Micronesians
in need of
state servicesA pact allowing for free migration
and aid expires in September
Nobody needs to tell Charlotte White about how poverty in some Pacific island nations affects education.
As principal at Kaiulani School in Kalihi, she sees the influence in the immigrant children from Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, many of whom arrive with no previous schooling.
"It's tremendously difficult for them -- culturally, socially, economically, there's so many differences," she said. "Just adjusting to some things like you have to go to school every day and there are rules to be following ... it's really hard for them."
In recent years, White says, the majority of immigrant children have come from Chuuk, in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Some experts say immigration to Hawaii from both Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands -- and the added strain on social services -- could increase under new accords being sought between the island nations and the U.S. government.
The Compacts of Free Association -- which have provided U.S. aid and allowed free migration for Micronesians and Marshallese to U.S. soil since 1986 -- expire at the end of September. New agreements are working their way through all three governments.
While immigration policies would essentially remain unchanged, financially, the new compacts are aimed at weaning the two island chains from U.S. aid over the 20-year life of the agreements.
As that happens, it remains to be seen whether the foreign governments, which have received hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid since 1986, will be able to maintain their level of services.
Gerard Finin, an expert on Pacific island studies at the East-West Center in Honolulu, has said he believes social services -- particularly education and health -- are likely to suffer, prompting more migration to nearby locations such as Guam and Hawaii.
Brenda Alik Maddison, assistant secretary for the Policy, Planning and Research Division of the Marshall Islands' Ministry of Education, said her agency already is prioritizing various programs.
"Ours and health services ... because we've been getting a lot of aid under the compact, I think those are the two critical ministries that are going to be facing a lot of difficulties with the losing of aid," said Alik Maddison, who recently attended a seminar at the East-West Center. "Right now, what we are doing is trying to convince our own government to give us more than the other ministries -- to fund us more, give us the priority so we can educate all the kids."
A Chuuk education official said in June that he also fears schools would suffer most. John Nakamura said the system already has reduced the number of teachers because there is not enough money to pay them.
White said Chuukese also are the fastest-growing immigrant population at Kaiulani.
"It's amazing," she said. "It just seems every day we're enrolling new children."
Of the school's 426 children in preschool through fifth grade, 130 are "ESL (English as a second language) children." Of those, about 40 are Chuukese.
"The ones that seem to need the most help academically are the Chuukese children just because they haven't had the opportunities," she said. "It's either not available or it's not necessary to go (to school) every day."
The school has established summer "transition programs" for immigrant children and hired part-time teachers who are Chuukese, White said.
Alik Maddison said her agency also is working with communities to try and stem the exodus of students. Those efforts include trying to get families to start paying registration fees that would go toward education programs.
Micronesia and the Marshall Islands are about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
