (May 11, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
A Hong Kong company recently signed an agreement with the Marshall
Islands to begin the first-ever large-scale longline shark fishing in
the RMI's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).Resources and
Development Minister John Silk and Edgewater company representative
Jimmy Ng signed the agreement that grants the locally-registered
company rights to bring in up to 20 longline vessels for shark
fishing.The Marshalls is to receive $2,000 per month per vessel
fishing in the RMI, five percent of the value of the catch (similar
to tuna agreements), and a $200 transshipment fee. The boats are
required to transship their catch at a Marshall Islands Marine
Resources designated area. The new agreement allows the vessels to
fish for sharks anywhere in RMI waters, except within the 50-
mile "exclusion" zones around Majuro and Kwajalein, and within five
miles of any atoll or island, unless an agreement is reached with the
relevant local government.
PIR
UPDATED, May 20, 2001 - 7:00 pm
Island 'paradise' rising from fallout
Livermore (May 13, 2001 Tri-Valley Herald)
For 16 years, Rongelap Island has been deserted, save for the construction workers who are preparing the island for resettlement and the researchers, led by Lawrence Livermore Laboratory experts, who continue to monitor the radioactive contamination. Matayoshi, mayor of the Rongelap Atoll Local Government, said the island may soon be safe for residents to return again. During regular visits to Rongelap Island, Hamilton and other researchers use radiation detectors and collect samples of fruits for analysis at the lab. Livermore Lab also operates a training center for Marshall Islands residents to teach them how to operate equipment that measures radiation doses. A health center has been constructed at Rongelap Island to monitor radiation levels in workers and those who will eventually resettle the island, and another center has been built at Eniwetok. Local people will conduct the health screening. Simon Langinbelik, one of three Marshallese residents who completed six weeks of training at Livermore Lab on May 4, will work at the Rongelap health center. Langinbelik's mother was 12 when she was forced to leave Rongelap after the Bravo nuclear test. At the health center on Rongelap Island, Langinbelik and another researcher will sample cesium-137 levels in residents using a sensitive whole-body detector called a Masse Chair. Residents must sit still in the chair for about 15 minutes for an accurate reading, and a computer workstation prints out a report in both English and Marshallese. Today, a team of lab researchers is embarking on a trip to Eniwetok Atoll to deliver another Masse Chair for use by the 900 residents there.
Newschoice
1954 explosion was 'the most God-awful sight you ever saw'
Special (May 13, 2001 Tri-Valley Herald)
In the predawn hours of March 1, 1954, James L. Coffey stood on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Bairoko, facing away from the massive explosion. "Everything turned one color -- a grayish color," said Coffey, 72, who served as an electronics technician. He turned to see the fiery aftermath of the blast rising quickly into the sky. It was the largest hydrogen bomb test ever conducted by the United States. "It reminded me of a volcano going up into the air. We were 50 miles out and it was huge. We could see the sonic wave coming across the water. When it hit it was just like a vacuum -- it just sucked up the air," he recalled. The Bravo test, conducted by Los Alamos Laboratory scientists, had gone horribly wrong.
Though scientists had predicted a yield of 5 megatons -- equal to 5 million tons of TNT -- the actual blast measured 15 megatons. It erased a small island and created a mile-wide crater in Bikini Atoll. The sea around the test was littered with dead fish and tree debris. He didn't realize the dust was radioactive and he went back to sleep. A shipmate woke him up later and told him about the fallout. Members of the crew placed a Geiger counter on him "and it went right to the top," Lundine said. He was told to strip his clothes off, and crew members rinsed him off with salt water until the Geiger counter readings began to fall.
"The monitor guy -- he told me, 'If you'd have stayed, you'd start bleeding very shortly out of the ears and nose,' " Lundine said.
Radiation burns appeared around Lundine's waistline. "It looked like somebody took a cigarette and burned me three or four times," he said.
