VISION & MISSION
Increasingly over the past few months, I have been
asked if I feel the Church has any reflections to offer to our people
that might help them in the decisions they must make on so many difficult
questions -political, social, economic -- in the present day. Surely
the Church cannot offer simple answers to all these very intricate issues.
But certain ideas, certain reflections have come to me, along with many
others, that might help our understanding of the questions that are
so important for total human-Christian development in Micronesia today.
To give some background to these reflections of mine,
let me sketch, even if very briefly, the progress of events over the
past thirty years, as I see them.
To understand the political and economic realities
in Micronesia today, we must look to its colonial past to see what gave
rise to these realities. The 120,000 citizens of the Trust Territory,
as we know are sprinkled throughout a hundred or so islands that lie
scattered over three million square miles of the Pacific Ocean.Our people,
representing at least nine different culture-language groups, were largely
isolated from one another and from the outside world until about a century
ago. It was only with the beginning of foreign rule in 1885 that they
were linked by anything more than the term "Micronesian" which
old atlases had bestowed on them following the discovery of these islands
by western voyagers. From that time on, our people shared the experience
of colonial submission to four foreign powers in succession: Spain,
Germany, Japan and the United States.
Even
before the foreign flag was first raised on Micronesian soil, the islands
had been visited by whalers, merchants and adventurers from the west.
It was from these early visitors that our forebears, blessed as they
were with abundant food resources and all else that was necessary to
maintain their simple life-style, first learned of all that they lacked.
The shiny metal hatchets, red calico and tobacco that the visiting seamen
exchanged for their provisions and cargoes of sea slug or copra -soon
became an indispensable part of their way of life. The self-sufficiency
of their pre-contact "Stone Age" manner of living gave way
to the desire for more of the dazzling trade good from abroad. To acquire
these treasures, Micronesians opened their islands first to visiting
ships, and then to the foreigners who left them to settle ashore and
oversee the plantations and trade stations that would insure a steady
supply of foreign-made cloth, iron tools and eventually muskets and
rum. With this, the commercial conquest of Micronesia was complete and
it only remained a matter of time before the political conquest followed.
For years, the Micronesian people submissively obeyed
their colonial rulers and lived much as they always had, far removed
from the arena of great world events. It was only in the late 1930s,
during the Japanese administration of the islands under a Mandate from
the League of Nations, that Micronesians began to be drawn into the
very center of world tensions. With the global war on the horizon, the
Japanese put our people to work fortifying their islands and converting
them into bastions against enemy assault. World War II came upon these
islands with unforgettable fury. Kwajalein, Peleliu and Saipan, the
scenes of some of the bloodiest and most bitterly fought battles of
the war, were names known around the world. The price of victory in
terms of lives and tears was dear for Micronesians and Americans alike,
and the strategic military importance of island Micronesia was established
beyond all question.
In 1947 Micronesia was designated a strategic trust
territory of the United Nations (allowing military bases to be maintained
here), and the United States was given the formal authority to administer
these islands until they should achieve "self-government or ndependence."
Micronesia had become vital in the eyes of the world powers to be given
immediate control of its own destiny, and our people were once again
silent witnesses to still another change in colonial administration.
The Trusteeship Agreement became the supreme law of their lands the
United Nations Security Council became their court of final appeals,
and the United States became the arbiter of when and how their colonial
rule was to end.
The United States also incurred the responsibility
of fostering the social and educational advancement of Micronesians
as well as of promoting economic advancement and self-sufficiency. The
ultimate goal of its administration, however, was the eventual self-rule
of Micronesia and a final end to the long years of colonialism
During the early years of its administration, from
1947 to 1963, the United States studiously avoided implementing any
policies that might bring about rapid social change or increased financial
dependence. The budget was kept down to a few million dollars a year,
salaries remained low and government jobs were relatively few, educational
opportunities were limited, and social services were meager. The day
to day life of most Micronesians remained just about what it had been
at the end of the war.
In the early 1960s mounting criticism of this "zoo-keeping"
mentality, as opponents in the U.S. called it, brought about a radical
policy change by the Interior Department. The "Trust Territory,"
with its dilapidated quonset huts, unsightly debris left from the wartime,
and bone-rattling roads, was a disgrace to the U.S. administration of
the islands, critics charged. Even more shocking were the sub-standard
educational systems the shoddy health care and the almost total lack
of social welfare programs aimed at the development of the people themselves.
