Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 12, 1 December 1985 — Subversion of Right [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Subversion of Right

By Hayden Burgess Trustee, Oahu

Yann Uregei of Kanaky in New Caledonia related the following story; "It is the tradition of our people that as we see strangers passing through our village, we invite them in to our homes and provide them with refreshments." One day as a Kanak was sitting on his porch, he saw a Frenchman walking on the

village footpath. He called to the stranger, inviting him into his home to take refreshments. The Frenchman entered the home, was seated at the eating table and the Kanak and his wife provided refreshments. When he was done, the Frenchman stood up to pay but the Kanaks protested explaining that it was their tradition to weleome strangers in this manner without any thought of payment. The Frenchman left, thinking he had gotten a good deal. The next day the Frenchman eame walking down the same footpath but now accompanied by two friends. The Kanak was not on the porch to invite them in but the Frenchman felt an invitation was an unnecessary formality. He and his companions entered the house and seated themselves at the table. Upon returning home, the Kanak and his wife found three unexpected guests waiting to be served. Indeed they were served but when they were finished, the Frenchmen made no attempt to leave. Instead they asked to see the rest of the house. They were shown the rooms and when they eame to the bedroom, the Frenchman said they would move into it. The Kanaks protested, saying it was impossible because that left them with no where to move. The Frenchmen suggested they sleep in the kitchen or even on the porch. The two Kanaks stood their ground and said: "No, we will not give up our bedroom." The first Frenchman smiled and with great cunning said: "Let us not fight. Let us handle this in a civilized, democratic way . . . let's all take a vote!" This theft is happening today in Kanaky. The French, after years of infiltration through transmigration of Frenchmen into Kanaky , now control the majority vote. They simply refuse to restore to the Kanaks their inherent right to self-determina-tion over their own country. This subversion of the Kanaky's right to self-determination is obvious. This basic strategy of colonization through transmigration has been used and is being used successfully in many other places. Hawaii stands out as a pnme example. The United States continues to use this tactic to bring more and more of their people, along with their foreign values and ideas to our islands, dominating and controlling Hawaii and depriving our people of our homeland.