Newschoice
UPDATED, May 20, 2001 - 6:00 am
Tole Mour preserved health and life in Pacific islands
SEATTLE (May 18, 2001 Seattle Post Intelligencer)
Once on a mercy mission to Marshall atolls, tall ship will become a floating classroom. The 156-foot white-hulled vessel left here 14 years ago, bearing a cargo of dentists and doctors bound for the Marshall Islands on a five-year health mission. Retired Seattle dentist Douglas Leen was among those early participants on the health mission, and yesterday he was in his own 102-year-old live-aboard tug, Katahdin, to help shepherd his old friend into port. He spent two tours totaling four months in the Marshalls, a parallel string of 34 Pacific islands just north of the equator and just west of the international dateline. "Think of the worst Third World problems and those are the problems faced by the Marshallese," Leen said. "They have First World diseases -- from heart disease and diabetes to dental decay -- but no tools to cope. By the mid-1990s, however, the times and medical missions changed as Marshallese counterparts replaced the American teams using smaller power craft rather than the big sailing vessel.
Seattle P-I.com
Passport Warning
(From Raytheon HRO News))
Passports are becoming a necessary requirement for international travel, even for travel between the US and the Marshall Islands. The INS is cracking down. INS laws require that all US citizens must have a passport to enter the US from the eastern hemisphere. Passengers attempting to transit through Honolulu International Airport and Hickam Air Force Base without passports are experiencing frustrating delays and some have been detained.
KWA NATCA
France beats wardrum on tax havens
PARIS (May 17, 2001 AFP)
France called on Thursday for the United States to stay engaged in the war on tax havens and money laundering, amid signs that the United States may be beating a retreat from the OECD-backed campaign. US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has raised objections to the OECD-backed program of encouraging suspect countries to tighten up tax rules. O'Neill warned last Friday against interference in a state's internal affairs, saying that he was concerned over the direction the OECD initiative was taking, particularly the notion that a country or group of countries could interfere in how a sovereign state organised its fiscal system. In June last year, the OECD singled out 35 countries for dubious fiscal policies, urging them to clarify their methods or face the threat of sanctions. And in February this year, the OECD-backed independent Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering said it was leaving unchanged its blacklist of 15 jurisdictions named as "non-cooperative" in the anti-money laundering campaign.The 15 suspects included Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Niue.
Yahoo! Hong Kong News
Asia-Pacific mayors talk trash, trees
Honolulu (May 5, 2001 Star-Bulletin)
Taking care of the environment and taking care of people's economic well-being are complementary issues, agreed presenters and attendees yesterday at the Mayors' Asia-Pacific Environmental Summit. Developing countries have said, in effect: "We want to develop as you did it in the developed countries. Let's be rich first and clean up later," Topfer said. But the truth is, there are not enough resources for every developing country to "make the mistakes" of the developed ones. "Early or later, you have to invest simultaneously in changes in behavior and changes in technology," he said. Abon Jeadrick is city manager of Kwajalein Atoll, population 10,000, in the Marshall Islands. His main mission at the summit is to gather information about the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to expand the life of the atoll's landfill.
Star-Bulletin Online
Rare Opportunity to Look for Ashen Light
Newsgroups (April 20, 2001 sci.astro.research)
I encourage you to spread this announcement far and wide. We especially
need to get the word out to amateur astronomers residing in the Republic
of the Marshall Islands. On 17 July 2001, the waning crescent Moon occults the
68-percent-illuminated disk of Venus. The disappearance event is just a warm-up act; it is Venus's
reappearance from behind Luna that is the more noteworthy performance
For the 17 July event, the optimal viewing zone covers an expanse of the
western Pacific Ocean stretching from Wake Atoll south through the eastern-
most Marshall Islands. (At locations west of the International Date Line,
be advised the occultation is on the morning of 18 July, local time.)
Might the Kwajalein Missile Range personnel be persuaded to aim their
optics at Venus on that fateful July morning? The following data give a general
indication of the occultation's circumstances and observability for a select few sites..
