Native peoples RAVADEE PRASERTCHAROENSUK wants the Asian Development Bank to know what she -- and thousands of her countrymen in the Samut Prakarn province of Thailand -- think of a $230 million wastewater project it is financing there.
voice complaints
with ADB
Many protested globalization
at a UH cultural rights forumCity ready before conference
By Diana Leone
Star-Bulletin
"I don't have any confidence at all," she said yesterday at the Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Cultural Rights, hosted by the Hawaiian Environmental Alliance (KAHEA).
Studies conducted about the sewage treatment needs of the area -- one of Thailand's most heavily industrialized -- suggested from two to 13 plants, Prasertcharoensuk said. Yet the project is going ahead with one plant to treat a wide variety of wastes from industry, as well as household sewage, she said. "People have asked for more information, but it's not very clear."
Prasertcharoensuk was one of several international guests who spoke to Native Hawaiians and environmentalists during KAHEA's three-day event at the University of Hawaii Center for Hawaiian Studies that concludes today. About 150 people attended yesterday's sessions, which included talks by Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, as well as guests here to protest the Asian Development Bank.
Maude Barlow said her group, the 100,000-strong Council of Canadians, questions the philosophy and actions of organizations like the ADB, World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund because they attempt to force the whole world to adhere to one economic model.
That model, she said, promotes "the unfettered right of corporations to trade and invest across borders without different types of standards and laws" and without respect for the people of each world region.
Barlow, who some call the "Ralph Nader of Canada," said she expects significant turnout for anti-ADB protests.
Sweet Matthews, who lives on Oahu and the Big Island, said her main focus in protesting the ADB will not be to protest in front of the Hawaii Convention Center, where the bank's meetings will be held.
Instead, she wants to hear what ADB protesters from other countries have to say about its activities when they rally Wednesday afternoon in Kapiolani Park. And she wants to share the story of the Hawaiian nation with them.
Hawaiian rights activist Puanani Rogers of Kauai said there is a link between Hawaiians and indigenous people of the developing world. "I see it as a window of opportunity for kanaka maoli to get our message out to the world that here in Hawaii, we are seeking freedom and independence from all governments and corporations."
Teacher Keoni Wilhelm of Oahu, who will be a first-aid volunteer for Wednesday's march, sees globalization as affecting him on a personal level. He said that though his family traces Hawaiian roots "back to time," his generation faces the question of, "Can we afford $250,000 to buy a house? We're being pushed out of our own home by the influx of newcomers with money."
Asian Development Bank