On the other hand, yes, I agree that the local government must be reimbursed for all
      the additional expenses incurred for providing shelter, subsistence, and whatever else
      is needed to take care of illegal aliens. This is where, whoever our representative is,
      (the last one that I knew was the Hon. John Quan), needs to lobby in D.C. for
      support.  

      If the Government of Guam cannot support the illegals; deport them! We must do
      what we have to do in order that there is sufficient funds to take care of the local
      population. Work must be made available to the locals first, then everyone else after.
      As for the people who immigrate from the other islands, sorry about that. The locals
      have been deprived of so much for so long. I remembered years ago; the people from
      Palau were getting free tuitions to attend the University there. The locals were denied
      this priviledge, myself included!   

      As for the cost of living on the island...I believe that we are facing what the residents
      of Hawaii faced years ago, and are still to this day, is the huge influx of outsiders
      purchasing properties from the locals. This drives everything else to sky rocket in
      price. The legislatures must draft laws to curb this problem. Just as in Hawaii; the
      locals will not be able to afford anything. They will be forced to live in the streets, or
      on the beaches in cardboard boxes; which would ultimately end up in their removal,
      because they're "eye sores".   

      I agree wholeheartedly that we must put our votes to work, and force our leaders to do
      theirs. We must make a stand just like the Hawaiians did! We are steadily losing our
      foothold of our home, and once we lose it completely...it will be very difficult to regain
      it all back.  

      Si Yuus Maase 

      DAN 

       Thank you for allowing me the use of your beautiful web page in sharing something that I’ve wanted to relate with other expatriates from Guam. The (for lack of better words) issue that I want to bring up concerns political activism for the sole purpose of helping our families and friends back home. 

       Afañélos, the Internet has made it so much easier and cheaper to keep apprised of what is going on back home. I am a frequent patron of AuntieCharo, K-57, and KUAM TV. I also read the news summaries in the IT&E web page. I am confident that most of you also do the same and are pretty much in touch with some of the current issues and problems that our families and friends have to confront on a daily basis. 

       Afañélos, we all know that the cost of living back home is just outrageous.  I, for one, can’t understand the huge disparity in prices between what we pay in the mainland to what people pay for in Guam. My contacts in Guam are shocked when I tell them that a grocery budget of $400.00 a month will take care of a family of four in my locale. 

       Why is it so expensive back home? 

       Businessmen will tell you that it is all due to various overhead expenses unique to places like Guam, the CNMI, Hawaii, etc… That’s probably true, but I am sure that some of them can be controlled and the savings passed on to the consumer. To my understanding, one reason why the cost of living in Guam is outrageous is an outdated federal law called the Jones’ Act. 

       I don’t know too much about the Jones’ Act, but I think it has something to do about shipping laws designed to protect American carriers at the expense of the people in Guam and other similar areas. Moreover, I am under the impression that amending this maritime statute would reduce some of the aforementioned overhead expenses. 

       This is where people like us come into the picture. Afañélos, I think it is time to assert our presence in the American community. 

       We may be minorities amongst minorities and we may be scattered all over the mainland, Alaska, and Hawaii. But, our votes have equal weight with any other citizen. Our respective federal leaders need to be reminded that people in Guam count too and that we (expatriates) will use our ballots to lobby them into assisting our families and friends back home. 

       We all know that people from Guam do not have a bona fide representative or senator to represent the Island’s interests. We do have a Congressional Delegate, but they can’t vote and can only get things done by networking and lobbying with other Congressional Representatives. 

       If the cost of living issue doesn’t get you riled up, how about the spate of illegal aliens from Mainland China. These aliens have created an economic burden for the people on Guam. The Government of Guam has had to house them and feed them. To my understanding, the government has been doing this without any financial assistance from the Federal Government. To my understanding, the federal government promised to reimburse the local government for the extraordinary expenditures. I think we should write to our Congressional Delegates and ask them to do something about it. 

       The Government of Guam is also confronted with a similar problem with the influx of people from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). To my understanding, the Federal Government is legally obligated into reimbursing the Government of Guam for absorbing the new residents. My contacts tell me that the Washington is a little slow in meeting its obligations. Again, this is something we can contact our respective federal leaders to address. 

       Folks, these FSM residents put a strain on the Island’s various governmental services: schools, hospitals, housing, welfare, etc…We need to push our leaders into expediting the money. 

       These are just some of the things that come to mind. There are others such as crime, high incidents of drug abuse, and government corruption. There is also the slump in the Island’s cash cow – the tourism industry. They are local issues, however, and should be addressed by Island leaders. 

       Afañélos, I wrote this article because I love my family, friends, Island, and people. I may live in the mainland, but my heart is still back home. I would like to see my family and friends enjoy a better lifestyle with improved governmental services. We are about to embark into a new millenium and our Island still has problems with water and electricity. This is ridiculous and needs to be addressed. 

       Our leaders and people are not asking for help. No one pushed me into writing this editorial. This is something I’ve wanted to express for a long time. 

       We can do something to help our leaders back home and asserting our political existence with our federally elected leaders is one way to accomplish this. These people need to know that people from Guam exist, people from Guam are part of  the American community, and people from Guam willingly serve their country in the military. 

       Afañélos, become a registered voter and find out who your Congressional Representatives are.  Write to them and let them know where you stand. Ask them to support Guam’s Delegate and the Commonwealth movement.  Ask them to reimburse the Government of Guam for the aforementioned obligations. 

 Afañélos, stand up and assert our presence. 

       Si Aragon