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A rift in the ohana KAUNAKAKAI , Molokai >> As emotions swelled about the arrival of the first cruise ship on The Friendly Isle, I thought of the 'olelo no'eau, the Hawaiian proverb collected by Mary Kawena Pukui.
Cruise ships are testing the
depth of aloha on The Friendly IsleStories by Heidi Chang
Special to the Star-Bulletin'A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka hälau ho'okahi.
All knowledge is not taught in the same school.
One can learn from many sources.
As I talked story with folks on Molokai about the cruise ship controversy, it seemed as if each source opened another door. I was visiting my family on the island when the cruise ship Statendam was scheduled to stop there just before the new year.
But the ship's visit was canceled because of high winds and rough seas. So it sailed on, leaving many -- supporters, protesters, spectators and those caught in the middle -- divided over whether the ship should make scheduled stops.
The ship has become the focal point of a conflict about balancing the island's economic survival with preserving its fragile environment and protecting the lifestyle. It's a way of life closely connected to the land and sea.
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Others believe that what makes Molokai so special also may be at risk: the friendly attitude of the people who live here and their heartfelt aloha. Some worry this latest rift could damage relationships within the Molokai ohana -- all the people of The Friendly Isle.That concern was apparent in the community long after the television cameras recording the protesters and greeters on the pier had departed. The show did go on, with a Ho'olaule'a and crafts fair that had been intended to welcome the cruise ship's passengers. And so did life on this tiny rural island -- only 38 miles long and 10 miles wide.
Kama'ainas like Milton and Linda Place lingered on the wharf with their daughter, Zaida.
"We wanted to see if the cruise ship could benefit the island," said Milton Place. The news reports "made it appear as if all the people on Molokai were against the cruise ship coming. It was just a handful of protesters, compared to the 7,000 people who live here."
"It's the first time, let them try it. See what it brings to the island," said Linda Place. "It's like trying on a shoe, see if it's comfortable."
"I felt ashamed to see those people protesting. It's embarrassing. All those people coming to see our island to experience Hawaiian culture would help the economy," said Zaida. "I don't see any danger or harm with them coming just for the day," she said, holding her infant son, bundled up for the family outing.
Milton Place was born and raised on Molokai. He reminisced about the old days, growing up "picking pine" as a teenager. "Back then," he said, "the community was thriving and most people were working."
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But times have changed. "After pineapple phased out, lots of people ended up on welfare. Stores and bars shut down. We use to have two bowling alleys," he said. "Now we have none."My children want to stay here, but they can't find jobs. So they live on Kauai and in Honolulu."
For 18 years, Place commuted to work in Honolulu as a heavy equipment operator, before retiring a few years ago. He said his niece, Melveen Leed, who was hanai by his parents, has traveled the world singing on cruise ships.
Nearby, Bill Kapuni and his wife, Kyno, were packing up their protest signs.
"I'm concerned not only about the environmental impact of the cruise ship, but its impact on the whole island," said Bill Kapuni, who has lived on the island for 20 years and operates a diving business out of the harbor. "The impact of the anchor will destroy the coral reef," he said.
(During an interview later, John Hansen, president of the North West Cruise Ship Association, said the ships do not anchor on or near the reef.)
Lawrence Aki, who was born and grew up in Molokai's Halawa Valley, acted as coordinator for the welcoming committee and Ho'olaule'a.
"The ship is a great opportunity because the ship comes and the ship goes," he said. Aki makes his living conducting cultural hikes.
It's a mistake to judge the degree of public sentiment against the ship visits based only on the protest, he said. "Two-thirds of the people that turned out to picket on the wharf were not from Molokai.
"The silent majority supports the ship, but some may not speak out because they fear intimidation or repercussions," said Aki. He hopes more people will have the courage to speak out. "It's important to hear what others have to say.
"While many people on the island do fish and hunt to help feed their families, not everyone can do it. And they still need to pay their rent or mortgage, utilities or car payment."
Walter Ritte, spokesman for Hui Ho'opakele 'Aina (Rescue the Land), helped organize the protest.
Asked what he learned from the day's events, Ritte replied, "This cruise ship economy is like building your house on the sand. When the wind blows, your house falls down.
"The wind definitely blew today, the economy fell down, and left everybody holding the bag," he said, chuckling.
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The longtime activist was raised on Molokai and is now the coordinator for Project Loko I'a, a state- and federally funded fishpond restoration project.Ritte said the hui's concerns about the cruise ship were not adequately addressed. "No answers were given to us about what the ship is going to do to the reef. The reef is our icebox," he said. "I want to speak for the reef and all things of nature that cannot speak for themselves."
Asked about the need for jobs and increased business activity on the island, Ritte, glancing across the street at the vendors, said, "I have nothing to say about the economy, they can speak for themselves."