Google Newsgroups
Majuro getaway: Island hospitality and an abundant underwater life lure tourists to our neighboring islands
Majuro (April 12, 2001 Guam Pacific Daily News)
Strapped into a seat on a 737 about to descend on Majuro, I began to ponder how this behemoth of a jet would land on the slim dot in the ocean below. Majuro is 30 miles long and at the widest point 1/2 mile wide boarding a lagoon on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. But as we made our final approach I appreciated the ingenuity of the architects that have made landing there a safe and unique experience. Majuro is one of 29 coral atolls which make up the Marshall Islands and it is the capital for the region. Driving from the airport to the downtown hotels the beauty and adaptability of the island is striking. Lagoon Road, the main throughfare that runs the breadth of the island, is lined with homes and businesses all placed in a space where you can easily see the tropical waters on either side in most places. The main industries on the atoll are fishing and copra (dried coconuts) but tourism is beginning to flourish. Last year about 1,300 tourists came to the island. The people of Majuro speak Marshallese and English and are very hospitable. The main Marshallese word to remember is Iokwe (pronounced yokwe) it means, hello, goodbye and love. ed note: Includes pictures not of Marshall Islands(?).
Pacific Daily News
UPDATED, May 17, 2001 - 7:00 am
MOFA Denies Impropriety in Donations for MH
Taipei (May 16, 2001 CNA)
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) denied news
reports Wednesday that the Republic of China Naval Friendship
Flotilla, which has just concluded its 90-day, eight-nation tour, had
allegedly sold rations to Taiwanese businessmen when it docked at the
Marshall Islands. Chang Siao-yue, the MOFA spokeswoman, said that the
ROC Embassy in the Marshall Islands donated the goods, such as packs
of instant noodles, to hospitals in the Marshall Islands and that
Marshall Islands' government officials have thanked the ROC for the
donation. Chang said that the Marshall Islands was the last leg of
the naval goodwill flotilla and officers of the flotilla unloaded
more supplies than was expected by local officials. Chang pointed
out that ROC Ambassador to the Marshall Islands Liu Tien-fu had
decided to donate the goods to local hospitals and officials of the
Marshall Islands have accepted the donation on behalf of the
government and the hospital.
Taipei News
Pacific group condemns missile shield
SYDNEY (May 16, 2001 Newswire)
A South Pacific human rights group has called on regional nations to
oppose a U.S. proposal for a global missile defense shield. The Fiji-
based Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (PCRC) said plans to develop a
missile shield would mean the region would involve test firings from
the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands. "In the long term, tests
could spark a new nuclear arms race and restart nuclear testing in
the Pacific," said the PCRC, an umbrella group for various civil
groups and non-governmental organizations in the region. "It is
vital that Pacific island leaders unite in opposition to the Star
Wars project -- the region should not be used as a testing ground for
U.S. weapons systems." A U.S. military base in Kwajalein is used to
fire the "kill engine" while targets are launched from California.
CNN
2001 Basic Education Action Plan - 2001
Auckland, New Zealand (May 15, 2001 Forum Secretariat)
Ministers of Education of the Pacific Islands Forum met in Auckland
on the 14th and 15th of May 2001 to consider issues related to human
resource development in the Forum region. The meeting was chaired by
the Honourable Young Vivian, Minister of Education for Niue.
Ministers from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji,
Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the
Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga attended the
meeting, with Australia, Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu and Vanuatu also
represented. Ministers deliberated on issues concerning the delivery
of basic education to the peoples of the Pacific. Ministers
acknowledged that there are weaknesses in education systems as
indicated by drop-out and repeater figures and in terms of basic
literacy and numeracy achievements. The school curricula, despite
attempts at redirecting these to vocational needs, remain largely
academic and do not fully meet needs of all Pacific students. (read
the entire 11-page report.)
PIR
Learning Curves -Competition Drives School Improvement
By Francis X. Hezel, S.J. (May 2001 Issue)
For over 20 years now, since self-government began in the late 1970s,
the new nations in the American-affiliated islands of Micronesia have
been running their own school systems. It's time to step back, look
at their performance, and ask just how good their schools are.
Teachers assign students grades and give them report cards to measure
their progress. Why shouldn't administrators grade their schools on
their performance in an effort to determine how the education system
under their care is doing? Statistics show most Mashallese students
don't graduate from high school. Of the 77 public elementary schools
in the Marshalls only seven have had a pass rate of 50 percent or
higher on the high school entrance test. In all but nine of these
schools over half the eighth-grade class failed basic standards for
English, Marshallese, and math
Pacific Island Magazine
Education Outpost Discussion Forums
May Update
The forum encourages posts of education news, opportunties, and
scholarship notices. Join the dialog about the status of education in
the Marshall Islands. Also, keep informed about student and school
news. Post your comments about the current event report, "Learning
Curves." Other recent posts include: Islands of Excellence, Looking
for students rejected by Kwaj, Scholarships and Grants, and more.
