Why are we concerned with accepting the Gitmo detainees

Why are we concerned with the decision to relocate the Uighurs from Quantanamo Prison to the Republic of Palau? The reasons some of us in Palau are reluctant to accept the Uighurs are as follows:

The Uighurs  were caught as “terrorists” and have been detained by US for the last several years and we in Palau do not know who they really are and why they are coming to live among us. Our islands are small and we are very small island society and the presence of others to live among us must be scrutinized seriously. If we are asked to clean up the mess that Bush Administration created, we must completely understand the consequences of our decision to accept the Uighurs to live among us.

We think that United States must give us a good reason why they cannot relocate to the United States of America. We have nothing against the Uighurs and some of us in Palau who are reluctant to accept them think that US must first offer to relocate them to US before they ask their friends to help relocate them. We have similar experience with US after the war when US relocated the inhabitants of Bikini Island from the Marshall Islands and tested 56 atomic bombs there claiming that the move was “humanitarian” and necessary for the world peace. US asked the Bikinians to move out of Bikini for the good of humanity. Today the Islanders are nomads of the Pacific without a home and they still suffer from the radiation sicknesses. Today they do not have a home because they sacrificed their home for “humanitarian” reason.

We still think that a decision that will affect the lives of so many Palauans must be made after consultation with majority of the people. We respect our leaders and we want to abide by their decision, but we must consider the future of our children.

It must be made clear that this problem is not with the Uighurs. They may be innocent and peace loving people like us and we have no ill feelings toward them. The relocation problem of Uighurs was created by the United States of America and they must first offer to relocate them to US and after that they can ask friends and allies to help relocate them. The United States must tell us why they are reluctant to bring the Uighurs to live among them in the United States of America. Pacific Islanders have very small islands we call home and we are struggling to save our islands from excessive high tides due to global warming that we did not start. Every piece of land is very precious to us and the international communities must understand our concerns.

We lost so much during the last war and we have not fully recovered from the loss. We have been bounced back and forth between the strong nations and we always end up being victimized by them. We seem to end up a victim of somebody’s war and we are told to make the sacrifice for “HUMANITARIAN” reason. Please give us time to weigh the advantage and the disadvantage of this issue before a decision is made. We are slow and meticulous people and we always reach a major decision after consultation with all concerned and full knowledge of possible consequences. After all it is our lives and the lives of our children that will be affected by the decision we hastily make today.

Thank you,

Palauan Fisherman

— This article was originally published in Tia Belau, June 22-28 edition as a Guest Commentary –