Standing behind a table of kakalaioa seed and ti leaf leis, Pat Dudoit Mims said, "The economy is so bad. For a lot of people, this is their means of making supplemental income."
Dudoit Mims lives with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, three grandsons and great-grandchild on their homestead in Ho'olehua.
"We're torn between keeping Molokai, Molokai and needing extra income. Families are suffering. There's no jobs."
She said "it would have been nice" to make extra money from the disembarking passengers. "But I don't dwell on it." Dudoit Mims confided that she was about to lose her part-time job at the Molokai Education Center.
Down the way, Lani Sawyer was selling silkscreen clothing. She said she had mixed feelings about the protest.
"They're all my friends, uncles and aunties," said Sawyer, who as a child joined her parents in protesting the bombing on Kahoolawe. "I wouldn't want people on the ship upset, to see visitors greeted with non-aloha."
Sawyer, a single mother, recalled living on welfare for three months when she returned to Molokai.
"If I can avoid it, I will, and that's exactly what I'm doing." She is employed as an educational assistant during the week and also works the weekend craft fairs to support her three children.
Kupuna Judy Naki Caparida's family roots go back generations on Molokai. As she stopped to visit with some of the vendors, Naki Caparida said she was in favor of the ship coming in for one day.
"I'm for people having jobs, vendors to sell their goods. How can we know if we can benefit if we can't at least try it once and find out if it's any good? Or find out why it's not working and find a solution for the needs of everyone concerned, which is our Molokai ohana. Set up rules (for the cruise line) -- no damage to the environment and lifestyle.
"A lot of folks do want to see the beauty of Molokai the way it is, because there's no place else in the islands that is still old Hawaii," she said.
"There is still a spirit of aloha. It's just that others come and abuse the aloha, and that's what the concern is."
Some in the Kaunakakai crowd wondered out loud, "How can some people protest the ship and still be willing to take tourists' money?"
Among the vendors, Bill Kapuni was selling wooden paddles and pahu (drums), while wearing his "No Cruise Ships On Molokai" T-shirt.
"We're protesting the cruise ship, not the tourists," Kapuni explained.
"Protesters are not giving the visitors a fair chance. They're condemning the boat before it even gets here," said Weymouth Kamakana, who was selling island clothing. Kamakana's parents were among the first Hawaiian homesteaders in the state, settling in Kalamaula. He and his wife, Jule, own the Kamakana Gallery.
"It's not that we want to change the island. But we need to have some progress," said Jule. "I'm for the boat coming in. I see that it is going to bring some needed money to the islands.
"We don't want to see a ship here every other week. But if it came once a month, it would help boost the economy. We have so much poverty on this island."
Many, like Blossom Poepoe, are concerned about Molokai's high unemployment rate -- the highest in the state. She was disappointed when the ship didn't come in.
"People were shouting, 'Save our reef, save our reef,'" she said. "Maybe we should take a look at how our own local people here are taking care of the reef. Some are taking too much fish or polluting the water by throwing trash or baby diapers in the ocean."
Poepoe, manager of Kanemitsu Bakery, said the bakery had tripled its batch of freshly baked Molokai bread and pastries in anticipation of the cruise ship visit. When the ship didn't call, Poepoe thought the bakery would take a loss. Instead, she said, "We almost sold out by the end of the day. Lots of folks turned out for the Ho'olaule'a."
She said most of her customers were all for the ship. "Give it a chance. If it doesn't fit the mood of Molokai, then maybe we try something else."
As the Ho'olaue'a was winding down, a beautiful voice soared, singing, "Hawaii calls with a melody of love dear ..."
"How ironic," said Lawrence Aki, "That entertainer was protesting in the morning and then getting paid to sing at the Ho'olaule'a," the celebration initially planned to welcome the ship's passengers.
"Only on Molokai," he sighed.
This is not the first time Molokai people have had differences over what direction Molokai should go. Still, some are particularly troubled by this controversy.
One old-timer said she didn't like seeing signs posted around the island saying, "The Ship's Too Big," "Go Away," or "Don't Come Back."
"When I see those signs, I feel like crying and tearing them down," she said. "It sends the wrong message. And you have the opportunity to help people economically."
A kupuna born and raised on Molokai and now in her late 80s said, "There's a way of making your thoughts known without being hostile.
"It was a Friendly Isle, but now people are questioning whether it is. It saddens me to see this happening to our people.
"Where did all this hatred come from? It wasn't always like this. The cruise ship even divides families. In the old days, we use to ho'oponopono -- get together to discuss things peacefully."
Some still hold out hope that peaceful discussion may take place and that people will put politics and personal agendas aside to decide what will truly benefit Molokai and its people.
