Resettlement and economic development

The displaced residents of Pagan have longed to return to the island they fondly call home. My family and I are one of those displaced residents. We have lived on Pagan for over 30 years and it is my humble opinion that one of the ways for us to return to the Northern Islands is to encourage economic development in this area. Pagan, Alamagan, and Agrihan is kind of like Saipan, Tinian, and Rota in a sense that when one island is developing economically, the other two islands will follow suit. Pagan, in my opinion, will spur economic development to the other neighboring islands. Of course this will be at a lesser extent compared to Saipan, Tinian and Rota but the beginning of economic development and most importantly, resettlement, nonetheless.

I know that the central government and the Legislature are trying to accommodate requests for infrastructure development on the three main islands. The priority right now for most of the local and federal funding for infrastructure is on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. What about the Northern Islands? When will the Northern Islands be a priority for infrastructure development?

We have trusted our elected officials, both the Legislature and our mayor, and because lack of funding, we were unable to move toward the directions each and everyone of us so desire. The Northern Islands have many potential, both on land and sea (agriculture and fishery), but again funding is needed to make this happen. I firmly believe that this is the right time for all of us to agree and support the proposal of Azmar to mine the pozzolan on Pagan so that we and our children and the generations to come can witness the possibilities of making Pagan and the other Northern Islands the greatest place to live.

I do not know when but what I know is that Azmar will be assisting the government by shouldering and making it a top priority to develop the infrastructure on Pagan. The company will install a reverse osmosis water desalination and power generation system. This means that we will be able to have access to drinking water and power at no cost to us.

Azmar will also build a school, dispensary, and community center, and church on Pagan. Again, this is at no cost to the residents of Pagan nor to the government. The basic infrastructure will be in place for a Pagan community.

These are just some of the benefits that will be realized should Azmar be granted permitting rights to mine pozzolan. In regards to the environment, I am very confident that once MPLA approves the mining permit, CRM as well federal agencies will make sure that all environmental concerns and issues are complied with.

Let’s give Azmar a chance so that resettlement will be more of a reality than a dream.

Pedro P. Castro
San Antonio