King: Rota residents are ‘literally held captive’
The people of Rota are frustrated and plainly sick and tired of receiving dirty seconds, according to concerned Rota resident Denise Tanya King. King, who resides in Sinapalo village, was referring to the ATM machine of the Bank of Guam on the southern island.
King, through social media, wrote numerous Facebook posts regarding the sole ATM not working on Rota and the need for a new replacement, along with the re-installation of a new machine at the Rota Airport.
Recently, Bank of Guam sent a representative to Rota to fix the only ATM on island in response to King’s plea on social media.
In a Facebook post yesterday, King said: “After traveling 18 miles and spending $12 on gas, the ATM is not operational again. …What does it take for the powers-that-be to comprehend that the people of Rota deserve the same quality of service as our counterparts on Guam and Saipan?”
In an email to Saipan Tribune, she said the people of Rota are “frustrated and plainly sick and tired of receiving dirty seconds.” King said she hopes the problem will be addressed immediately.
“I hope you [Bank of Guam] come by boat because Cape Air is not operational as well,” she said.
Cape Air issue
In a following Facebook post, King also expressed frustration with Cape Air services. She thanked the airline for providing service to the CNMI, but said the constant delays and cancellations have put the people of the CNMI in a very precarious position.
“There are people who need medical care [in] Guam or must catch a connecting flight,” she said.
For the past four days Rota residents have received updates that Cape Air flights have been cancelled due to “mechanical difficulties.”
Saipan Tribune learned that Cape Air resumed flights to and from Rota yesterday.
In her post, King urged Cape Air officials to utilize their larger plane to assist the people of Rota who desperately need to go to Guam in order to have a more consistent flight service.
“We are literally held captive here,” she said.
King added that she cannot be complacent. “Enough is enough. No boat, outrageous prices, people being yoyoed back and forth with the airlines, no ATM. We are going backwards. This is the worst I have seen of the state of affairs on Rota.”
Most of the population of Rota has left for greener pastures. Is it time to remove the rest. While they may “deserve the same as their counterparts on Guam and Saipan” the law of supply and demand says that BOG should pull out and let you put your money in your mattress. Are we going to operate a full gamut of municipal services (power, water, roads, public safety, education etc) for an ever dwindling population. At what point do we say enough is enough? There is a lack of critical mass on Rota. It is time for the stragglers to leave and for the First and Third senatorial districts to be merged.
What you’re saying is simply unrealistic. First of all, it’s hard enough to get flights out of Rota, not to mention the ridiculous airfare. Although people on Rota are struggling, they still have family that take care of each other and if worse comes to worst, they can live off the land and ocean until they get a shipment again. What do you think would happen if everyone leaves the island and try to start lives elsewhere? Do you think they would have the same help they did while on Rota? The answer is no. It is difficult landing jobs these days so why would the people of Rota drop everything they have–their jobs, their lives, their HOME–simply because the neighboring islands do not deem them important enough to lend them help. You pretty much say that because Rota has a small population, they are not important and their requests should basically be ignored. Rota is definitely hurting and just because it’s such a small island with a small population, does not mean that they should be ignored.
The only assistance they should be given is assistance in evacuating and re-establishing on Tinian or Saipan. You are advocating that we just keep giving the guy fish instead of teaching him that there are no fish left where he is fishing.
Hey solutions driven Inos can help your island. But I suppose he is only solution driven when it comes to votes.
There is probably no urgency to make improvements on an island that has 4k residents.
Where is the profit?
According to the 2010 census Rota’s population was 2527 and it has significantly declined since then. Service industries like banking serve Rota at their own peril. There is no way they can turn a profit.
“After traveling 18 miles and spending $12 on gas…” Her vehicle only gets 9 mpg?