By Ken Sakamoto,Star-Bulletin

Participating in a cleanup at Magic Island is one way
Micronesians like Keko Fritz, in foreground, and her
10-year-old son Greg, right, contribute and show
their appreciation to Hawaii.

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Micronesians give
back to Hawaii

Isle cleanups are a way to show
gratitude for educational and
employment opportunities

By Susan Kreifels
Star-Bulletin

THE soft lilt of Chuukese flows from Avalynn Fritz, a Kaimuki High School senior who was helping young Micronesians pick up rubbish from a rocky beach at Magic Island.

Fritz moved to Hawaii from the Western Pacific island of Chuuk when she was 8. Her parents, like many Micronesians here, wanted her to get a better education than she would receive in her home islands.

But after Fritz becomes a nurse or teacher, she is considering returning to her home islands. "They need a lot" of educated people, she says, to develop their new nation.

Last weekend, she joined other Micronesians during their fourth Oahu cleanup this year to thank Hawaii for its support. "It's part of helping our community," Fritz said, "and to show Micronesian pride."

The Federated States of Micronesia Consulate organizes such gatherings. Keko Fritz brings her five children each time to teach them "to be good citizens. We don't just live here and get it free. We're doing this to return to the community what they have given us."

The Federated States consul general in Hawaii, Kasio Mida, estimates 2,500 people from Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae live in Hawaii. Most come for better education for their children, and for jobs at a time when their home governments and economies are facing hard times.

Once part of a U.N. trust territory placed under the United States after World War II, the new nations of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States hold 15-year agreements with the United States called Compacts of Free Association which allow free emigration.

The compacts with the Federated States of Micronesia and Marshalls run out in three years, and the island nations must wean themselves from the generous U.S. support of the past.

Micronesian leaders admit that too much of the money went to keeping bloated government bureaucracies afloat rather than stimulating private business.

Bailout loans from the Asian Development Bank require the countries to cut the size of government, making jobs even more scarce.

Some leaders here fear many more Micronesians will emigrate to Hawaii, thus straining the social services of an already strapped state.

Gov. Ben Cayetano is asking Congress to reimburse the state for $11.5 million in social services, primarily educational, that have been provided for more than 4,815 immigrants from the two countries.

So showing appreciation to the state is important to the Micronesians.

The cleanups "teach them the need to contribute to their island community," Mida said.

The group has cleaned up Ala Moana Park twice now: the recent event, and one on July 5 which brought out 50 to 60 people who gathered 120 bags of trash.

They've also cleaned up Ewa Beach, Waimalu, Kalihi Valley and other areas. And some of the stencils on street corners warning against dumping waste that ends up in the ocean are the work of the Micronesians as well.

Community cleanups are not new to them. Mida said their home governments regularly set aside days for community projects, and folks can be fined if they don't help.

Keobol Ranganbay, 11, whose family is from Yap, looks beyond Hawaiian shores when he's cleaning up. "We are here to help our planet be clean."