{"id":278322,"date":"2018-06-18T06:06:12","date_gmt":"2018-06-17T20:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=278322"},"modified":"2018-06-18T06:06:12","modified_gmt":"2018-06-17T20:06:12","slug":"are-the-northern-islands-forgotten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/are-the-northern-islands-forgotten\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the Northern Islands forgotten?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pagan’s rocky cliffs rear into the sky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PAGAN<\/strong>\u2014I just came from an eight-day trip to the Northern Islands, particularly Pagan and, together with the memories and experience, I also brought back a bag of smoked meat carefully prepared by the people who live there. When I shared some with a couple of high school students on Saipan: \u201cHere, have a taste of Pagan Island,\u201d I was floored by their response, \u201cWhat is Pagan Island?\u201d <\/p>\n

I cheerfully explained what and where Pagan is, shared a couple of adventures as well, but I cannot deny that I felt a pang in my heart\u2014I shouldn\u2019t be introducing Pagan to the young generation just so they can appreciate how special and unique that smoked meat is. <\/p>\n

Before this trip, I knew little of Pagan. All I know is that it one of the remote and isolated islands in the northern part of the CNMI and that was enough to fuel my curiosity to get there and face the challenges of a frontier island.<\/p>\n

Growing up, Kelly Tenorio\u2019s knowledge of Pagan and the rest of the Northern Islands came from the archives and papers of Spanish missionaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in the 1600s, there were thousands of people living on Pagan, Alamagan, and all the other islands. They kept the islands moving forward for us so I think we need to keep the islands moving forward for our generations to come,\u201d said Tenorio, the Northern Island Mayor\u2019s Office project manager. \u201cIn order to do that, we have to save it to what might happen to it. There\u2019s someone else interested in taking over the islands for different reasons than what we would like.\u201d <\/p>\n

Pagan is interesting because it forms two islands that came together. It has two volcanoes\u2014one in the north and one in the south. With its beaches, volcanoes, wild animals, and vegetation, age-old traditions are still rooted in its soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a busy island back in the \u201960s. They did copra, grew pineapples, and all kinds of agricultural things. People didn\u2019t just live here, they thrived. They didn\u2019t just survive, they were happy. They were healthy and industrious people. They gave birth, had children, and these children learned how to help. It was copra that was bringing in money for their families and they had a wonderful life,\u201d Tenorio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything kind of came into a halt in 1981 when the north side volcano erupted. Lava flowed and people had to run to the south side of the island and evacuation took place. So the island kind of closed down\u2026in 20 years. People may have come back but not to live, just for hunting.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Tenorio, the volcano is not dormant but that is not stopping people from going and living on Pagan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of people that say they want to do that, [but it is] only now that we are opening it up for people to come back.\u201d She said that in the first months of their operation, they did not anyone to return to the island as it was still a mess and didn\u2019t have a good water source. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe volcano it is very much alive but we see Kilauea in Hawaii and it tells us if you just live in a different area, you can live on the same island as a volcano,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The idea of resettling Pagan is more focused on the second generation more now than the original elders, Tenorio said, because many of the older generations have already died out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn about a year since [Northern Islands] Mayor Vicente Santos started office, we now have three islands up and running. Meaning, you can easily come here and live now. We [now have a] clean water supply, we\u2019ve cleaned up the hazards of garbage and everything. The mayor\u2019s office is willing to help and teach whoever wants to learn how to that and how to make a living. The islands are beautiful and have places where people can start staying temporarily until they build their own structures,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Santos said that improvements started on the islands of Agrigan, Pagan, and now, Alamagan. Efforts first started on water tank cleanup to catch rain. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll these islands need water. That\u2019s why I made it a priority because, without water, people cannot stay on island,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Currently there are four people on Agrigan, two on Pagan, and seven on Alamagan.<\/p>\n

