I have a dream that in my lifetime, Guam and the CNMI unite to become One Marianas.\u00a0 Our region has such a unique history.\u00a0 The indigenous people of the Mariana Islands were significantly impacted by colonialism and globalization, the effects of which are still prevalent in today\u2019s Marianas society.<\/p>\n
There is absolutely no reason why the two governments cannot find a way to unify the region.\u00a0 It has been 75 years since the liberation of the entire Marianas.<\/p>\n
Here are a few questions that frequently come up as I continue to make sense of the possibility of this endeavor. <\/p>\n
How many generations of indigenous Chamorros and Refaluwasch have elapsed post-World War II?<\/p>\n
How many within the past generations have served in government positions capable of affecting such an endeavor?<\/p>\n
How many indigenous Chamorros and some Refaluwasch are content living a westernized lifestyle that the focus is more on, \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d instead of what is best for the community?<\/p>\n
If Guam and the CNMI governments unite, will we be able to strengthen our position to seek proper representation in Congress?<\/p>\n
This next question aims for the preservation of the entire indigenous Marianas culture. Maybe a topic for my next piece.<\/p>\n
How many Chamorros, some Refaluwasch, realize that their language and culture are dying because they\u2019d instead choose the convenience of speaking English to their children and grandchildren? \u00a0<\/p>\n
This endeavor is not simple. However, it is possible. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe one day.<\/p>\n
One unified Mariana Islands.<\/p>\n
Edwin Diaz<\/strong> I have a dream that in my lifetime, Guam and the CNMI unite to become…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":322001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-329759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nKagman III, Saipan<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"