"Investment in man!" was the catchword of the day; only when
the administration up-graded social services, especially in the areas
of education and health, could people advance to the point where they
would willingly develop their own economy.
Wide-spread changes began to be felt in the Trust
Territory from these years on. The flow of dollars into Micronesia increased
enormously as the U.S. stepped up its annual budget from $7 million
in 1962 to $100 million last year. New schools were built on nearly
all the islands and staffed by American contract teachers and Peace
Corps volunteers. School enrollments swelled during the late 60s and
early 70s, and a growing number of high school graduates went abroad-to
obtain a college degree. Large amounts of money went into the construction
of hospitals and dispensaries, airfields, and water, sewerage and power
facilities. As the size and cost of the Trust Territory government burgeoned,
many more jobs were created for Micronesians and salaries began spiraling
upwards. Within a few years, public schools --financed by an ever larger
share of the T.T. budget and employing more and more teachers -- became
the largest source of income in the islands. The increase in government
spending stimulated growth in the private sector's service industries:
new upermarkets, restaurants and movie theaters opened everywhere during
these boom years. Practically the only area that did not show any growth
was local productivity. While imports skyrocketed from about $5 million
to $50 million between the early 60s and the present, exports of copra,
fish and farm produce gained only slightly over their $2.5 million value
in 1961. Even when the income from the "invisible export"
of tourism is added in, the value of imports is still ten times higher
than that of exports today.
In recent years U.S. Federal programs have added another
$20 million annually to the government budget and created a plethora
of social services that would be regarded as luxuries in most developing
countries. As new social legislation was enacted by the U.S. Congress
to answer to needs of the world's richest nations Micronesia was made
eligible for the same Federal funds. The inevitable result has been
a great variety of social programs, that have added to the cost of government
and raised expectations well beyond what a self-supporting Micronesian
government could ever hope to provide for its citizens.
Many Micronesians claim that the social services that
have lately come to the islands through Federal funds are only providing
long overdue solutions to pressing problems that the islands face. They
point to sub-standard housing, poor education due to badly-trained teachers
and inadequate materials, and the lack of recreational and employment
opportunities for youth giving rise to juvenile elinquency. Others look
at the elaborate governmental structures that have been developed in
recent years, and they wonder how the new states in Micronesia will
ever manage to support these costly structures. Are Micronesians, they
ask, actually working towards self reliance and eventual independence,
or are they slipping gradually into a fatalistic acceptance of dependence
on U.S. aid for many, many years to come?
In the late 70s, even as Micronesia's growing dependence
upon U.S. financial support had become painfully obvious, negotiations
to work out the islands' future political status were resumed. A major
concern of the U.S. was to retain her right to install military bases
in Micronesia and to deny other world powers access to the islands.
The turmoil and uncertainty in eastern Asia during the 70s made these
islands seem more necessary than ever as a potential fallback area,
and the U.S. wanted, if possible, to secure close and permanent political
ties with them. On the other side of the table, Micronesian leaders,
who had asserted their desire for full sovereignty over their own islands
in any future status, tempered their position out of a recognition of
their need for American financial help to maintain the level of governmental
services to which our people had grown accustomed.
Meanwhile, Micronesia was beginning to fragment politically.
First, in 1976, the Northern Marianas were granted commonwealth status
together with substantial financial aid from the U.S. in return for
a commitment to furnish land for U.S. military bases. Next Palau and
the Marshalls, the two other districts designated as possible sites
of future U.S military installations, declared their intention of separating
from the Federated States of Micronesia and initiating their own status
negotiations with the U.S. Each of these three island groups, as an
area of special military interest to the U.S., had a distinct advantage
over the other districts in working out its political status. The remaining
districts became The Federated States of Micronesia and were left to
negotiate for such as they might have to offer the U.S. -- largely the
right to grant or deny nations use of their land and waters.
And so today, thirty-two years after the signing of
the Trusteeship Agreement, our people have emerged from their isolation
and entered the world stage to claim a place that is rightfully theirs.
Ours is a people self-instructed in the arts of political diplomacy
who face the most powerful nation on earth across the negotiating table.
