Saipan’s collapse one of fastest in US history—documentary

From being the poster child of the ultimate globalization success story, Saipan now faces one of the fastest economic collapses in the history of the United States and the world, according to a new documentary on Current TV.

Current TV is a cable network founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

The documentary features the birth and death of the once billion-dollar Saipan garment industry. The two remaining garment factories—from three dozens less than 10 years ago—are set to close soon.

“What’s happening on Saipan is an extreme compressed version of what’s happening elsewhere in the U.S. and the world; like a lab test of what globalization does for good and ill,” American journalist Adam Yamaguchi said in his documentary.

Yamaguchi, along with fellow journalist Christine Huang, visited Saipan last year “to document the rise and sudden collapse of a tiny piece of America.”

The documentary, which runs for 25 minutes and 7 seconds, can be accessed at http://current.com/users/Adam_Yamaguchi/all/0.htm.

Viewers are shown footages of World War II, Saipan’s pristine beaches, the remaining garment factories, empty garment factories and empty buildings like the former La Fiesta Mall in San Roque, as well as interviews with government officials, former garment workers and local residents about their views and experiences about the collapse of the Sapan garment industry.

Richard Pierce, the governor’s special assistant for trade relations and economic affairs, said the documentary is a fairly accurate depiction of Saipan, both old and current, and caters to the 20-30-year-old mainlanders by focusing on the “Made in the USA” label and the loss in American jobs as a result of the local industry.

“They were truthful in their introductions and plan to focus on the loss in this part of America to both global and federal forces outside our control,” he said, adding that Yamaguchi, Huang and young indigenous citizens in the documentary “could easily grasp what others in federal and local government offices have had difficulty understanding.”

“Saipan has lost so much, and will continue to lose more over time as a result of the demise of its once healthy apparel industry. Jobs are leaving in government and the private sector, in addition to the workers from the factories themselves,” said Pierce.

Pierce, a former executive director of the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association and one of those interviewed in the documentary, added that Yamaguchi posed a very good question in his conclusion: “Why a part of America can’t even hang on to a few low paying jobs?”

He, however, said that Yamaguchi overlooked one important point in discussing prostitution in the CNMI. “That is, that the U.S. mainland, Hawaii, Guam and other American soil do not accommodate prostitution in their travel industry zones.”