Yokwe Online Forums
UPDATED, May 14, 2001 - 6:00am
This week in Marshall Islands history
The Marshall Islands was in the midst a serious water shortage and record-
breaking drought during the first half of 1998. The entire Pacific region
was being affected by the El Nino warming. On March 20, US President Clinton
declared the RMI in an official state of emergency with FEMA pledging $980,000.
Aid and relief began to pour into the islands.
Yokwe Online
Big Island company seeks $2 million loan for MH
Hawaii (May 14, 2001 Pacific Business News Exclusive)
Known for its deep-ocean water technology used to create sustainable
habitats in coastal desert areas, Big Island-based Common Heritage
Corp. rented a booth at the Asian Development Bank conference this
week seeking $2 million to begin building two 100-acre habitats in
the Republic of the Marshall Islands. "We have been commissioned by
President Note of the Marshall Islands to put together teams to
accomplish these two facilities and to raise the money and carry it
out," says Common Heritage President John Craven. "It will benefit
agriculture [and] aquaculture, generate energy [and] fresh water and
provide a sustainable low-cost cooling system and costs saving in the
long run," says Marshall Islands President Kessai Note.
Common Heritage has been working on developing a deep-ocean water
sustainable habitat for the Marshall Islands, which lie about 2,000
miles southwest of Hawaii, for about a year. Executives at the firm
hope connections made at the Asian Development Bank will enable the
project to move forward.
Pacific Business Journals Online
Fleet returns from overseas tour
KAOHSIUNG (May 13, 2001 Taipei Times)
After setting many naval records, a flotilla yesterday returned as
scheduled to Taiwan following a three-month journey across the
Pacific Ocean to visit diplomatic allies. "Among the eight countries
visited by us, five countries had their heads of state receive us in
person. Of the other three countries, two sent their vice presidents
and one their defense minister to welcome us," Kao said. Kao also
took the opportunity to deny media reports that the fleet had
received instructions from the government to change their course and
not visit the Marshall Islands while on their way across the Pacific.
The US State Department reportedly informed officials in Majuro, the
Marshall Islands' capital, that the visit of the three Taiwan naval
vessels would not be permitted, invoking its defense veto power under
the Compact of Free Association for the first time since it was
implemented in 1986. The US ambassador to Majuro, Michael Senko,
acknowledged at the time that pressure had come from China to put a
stop to the port call.
Taipei Times Online
ENVIRONMENT: Sea Grant program opens Majuro meeting
Majuro (May 10, 2001 Pacific Daily News)
The Sea Grant regional consortium, designed to sustain and preserve
marine resources to benefit future generations in the Pacific
Islands, has begun meeting in Majuro. Representatives from several
institutions of higher learning in U.S.-affiliated islands, including
Guam, have come together to form the consortium to gain regional Sea
Grant status. "We can get together under way in the exploration and
sustainability of our islands," College of Marshall Islands president
Alfred Capelle told the group. "It is up to us to lead the way... The
ocean is our link, so it is very appropriate that we work together."
PINA
More RMI citizens Joining Air Force (pdf file)
Kwajalein( April 24, 2001 Volume 41, Number 32)
Junior Suan was the best of the best when he tested to be in the
first group of Marshallese students accepted into Kwajalein schools in
1986. But a rebellious streak almost cost him his high school diploma
in 1999, forcing him to finish his degree after the rest of his
classmates graduated. However, after joining the Air Force, he's
flying the straight andnarrow path these days.
Suan, along with lifelong classmate Jeiar Sam,
are part of a small but growing number of Marshallese who are
choosing to join the Air Force for its career and educational
opportunities. Resident Ray Denham, retired after 27 years in the Air
Force as a master sergeant, has been an enormous influence and help in
getting them and others aboard. Also playing a key role for both
young men was the Kwajalein school system, which they began in
1986 in kindergarten. Suan and Four RMI citizens are now members of
the Air Force thanks to Denham. There are two more in the hangar, he
said.
The Hourglasss (4/24/01 PDF)
Military Recruiting in the RMI - Current Events Forum
Read the lively posts and debate from March 12 to present
and contribute your views.
