Message of Solidarity from Hawai`i
for Peace Rally in Naha Sep.23rd 2000
In `olelo Hawai`i (Hawaiian language) we say "Kau li`i makou, nui ke aloha no ka`aina," which means "we are few in number, but our love for our land is tremendous. We say this because in Hawai`i there are very few of us left to struggle for the protection of the land which is to us our beloved Ancestor, the Mother who gives us all life, breath, and nourishment. Everyday she is being bulldozed, bombed, and polluted, while our people die rapidly of the diseases of colonization.
Many of our children play with plastic guns and toy bomber jets with American flags on them, and they forget what it means to be keiki o ka `aina, sons and daughters of the land. Still, we will never give up the fight. Until bombs explode no more in Makua Valley and her stolen waters flow once again; until the last nuclear submarine is gone forever from Hawai`i and all of the world; we will stand with our brothers and sisters in Okinawa, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Korea, Guam, and everywhere else on Earth where people struggle against the destruction, pain abusiveness, and health threats of military bases.
On September 23rd, we will stand at the gates of Pearl Harbor, which is a very sacred body of water that has been contaminated by US nuclear de-fueling. We will honor our brothers and sisters and join with you in solidarity through prayer, chant, and the blowing of puu (conch shell). People of many different ancestral backgrounds will unite for this event. We will also kanikapila, which is to rejoice through music for the beauty and life of the land, for peace, and for the great love that flows between all of us worldwide who are the guardians of the Earth and all of our future generations.
You will be in our hearts always. Your strength and Spiritual dedication will nourish us as we continue to work for a time when Love, peace, and respect for nature guide the actions of every woman and every man in Hawai`i Nei and all of this beautiful Earth. We know that our struggle in Hawai`i is in your hearts, too. We ask you to keep us in your prayers on September 23rd and in all of the great work that you do.
Although we may seem small in our homelands next to the might of the US military, when we build a circle of life and strength around the world which cannot be broken. "E hana like kakou me ka lokahi"- let us work together in unity.
-Laulani Teale
Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) activist