‘Not Speaking for the Majority’

I have held my tongue, or fingers rather for some time now, in regards to many of the Letters to the Editor by Mr. Ken Govendo regarding the control of immigration and labor in the CNMI. Well, I could not restrain my fingers after reading his “Heads out of the Sand” letter.

Aside from the basic misunderstanding of the general detrimental realities that would be attributed to some of Mr. Govendo’s ideas, it was particularly disturbing to read the following quote from his letter, “Unfortunately, our leaders are not speaking for the majority when they go to Washington D.C.” Do you know what percentage of our voting citizens cast their ballots? It is almost double that of the mainland US, if there are any leaders who are not speaking on behalf of their people, I think you better look to the mainland U.S. side for this. Unless of course you are making the heinous and incorrect determination that the voting population of the CNMI are inept.

Fortunately, as both parties espouse and the voting population espouses through ballot, the residents of the CNMI do understand the magnitude of controlling their own immigration, wages and labor. They do understand that there are few options to that of outside labor, regardless of the industry that is predominant in the CNMI.

It boils down to the very simple fact that whoever controls labor, wages and immigration basically controls the government. We are a remote island, and whether you are happy or not with the development, the schools, roads, hospital, power and other public services and amenities that we have are all, yes due to the development.
And this is the kicker, this development was not possible without outside labor and the maintenance of current development or further development is not possible without outside labor. These are basic facts, understood by even the youngest of school children.

If you think the Feds are going to “solve” any problems, well all you have to do is wonder in amazement at the development that took place here during the Trust Territory days, or better yet look at American Samoa today (and their one hotel). And how about the Feds success with immigration, wages and labor, why look at the fine work they do in handling the problems in Southern California, Nogales, El Paso, Miami, New York… give me a break… the Feds can’t even manage illegal immigration in a tiny town like Agua Prieta, Arizona.

Another disturbing quote from this letter was, “The Feds have finally realized that population is the issue”.

Mr. Govendo, the Feds are grabbing at whatever they can. I remember in the beginnings of this issue, the Feds were saying that this outside labor was going to alter the local culture. Give me a break! Now influence from the U.S., McDonalds, television, consumerism and so forth have altered the culture…not Asians (whose ancestry we stem from). Look to Guam for an example of the altering of a culture. I don’t think you get an “Asian” feel at the Micronesia Mall or KMart. When that argument went nowhere it was labor abuse, then the issue of safety of the places of employment, then it was the local unemployment rate (which shows the total lack of cultural and general understanding the Feds have of the Commonwealth), now you say it’s population?

Let me let you in on a little secret…it is none of these things. The driving force behind the Federal push is organized labor, the unions. Plain and simple and political. If it is not one thing, believe me, the Feds will come up with another.

Our leaders are sharper than you would give them credit for. They know what the community wants, after all the residents put them there and keep on putting them there. Do you not believe in the institution of democracy, Mr. Govendo? With the voting turnout as high as it is here, we exercise and demonstrate more democracy here than any State in the Union.

Are there problems? Certainly. But they are problems no different from other developing areas and minor at that. And the handling of these “problems” can only be correctly solved by the residents who live here, not by some pseudo-foreign government with obviously little understanding of the CNMI and Pacific region in general and certainly no real care in the world about our well-being.

When residents decide that the population is too large, and they do not like the way things are going, they will eventually vote for individuals that will meet their particular desires at that time.

The Feds aren’t getting smarter and “learning the game”. The CNMI’s learning the game and playing pretty well. I say fight the good fight.

Robert H. Hunter