Yokwe Online Forums
UPDATED, May 8, 2001 - 3:30pm
Scot held over Star Wars protest in Pacific
Issue 1321 (May 8, 2001 - The Herald News)
Mike Townsley, of Greenpeace International, was arrested along with a
Danish woman after the pair gained access to the US Army missile-
testing range on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Marshall Islands.
Greenpeace said yesterday that Mr Townsley and Anne Marie Rasmussen,
21, who volunteered for Greenpeace duty two years ago, entered the
base carrying a banner saying "Just Say No" and were arrested at a
radar site which the organisation claims is used in the Star Wars
missile tests.
Their detention by a group of military personnel came just minutes
after landing ashore at the range from an inflatable.
It said the two had been detained in custody by the local police
force on Ebeye, one of the Marshall Islands.
"It's all very unclear what is happening to them," said a Greenpeace
colleague. "It may be that there will be some sort of hearing in the
next two days. We understand that if they plead guilty the prosecutor
will be seeking a one-month jail sentence, but with only seven days
being served. If they deny charges there will be a trial. We have an
attorney on the ground."
The Electronic Herald
Crew diaries and webcasts from the Rainbow Warrior en-route to the
Kwajalein Atoll missile testing grounds
Ebeye (April 14 Update 2001)
Last week we visited the small island of Likiep named after the
Likiep atoll where it resides. The residents were jovial and friendly
and, I was informed, open to trade only, "How much?" and similar
statements are not used in their daily language. This is truly a
special place, the bore well water through the coral is good. On
fishing day, the day prior to the arrival of the inter-island supply
ship, the men can catch many large fish, enough to help sustain the
whole island economy, a local man tells me.
Greenpeace
3 North Pacific leaders meet, focus on communication development
Palikir (May 8, 2001 FSM Information Service)
Communication development featured as leaders of Federated States of
Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau held a historic meeting in
Pohnpei. President Leo A. Falcam, of the Federated States of
Micronesia; President Kessai Note, of the Marshall Islands; and
President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr, of Palau; established a new forum
for cooperation.Palau invited the Marshall Islands and the Federated
States of Micronesia to participate in Palau's effort to join the
National Exchange Carrier Association, an effort it believes will
result in reduced long distance phone charges.The Federated States of
Micronesia led a discussion directed at bringing the three nations
together to explore available options for connecting to future
international fiber-optic cables proposed for the region by
international carriers. This effort would complement the current
effort of the three States to gain access to a $17 million
telecommunications grant from the Japanese Government to establish a
stronger information and communications technology.
PINA Nius Online
Asian Development Bank's new policy for the Pacific Islands
Majuro (May 8, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
The Asian Development Bank has a new strategy for the Pacific, one
that moves away from the cookie-cutter "one blueprint fits everyone"
policy that has governed its work in the region until recently. In
its Pacific Strategy for the New Millennium, the Asian Development
Bank notes that the Marshall Islands had negative growth rates from
1996-1998, with a slight upturn in 1999 to 0.5 percent growth. This
compared to the Federated States of Micronesia's 0.3 percent growth
and Fiji at the top with 6.6 percent.
The Marshall Islands is listed in the middle in the United Nations
Development Program's Human Poverty Index for the Pacific.
"Pervasive poverty has never been a major problem in the RMI, due to
extended family ties," the Asian Development Bank said.
But the reason the Marshall Islands doesn't have a better ranking is
because 25.6 percent of its adults are illiterate, 23.5 percent of
the population doesn't have access to safe water and nearly one in
five children are underweight for their age, the Asia Development
Bank said.
PINA Nius Online
First Judicial Pay Raises in 18 Years
MAJURO (April 26, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
The Nitijela's (legislature's) approval of raising salaries for all
sectors of the RMI (Republic of the Marshall Islands) court system
was hailed by a High Court judge as an important step in raising the
professionalism of the Marshallese judiciary from top to bottom.
Majuro Senator Alik Alik also told the Journal that the amendment to
the judiciary act -- the first such change to judges' salaries in 18
years -- strengthens the independence of the judiciary.The bill
provides community court judges with an annual salary of $2,400.
