May 29, 2007
Commission on Water Resource Management
1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 227
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Commissioners, Fellow Citizens, Anoai Tatou,
I am Roselle Bailey living in Paukukalo, Maui. I am representing those who have gone before me and those who have yet to come. I shall resonate the wisdom of the ancestor’s good governance which is reflected in the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.
A proverb: “Use the eyes to observe; the ears to listen; the mouth closed; then one can learn.
The ancestors were wise learned leaders and managers who knew the value of observation and listening. This skill helped prevent being caught in traps and entanglements. They were experts in reading nature and human-nature.
A proverb: “Born was the land, born were the chiefs, born were the common people (today known as laborers). The land, the chiefs, and the commoners belong together”. We need each other to tend the land, but the land doesn’t need us.
“All public natural resources are held in trust by the state for the benefit of the people.” At this time in history we must stand together for the life of the land! Who do we value? Who are we? What can we do?
A proverb: “A prophecy uttered by Kapihe, a kahuna in Kamehameha’s time” declared; “the ancient kapu will be abolished; the heiau and altars will fall; the islands will be unified; the heavens (chiefs, leaders, managers, etc.) will descend (be humbled) and the earth (the commoners, laborers) ascend (rise to positions of power”).
In simple terms, we are all on the same playing board. Now we must prove our character and merit. Will you who have risen to the chiefly position administer your obligation with integrity and Aloha, or will you—a proverb—“do for us, then strike us with evil.”
Our constitution defines who we are, what we value; and how we shall govern ourselves. Heed Article XI, Sections 1-9; and I quote sec I…”the state and its political sub-divisions shall conserve and protect Hawaii’s natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals, and energy sources, and shall promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of the self-sufficiency of the state”.
.
Under the many guises of commercialization, the first natural resource to fall from the protection of our Constitution is Land—and it is not finished! Profit is good, but not at the expense of Hawaii’s natural resources, beauty, flora, fauna, and its people! “The land cannot live under a profane chief”. (a proverb from the ancestors) Tourism is our largest money-maker and we’re killing it with irresponsible decisions. There is such a thing as enough.
Section 7: “The state has an obligation to protect, control, and regulate the use of Hawaii’s water resources for the benefit of its people.”
“The legislature shall provide for a water resources agency which, as provided by law, shall set overall water conservation, quality and use policies; define beneficial and reasonable uses; protect ground and surface water resources, watersheds and natural stream environments; establish criteria for water use priorities while assuring appurtenant rights and existing correlative and riparian uses and establish procedures for regulating all uses of Hawaii’s water resources”. The land cannot live without water. We cannot live without water.
We are now at the next stage of manipulation into permanent servitude. All this time, one thinks that one is doing a good job functioning in the box, while representing the people and its constitution within the parameters of LAW.
Law today is nothing more than a game of words and money. Law is supposed to be the science of morality. We can regain our loss if we remember that land and water and the sun are our partners! The wind, our supporter! We are their guardians! WAKE UP! BE MAKAALA! BE MAKAWALU!
Another natural resource is being worked out of Constitutional protection through commercialization. Both waters, the positive and negative, have been maneuvered into position “to promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner constant with their conservation and in furtherance of self –sufficiency of the State”. These self-sufficiency decisions are not looking at the causes and effects upon the “Land of Aloha”.
Our health and welfare depend upon good governance and management of land, water, and spiritual-humanity. If we manage well, the elements will take care of us. A proverb: “The land remains the land because of the chiefs, and prosperity comes to the land because of the common people—chiefs are needed to hold the land, and commoners are needed to work the land”. We were once exporters. Today we are nothing but consumers of imported food and goods. That is debilitating! A proverb: “When the source of water is dirty, muddy water will be seen in the lowland. Metaphorically: when the thoughts are dirty, dirty words are heard.”
All we ask is that you implement the law. It is your mandate and obligation. Return the surface water to the streams. You must answer to those who are Keiki o Ka Aina, Kamaaina, Oiwi, and Pulapula. We have no obligation to the people of the world who don’t live here. Our obligation is to plan well for our natural resources and people so that we have a vibrant, thriving society for the world to emulate! Think outside the box! The idea that “Build it and they will come” does not work here, nor do the gated communities.
A proverb: “Peace and love are no longer here”. I find it ironic that we enjoy visiting Japan and Europe with their farms, cities, villages that have running streams, rivers, water resources that are managed well, historic sites, buildings “with a sense of place” and technology in use giving life and beauty to the land and its people, especially spiritual-humanity enrichment and vibrancy. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, peoples of the world seek and appreciate the knowledge and spirituality of your “HOST CULTURE”. If only , the government can correct the wrong!
Included is a copy of a International Time Magazine article concerning waste water…Is this in our future?!?!
Olelo Noeau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetic Sayings
Collected by: Kawena Pukui
Printed by: Bishop Museum Press
#2268 #461 #1765
#466 #198
#282 #1149
Yours truly,
Roselle F. K. Bailey