The biggest hindrance to developing the islands is the lack of regular transportation. A charter vessel brings supplies and materials to the islands every three months. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging but we do it anyway. It\u2019s for the people and islands,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Out of the many islands in the north, Pagan is the easiest one to get to. During World War II, the Japanese occupied the island and built an airstrip and a dock for ships to come in. The others are sanctuaries and monuments.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when you have that kind of a landing area, you can get goods into the island that the people would need for everyday living.\u201d<\/p>\n

The important thing is to revive air transportation to Pagan because the airstrip is not being used right now. Tenorio said that planes would be the most ideal mode of transportation because people don\u2019t have the time to ride 20 hours on a ship to get there.<\/p>\n

Unless one is with a scientific or business group that is going to the island, \u201cyou\u2019re probably not be able to get on a vessel because there is very few vessels that come here,\u201d Tenorio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Super Emerald belongs to my husband and I and we have taken scientists doing research and that\u2019s how we started coming out. Nowadays, I take personal charters as well because I think that it is time now that people start coming back here and cleaning up the island, respecting and living out here because there is no reason not to. If we don\u2019t do this, the military might take this away from us and we will never come back into it again\u2026It will be a dead island,\u201d Tenorio added.<\/p>\n

She said that Pagan\u2019s prospects are promising.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur group is trying to save the island for not just local people but tourists as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

What Tenorio would like to see for Pagan is eco-tourism. \u201cWe don\u2019t like this to be a city like Saipan\u2026and we don\u2019t want huge 5-star hotels either. We want this to be a natural and we are going to go with go green projects like solar panels, recycling, and everything being eco-friendly.<\/p>\n

She also touts the island as a possible alternative solution to \u201cour lost children in Saipan, children who are going into the penal system.\u201d Pagan can provide a different level of therapy.<\/p>\n

And Pagan can be a resettlement site for not just former residents but for other people as well, according to Tenorio. \u201cThere are lot of people who are not residents yet that are willing to come back here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgricultural homesteading plots, one hectare each, have been measured out on the east side, away from the lava flow and in the most beautiful part of island,\u201d said Tenorio. \u201cWe are not encouraging people to come here to sit, eat fish and meat. We are encouraging them to be a community that works together because we want everyone who comes here and be productive. \u2026We welcome all those people who want to come out here and do positive things for the island.\u201d<\/p>\n

For that, the Northern Islands needs the U.S. and local governments\u2019 help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need the government to help. \u2026We need our waters to be patrolled. \u2026If we say that this is our chain of islands, what makes us say that when we don\u2019t even patrol the islands? I know that the U.S. Coast Guard has been\u2026out here but they can\u2019t be out here everyday. We have seen ships passing by and they are U.S. flagged ships. We know that fish are being taken. We have garbage float into our island and we know it\u2019s not from our own ships,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tenorio said it is great that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres is a hunter and a fisherman, has been to Pagan, and loves everything about the island. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think his issue here on the military is neutral and that is where he should be, so we are trying to sway him to help us bring people out here for recreational things and for better and healthier living,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Getting people back to Pagan will add meaning to this island and getting the young generation to know about it first is in the pipeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been doing that and I am shocked that more than half of them don\u2019t know where Pagan is. Maybe they\u2019ve heard of the few islands but they don\u2019t just need to hear of it. They need to see videos, pictures that we can give to the schools to teach history and for them to have hands on,\u201d Tenorio said.<\/p>\n

Spending time on Pagan without knowing its beauty, possibilities, and the challenges and threats it faces is to defy the purpose of the place. It is calling out to every person in the CNMI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say we have endangered species here [on Pagan]. Yes we do, but as far as we are concerned, our people is the endangered species because they have lost or will lose their land if they don\u2019t do something about. We need our people to get up and show an interest,\u201d Tenorio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in a huge hurry because\u2026people want this island for different reasons that we don\u2019t believe in\u2026. Our group is not going to get tired because we believe in what we are doing and we will die fighting for this island and fighting for our people and the the generations to come. We are bringing people back and help them to be comfortable and show them that we can live comfortably, safely and be a true community out here,\u201d Tenorio said.<\/p>\n