Previously, these judges had no regular salary and were paid $2 an
hour for work performed, which translated into just a few dollars
annually because of the light workload. The new law raises the salary
level for the High Court Chief justice from $45,000 to $55,000-
$60,000; associate justices from $40,000 to $50,000-$55,000;
presiding judge of District Court from $18,000 to $28,000-$30,000.
PIR
RMI Seeks Assistance with Enniburr, Ebeye Projects (PDF File)
Kwaj (April 20, 2001 Volume 41, Number 31)
An idea by the RMI government to supply electricity to Third Island
from Roi-Namur has sparked
interest at USAKA, though a plan to carry out the work is nonexistent
at this time.On Ebeye, the RMI government is looking for USAKA™s help
in transitioning its services to the new Ebeye Hospital, which is now
scheduled to open Oct. 1. Originally set to
open its doors by July, the hospital sat unused for years before work
on the facility was renewed in earnest late last year. Also under the
HAP, and as discussed at a working-level JCM in
November, Lae and Ujae atolls will receive $80,000 to construct water
catchment systems on both atolls using the local labor force and
volunteers, according to Beal.
And back at Kwajalein Atoll, under the Humanitarian Civic Action
Program, a school house will be built on
Carlos Island. Troops from the Wisconsin National Guard are expected
to arrive here July 3.
The Hourglass (4-20-01 pdf)
UPDATED, May 5, 2001, 1:00 pm
Gross Domestic Product Declines 2% in 2000
Asian-Pacific Development Outlook 2001 (April 2001 New Publication)
Marshall Islands - Economic Trends and Prospects:
Due to contractions in trading and transport, primary production, and
manufacturing, real GDP declined by about 2 percent in 2000. Along
with modest growth prospects in the medium term, the economy faces a
major challenge in moving toward greater self-reliance and providing
employment for the growing labor force. Exports in 2000 increased by
9.7 percent to $7.9 million, while imports declined slightly to $58.8
million. The trade deficit in 2000 represented 53 percent of GDP, a
slight deterioration from the 1999 deficit. The current account in
2000 showed a surplus equivalent to 7.6 percent of GDP. On the
capital account, the main item was loan repayments, which absorbed
most of the current account surplus. External assistance rose to 70
percent of GDP, from 44 percent of GDP in 1999; the largest component
was the payment from the US under the Compact of Free Association.
Taipei,China made a large grant of $19 million. According to the 1999
census, 69 percent of the labor force of 14,700 were employed,
including those in subsistence activities. Formal sector employment
is estimated to be as low as 54 percent. Around 31 percent of those
employed work in the public sector. Given that the public sector,
excluding state-owned enterprises, accounts for about one third of
economic activity, it is therefore unlikely that GDP will grow in
2001.
ADB
What next for the copra?
Majuro (May 4, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal/PINA Nius Online)
The collapse of the world coconut oil market - which has caused copra
prices to plunge in the Marshall Islands - is spurring the government
to move quickly in an effort to develop other coconut products to
generate exports and locally saleable products.
The world market price for coconut oil has dropped more than 60
percent in the past 15 months and there is little optimism of any
improvement in world prices in the foreseeable future, said Resource
and Development Minister John Silk.
Since the mid-1990s, the Tobolar Copra Processing Authority has been
attempting to build and start an oil refinery to produce edible oil,
both for export and the local market, according to R&D Minister John
Silk.Late last year, the Cabinet approved completing the refinery,
using Republic of China (Taiwan) funding, he said. Silk said the
refinery should be completed by October this year, now that equipment
is on order.
Pacific Magazine
Pacific Countries' Growth Set To Resume After Slowdown in 2000
Manilla (April 19, 2001)
Solid medium-term growth prospects are forecast for Pacific
developing countries after the subregion experienced a contraction in
2000, according to the Asian Development Outlook 2001 (ADO), released
today by the Asian Development Bank. Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Marshall
Islands, and Solomon Islands saw their economies contract.
Meanwhile, declines in real GDP in Kiribati and the Marshall Islands
were largely due to contractions in the industry sector and weaker
domestic demand...Except for Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Papua
New Guinea, and Vanuatu, overall balance-of-payments positions
deteriorated in the subregion, mainly due to higher oil costs in
2000. The balance-of-payments positions in 2000 improved markedly due
to a stronger US dollar in the Marshall Islands....Inflation is
projected to fall in most Pacific countries ... The exceptions are
Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands, and Samoa, with a buildup of
inflationary pressure in the latter expected due to strong economic
growth.