Ours is a people who proudly claim sovereignty over these islands as
their heritage and birthright, but who are forced to compromise this
sovereignty to some degree in order to pay their way in today's costly
world market place. Ours is a people who have been led to entertain
rather expensive expectations with regard to governmental services and
to have hopes for a way of life that would be very costly, but who lack
the productive economy necessary to realize these hopes and expectations.
Ours is a people who cling to the hopes of achieving full self-government
but are we aware of the sacrifices that such self-reliance will demand
of us? Ours is a people who aspire to self-reliance, but presently at
least are leaning ever more heavily on financial assistance from abroad.
In retrospect, we now see that mistakes, even serious
mistakes, have been made by the U.S. in its attempts to assist in the
development of Micronesia. In many cases, these mistakes have been compounded
by a tendency among many of our people to seek first the external trappings
of development at the expense of a richer
and far more important human growth. At this important juncture in Micronesia's
history, we ask all our Micronesian people to examine critically the
past so as to prepare more wisely for the future.
Clearly America must recognize that its obligation
to assist in the development of Micronesia may well extend even beyond
the termination of the Trusteeship Agreement. Although this obligation
on the part of the U.S. includes continuing financial assistance, it
does not mean only this. Even more important is its responsibility to
prepare Micronesia for the fullest form of self-government that its
people are ready to bear, even independence if this should be their
desire. But to discharge this obligation honestly and straightforwardly,
the U.S. Government will always have to subordinate whatever military
interest it has in the area to its concern for the well-being of the
Micronesian people. This is the very least that can be expected of the
U.S. in terms of its trusteeship commitment.
While U.S. financial assistance to Micronesia in the
years ahead must be adequate to meet the essential costs of a "'no
frills" government, it should not be so great as to encourage permanent
dependence on the U.S. It would be unconscionable for the U.S., which
has declared itself a champion of human rights in the world today, to
buy a nation with the promise of lavish grants. Immoderate financial
assistance from the U.S. during the coming years would only continue
to foster the unrealistic expectations that massive funding over recent
years has created. Moreover, it would seriously impair any chance for
Micronesia to increase its economic productivity. Real economic development
is born from felt need, and not solely from ready capital.
Finally, we call on Americans to resist the temptation
to view all problems as soluble by a few dollars more. Self-confidence,
community spirit and pride in one's achievements -- those qualities
that are central to human development -- cannot be bought; they must
be earned. Large cash grants from abroad are of very little help if
they do not contribute to building up those qualities that lie at the
heart of human development.
So it is that I would issue this summons to our people
at this crucial point in our history. I urge them to look to the example
of other island peoples in the Pacific who are successfully struggling
to achieve self-reliance against great odds. Let us remember that it
is not material prosperity alone that is the gauge of authentic
development. To achieve self-government which is that in fact as well
as in name, we must all work together energetically to build a sound
economy in the years to come. I am convinced this will require great
self-restraint in the consumption of goods and services as well as a
dramatic increase in productivity. It will require that Micronesian
governments make do with reduced levels of foreign assistance, and that
economic development projects must take precedence over the social services
that most people have lately come to regard as their due. Authentic
development will not come cheap to Micronesia; it will demand great
sacrifices, serious cooperation and a long- range vision that looks
to the future. But its result will be a proud and happy people, confident
in their dignity and their ability to rule themselves, a people well
prepared to cooperate with other nations of the world for peace and
security.
Our intention here in this Statement has not been
to criticize the mistakes of the past, but to consider the past in order
to plan for the future. If the Church's role in Micronesia today requires
that at times it voice its criticism, its obligation certainly goes
well beyond that. The Church must stand ready to assist in the integral
human
development of our people, a development that looks to their social
and material as well as religious needs.
All emerging nations find it difficult both to design
and to execute an appropriate plan for national development. 'In this,
then, our experience is no different from that of other Third World
Nations.
But the needs, problems, opportunities of each nation
are distinct and so each plan must be unique. For this is needed the
thoughtful concern of all.
I hope that these reflections of mine will be some
help, some guide to you, as you seek to know and fulfil God's plan for
the peoples He has called to live and to come to full stature in these
island nations.
+Martin J. Neylon,, S.J.
MJN/ecv September 8, 1979