"It's not the cruise ship that's destroying us," said another Molokai kupuna. "We're destroying ourselves -- the cruelty, animosity. It's not aloha. If we cannot offer that to each other, how can we share that with others?
"The vast majority are just watching, in the middle. There's a lot of hurt people," she said. "They're concerned they don't have control over what's happening to their island.
It's a spiritual battle, she said. Residents need to decide, what do the people of Molokai want?
"What do they want to preserve and what are they willing to sacrifice? Because there will be changes.
"The Molokai we know has always been one of sharing and love and aloha. People don't want it to change. It breaks your heart.
"I do feel Molokai is still The Friendly Isle. I hope for the future. But the way we handle this cruise ship and how we treat each other, will determine how we live from now on."
Heidi Chang is a freelance writer and producer and a new Star-Bulletin columnist.
A Maui Circuit Court judge is set to rule Wednesday on a request to stop the first cruise ship from making a port of call off Molokai. The court action is the result of a preliminary injunction filed by Hui Ho'opakele 'Aina (Rescue the Land), a group opposed to the cruise ship visits. Controversy tests
families, friendshipsThe prospect of cruise ship visits, a first for Molokai, has fractured the tight-knit island community into factions that favor and oppose the increased tourist activity, leaving many in the middle of what seems like -- and in some cases is -- a family argument. The tiny island has become a microcosm of the perennial debate about increased development and the preservation of "old Hawaii."
The next scheduled visit of The Statendam, a Holland America Line ship, is set for April 15. The ship's first two scheduled stops were cancelled, one due to bad weather and the other when the ship was called on to aid in a rescue at sea. Four more visits are scheduled this year.
-- Heidi Chang
Cruise ship activity in Hawaiian waters is a small but growing segment of the tourism industry. During the first six months of 2002, cruise ships brought 118,515 passengers to Hawaii, a 53 percent increase from the year before, according to state figures. This has raised concern about possible environmental hazards caused by the ships and prompted calls for tighter regulations to protect reefs. Cruise industry answers
concerns about impactBut an industry spokesman said Hawaii's regulations already are strict. "Cruise ships in Hawaii have more rigorous operating requirements than any other place in the world," said John Hansen, president of the North West Cruise Ship Association.
Hansen said complaints that the cruise ship industry is not regulated are "incorrect."
"The U.S. Coast Guard has the authority to oversee cruise ships and enforce the laws. If there are any violations, they will be punished or fined," he said.
Opponents also want to know what the social impact will be to the Molokai community.
"If there's a need to understand what the impact is, it's better to understand it in the course of a visit," said Hansen, referring to how a visit might affect island businesses and traffic patterns. "It's not easy to do that kind of study without observing what happens with one visit."
Hansen said cruise ship lines do everything they can to protect the environment and respect the host culture and community. "Guests want to go to beautiful places; the last thing they want to do is diminish that environment. We're guests in the communities we visit and we want to show due respect to those communities."
-- Heidi Chang
Molokai is often called "the most Hawaiian island." It has the largest percentage of Hawaiians of all the islands, and many cultural traditions continue to flourish there. Molokai economy: Culturally
rich, but economically poorEver since pineapple cultivation was phased out in the 1970s and '80s, the island has been struggling economically. Today Molokai remains culturally rich, but economically depressed. The island's main employers are government, Molokai Ranch and agricultural companies.
The Molokai Visitors Bureau sees the cruise ships as an alternative. It estimates each cruise ship visit could pump $131,000 into an island with limited jobs.
"Molokai has traditionally had the highest unemployment rate within the state," said Tom Jackson, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Figures for December 2002 show Molokai's unemployment rate at 6.8 percent, higher than the national rate of 5.7 percent and much higher than the statewide rate of 3.8 percent.
But unemployment numbers can be deceptive, said James Mak, who teaches economics at the University of Hawaii. "What you want to look at are how many jobs there are in Hawaii, not so much what percent of the people are employed.
"If the people looking for jobs leave (the islands), that makes the unemployment rate look very low. So, we may be looking good, but the opportunities are not here, so that's the problem."
Between 1970 and 2002, "Molokai had the highest unemployment rate overall, in comparison to the state and counties," said Janet Kaya, a state research statistician. The exceptions were Lanai and Kauai; Kauai's economy was devastated in 1992 by Hurricane Iniki. In June 1990, Molokai's unemployment rate peaked at nearly 30 percent.
Welfare cases on Molokai mirror the jobless rate. "Since December 1996, the welfare caseload statewide has decreased by 32 percent. But on Molokai, the caseload has remained stable," said Susan Yamamoto, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services. Statistics from April 2000 show the average welfare caseload statewide was 6.4 percent, while Molokai's rate was more than double at 15.1 percent.
-- Heidi Chang