ADB
Adminstration Endorses Budget for Islands
Washington, DC (April 9, 2001 Office of Insular Affairs Press Release)
President Bush's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2002 contains $341.3
million in financial assistance for the insular areas provided
through the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs.
Also included in the permanent appropriations is $144.6 million for
Compact of Free Association payments to the Federated States of
Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the
Republic of Palau (Palau). The initial 15-year period of financial
assistance for the FSM and the RMI expires at the end of Fiscal Year
2001. However, the Compact provides for a two-year transition period
while negotiations continue on future assistance. During this
transition period, assistance to the FSM will increase by nearly $17
million and assistance to the RMI will increase by about $5.5
million, based on a formula contained in Section 231 of the Compact.
Department of the Interior
Arizona Central
UPDATED, May 3, 2001 - 6:00am
Marshalls summit focuses on outer islands' needs
Majuro
(May 1, 2001 Marianas Variety/PINA Nius Online)
Long unattended development needs of people living on remote outer
atolls in the Marshall Islands became the focal point of a National
Economic and Social Summit. Seven days of meetings involved more than
300 Marshall Islanders from government, business and community groups
throughout this nation of 51,000. They brought needed attention to
the historically ignored outer islands population, said several
summit participants. This was the second annual summit in the
Marshalls. It was geared toward providing recommendations for a long-
term strategic development plan that is being prepared to present to
the U.S. government for future financial aid to replace economic
provisions of a treaty that expires in 2003. "Everyone walked away
from the sustainable development committee smarter and more aware
about life on the outer islands," said Baron Bigler, who chaired the
small group that was dominated by women from the outer
islands. "People from the outer islands are asking for basic –
simple - things," he said. The government, on the other hand, "thinks
in such grandiose" terms that aren't addressing more modest needs on
the outer islands, Bigler said.
Pacific Magazine
Work Ethic: Marshall Islands
EDITORIAL (April 19, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
Early last year, the Journal published a story about then new
President Kessai Note suggesting that government workers simply show
up to their offices on time and, uh, work. To emphasize the story, we
titled it "Kessai's radical action plan: Show up, do your job." The
work ethic had bottomed out to such a degree that it almost did seem
like a radical idea to ask people to come to work on time and to work
eight hours a day. For all the talk about sustainable development,
next week's National Economic and Social Summit and the like, the
issue of real development boils down to the simple fact that real
progress -- in health, education, business or the grandiose idea of
nation building -- requires hard work, innovation and a willingness
to risk deviating from the status quo.
PIR
Australia to Host Workshop on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of
Chemistry Under the Chemical Weapons Convention
Media Release (April 30, 2001 Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs)
Australia will host a regional workshop and symposium on the Chemical
Weapons Convention (CWC) from 30 April to 3 May 2001.The Australian
Government together with the Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute
(RACI), will host the workshop in Melbourne. It will bring together
academic, chemical industry and government representatives from 14
South East Asian and the South Pacific countries to explore ways of
promoting regional cooperation in the field of chemistry. It is the
first time such a workshop is to be held in the Southern Hemisphere
and in addition to Australia will involve the following countries:
New Zealand, the Philippines, Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos,
Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji,
Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands, and the Marshall Islands.
Department of Foreign Affairs
The Yokwe Online Forums
continue to draw interesting, and sometimes,
controversial comments about current affairs, politics, and Marshall
Island life. If you haven't visited the Forums lately, you have been
missing out! Often the forums have been in the forefront of producing
news and information before it is posted elsewhere.
