To Inform and Involve the People of Micronesia
PALIKIR, Pohnpei (World Bank, Sept. 6, 2013) - World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific, Alex van Trotsenburg announced that the World Bank will be supporting the improvements of internet and telephone services in FSM and Palau with a budget of $1.1 million.
van Trotsenburg stated that "Connectivity is critical for job growth,.....
Read MoreEarlier this week, a Kiribati man was refused a “climate change refugee bid”. The man argued that he had the right to claim refugee status in New Zealand because his home country is in danger from rising sea levels.
The New Zealand immigration tribunal....
Read MoreRecently the presidents of Palau, FSM and Marshall Islands have agreed to start a local based airline called Fly Micronesia. This airline aims to bring more tourists from the Asian region by creating a direct flight into Micronesia. It is said to have two outside hubs, one in Singapore and one in the Philippines. By doing this,......
Read MoreRecently, a petition has been circulating asking for signatures from the public in support of keeping Rev. Francis X. Hezel, SJ in Micronesia. The petition, written by Vidalino Raatior, asks the leaders of the Jesuits in Micronsia, the New York Province, and the world to allow Hezel to remain in the region.
As of this writing, the petition has.......
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(Government Accountability Office)
“The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and
investigative arm of the United States Congress”, and they reported recently that current Compact Impact estimates were unreliable.
Hawaii, Guam, and CNMI estimated that they spent a combined $1 billion to support COFA (Compact of Free Association) migrants from 2004 to 2010. Out of this cost, they only received
(Available for purchase on Amazon)
When Ormita Jorelang first received training as a peer educator in a 1992 Majuro Youth Health Leadership seminar with Darlene Keju, she recalls the harrowing first time experience of being forced to recite a prayer in front of a group of strangers. Darlene, leading the training session, wouldn’t be satisfied with a mumbled and half-heard prayer. Instead, she forced Jorelang into reciting the prayer two more times – a tall order to be expected
Please share this one page factoid that addresses common misconceptions about COFA citizens and taxes, as well as misunderstandings about certain benefits and programs.
The weekend of June 22nd to the 23rd was a time everyone in the world was looking forward to seeing the supermoon. A supermoon is a ntural phenomenon where the moon is closer to earth than usual, causing to it to appear larger and brighter. Though this phenomenon is very interesting and wonderful to look at, it has its side effects.
As many of you may know, the moon is also linked to the tide. Depending on the moon, the tide may be higher or lower. This, mixed with the ongoing issue of sea level rise, becomes a threat for some of the islands in the Pacific. On June 24th (June 25th in the Marshalls), we saw what the mixture of the two can do to the islands. A Supermoon caused the tide to rise by up to one inch higher. This caused the water to reach land level in certain parts of Majuro, resulting in a tsunami like result. Though no casualities were reported, it is clear that it is only a matter of time before events such as these become normal in the low land areas.
For Hawaii Residents
Excerpt: A Resolution:
"Instructing the Yap State Foreign Investment Board pursuant to 8 YSC 304 (c) to cancel the Yap State Foreign Investment Permit issued to the Exhibition and Travel Group (ETG), because the issuance of the Permit by the Director of the Department of Resources and Development violated the State Government Ethics Act and is therefore not valid to allow ETG to engage in business in the State of Yap."
The resolution states that the Director of the Department of Resources and Development violated
Congresswoman Colleen HanabusaCongresswoman Colleen Hanabusa of Hawaii is advocating an amendment of title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which restricts welfare and public benefits for aliens. She is set to present a bill that will grant Medicaid access to COFA migrants.
Representative Hanabusa is
By: Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner
--------------------------------------------------------
Lesson Number 1:
FUCKIN MICRONESIANS!
that’s my seventh grade friend
cussin at the boys across the street
rockin swap meet blue t-shirt
baggy jeans
spittin a steady beetlenut stream
yea one of them’s related to me
You know, you’re actually kinda smart
for a Micronesian
And that’s my classmate
who I tutor through the civil war
through the first immigrants
through history that always
seems to repeat itself
LESSON NUMBER 2:
Micronesian
MICRO(nesian)
as in small. tiny crumbs of islands scattered
across the pacific ocean. different countries/nations/cultures no one
has heard about / cares about too small
to notice. small like how
i feel
when lady at the salon
tracing white across my nail
stops and says
you know you don’t look
Micronesian.
You’re prettier!
LESSON NUMBER 3:
Prettier as in not
ugly like those
other Micronesian girls
walking by the street smiling
rows of gold teeth like they got
no shame with hair greased and braided
cascading down dirt roads of brown skin, down
shimmering dresses called guams and neon colored chuukese skirts
and i can hear
the disgust
in my cousin’s voice
Look at those girls! They wear their guams
to school and to the store like they’re
at home don’t they
know?
This isn’t their country this is America see that’s
why everyone here hates
us Micronesians
LESSON NUMBER 4:
I’ll tell you why everyone here hates Micronesians
It’s cuz we’re neon colored skirts screaming DIFFERENT!
Different like that ESL kid
whose name you can’t pronounce
whose accent you can’t miss
Different like walmart/7-eleven/mickey D’s parking lot kick its and fights
those long hours
those blue collar nights
Different like parties
with hundreds of swarming aunties, uncles, cousins
sticky breadfruit drenched in creamy coconut
coolers of our favorite fish
wheeled from the airport
barbequed on a spit
my uncle waving me over
Dede a itok! Kejro mona!
Dede come! Let’s eat!
LESSON NUMBER 5:
It’s actually
NOT Micronesian
It’s Marshallese/Chuukese/Yapese/Pohnpeian
Palauan/Kosraean/Chamorru/Kiribati/
but when Hawaii insists
on lumping us all together
when they belittle us and tell us we’re small
when they tell us our people are small
when they give you a blank face
when they give you a closed door
when so many in Hawaii hate
Micronesians, when so many hate
us
LESSON NUMBER 6
That’s how I learned
That’s how I learned
That’s how I learned
to hate
me.
The IMF concluded its evaluation of the FSM's economic standing. Their evaluations are conducted annually and reports indicate the FSM's economy is on a "steady growth path".As of December 5, 2012. 
Keitani Graham was an early believer in The Fourth Branch. A contributer, mentor and influence to our cause. A supporter since our inception.
A leader in example, a teacher through life, a brother in memory and a Champion for all Micronesians.
Our first interview:
Our second interview:
Navy Seabess & Waagey CanoeMonday, Novermber 12, 2012
Habele Directors Meet With Habele Scholarship Winners and Families
Contact: Habele
FSM (691) 952-5005
USA (803) 586-2358
njm@habele.org
"Charity Wraps Up Successful Listening Tour in Yap"
Habele Directors and supporters just completed their 2012 “Listening Tour” in Yap State, Micronesia. Meetings were
Hosted by the: Office of Multicultural Student Services (OMSS) at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
Helpful tips for college. (In Marshallese and Chuukese languages)
Guam Governor signs into law a bill that allows the, "transfer[] [of] those serving sentences on Guam to their home of origin". While this may be great for Guam, it may be harmful to the FSM. According to Guam Vice-Speaker, BJ Cruz in a report from the Pacific News Center: FAS (Freely Associated States) citizens make up "[a] full one third of
By: Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner
World Ocean’s Day in Delap
MAJURO, Republic of the Marshall Islands –
Refrigerators, tires, car parts, washers, cans, and plastics weren’t the only waste collected during the morning hours of World Ocean’s Day this past June 9th. After 3 hours of roaming the beaches of Delap,
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