Yokwe Online
UPDATED, May 3, 2001 - 6:00am
Outrigger Race Now a Mainstay in Majuro
By Giff Johnson (May 2001 Issue)
Ten years ago, the sight of an outrigger canoe's triangular sail
coasting across Majuro Atoll's lagoon was a novelty on the order of a
busload of Japanese tourists visiting the Marshalls' capital city —it
was a moment as rare as it was surprising. In the new millennium,
however, almost a day doesn't go by when there aren't at least a
couple of canoes crisscrossing the lagoon. And barely a week has gone
by since the beginning of 2001 without a sailing race. As the fifth
annual Outrigger Marshall Islands Cup race approached in early May,
the pace of racing and canoe preparations picked up in Majuro and
many remote outer islands. The Cup race is sponsored by the Outrigger
Marshall Islands Resort, and has become a focal point for the rebirth
of traditional sailing canoes in this central Pacific nation. The
first year of the Cup race, just a handful of canoes joined in. Last
year, the number was up to nearly 20, and at least as many are
expected this year.
Pacific Magazine
Marshalls Canoe Building Takes Off
By Giff Johnson (May 2001 Issue)
Any day is a good day to sail an outrigger canoe. But the launching
of a 23-foot outrigger in Majuro late last year was special because
it was the first canoe to be built by Waan Aelon in Majol (WAM —
Canoes of the Marshall Islands), a program that has graduated from
its original phase in the early 1990s of documenting traditional
canoe designs to actual building and training programs for Marshall
Islands youth. WAM trainees are now working on another mid-sized
outrigger, known as "tipñol", with plans for a larger, 30
foot "walap" (voyaging canoe). WAM evolved from an earlier initiative
of the Alele Museum, which set out to document all major canoe
designs in the country — before they were lost. The documentation
program, which started in the late 1980s and was headed by American
boat builder Dennis Alessio, produced detailed written materials,
photographs and video tapes that show how a half a dozen different
styles of outriggers are built in the Marshalls, forever preserving
this art on which Marshall Islands culture is heavily based.
Pacific Magazine
UPDATED, May 1, 2001 - 12:30pm
Complaints Mount Agaist Postal System
MAJURO (April 20, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
RMI and U.S. postal service officials were hit with a barrage of
questions and complaints about mail service by people attending last
week's Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Outrigger (hotel).Leo
Tudela, the USPS country manager for the Freely Associated States in
Honolulu, was on hand for the meeting, as was RMI postmaster Sailass
Andrike and his deputy, Danny Note, Continental regional manager Art
Day, and Asia Pacific vice president Robert Walker, who operates a
weekly mail charter service to Majuro. Tudela made clear during the
meeting that: The RMI Postal Service is an independent agency under
the Ministry of Finance, not under the control of the USPS. "Once the
mail lands at Majuro, it's under RMI authority," Tudela said.
PIR
EDITORIAL: Ignoring Postal System Problems
(April 26, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
Obviously there's a problem that is in need of serious attention.
What does the RMI Post Office need? A new facility? Reorganization
and new systems for sorting and handling mail? New policies and
practices so that when customers arrive at 8:30 in the morning,
counter staff have change and stamps? These and other measures? No
single one of these items listed above will do the job. It will take
a combination of efforts. But first it's going to take the national
government – that's the Ministry of Finance, which has responsibility
for the RMI Post Office – deciding that, yes, this essential service
needs to get attention, resources and action. One way to get some
solid recommendations for action is to appoint an independent panel
to address the concerns of the public and the management of the Post
Office. How about a panel of the Secretary of Finance, the Chief
Secretary and three private sector representatives for a review?
PIR
Pacific countries discuss OECD's tax haven initiative
World News (April 30, 2001)
Ministers and officials from seven Pacific Island Forum countries
listed by the OECD as "tax havens" have met in Suva to discuss the
organisation's Harmful Tax Competition Initiative. The Ministers and
officials from Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Samoa,
Tonga and Vanuatu were joined by representatives from Australia, New
Zealand and the OECD Secretariat. Acting Secretary General of the
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat said the seven nations did not have
the resources of OECD members to address the issue of harmful tax
competition.
Radio Australia
U.S. Investigation MH Federal Programs
MAJURO (April 20, 2001 Marshall Islands Journal)
A team of three U.S. General Accounting Office staff members are in
Majuro assessing U.S. federal program assistance to the RMI and
issues related to out-migration of islanders to the United States.
The GAO is also looking at the impact of migration by Marshall
Islanders to the U.S.
This is the third phase of an exhaustive American government review
of U.S. assistance to the RMI and Federated States of Micronesia as
part of the renegotiation of economic provisions of the Compact of
Free Association.
PIR
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