Before the boonie flight project

Weekender #8 | Save the islands, save the world

Nov 4

You’re reading The Husk's Friday edition, our Weekender, a countdown/roundup of miscellanea from Micronesia, Guam, and Earth.

…important quotes from Micronesians

“There is no dignity to a slow and painful death: you might as well bomb our islands instead of making us suffer only to witness our slow and fateful demise.”

-Surangel Whipps Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, speaking at COP26, per The Guardian. President Whipps likened the large emitters (looking at you United States/China/EU/India) to Uab, the boy of Palauan legend who wouldn’t stop eating and growing, depleting the people of natural resources. So the people set his ass on fire. And President Whipps (in a presidential way of course) said COP26 has to light the fire.

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“As our great champion, Tony deBrum used to say the thought of having to give up our islands is repulsive to us. But if we save the Marshall Islands, we will save the world.”

-Selina Leem, climate activist from the Marshall Islands. She was the youngest delegate to speak at the climate summit in 2015, according to CHIKIN MEĻEĻE.

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“We’re just island peoples living in the middle of the Pacific, so far away as not to even be considered. That’s what they thought when they used us as a testing site, and it still hasn’t changed.”

-Rhea Moss-Christian, the chair of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission, who attended a recent Congressional hearing on the nuclear waste in the Marshall Islands.

The LA Times headline, “Rep. Katie Porter presses Biden team on Marshall Islands nuclear waste, gets few answers,” is reflective of the Pacific Islander experience. “Getting few answers” from Washington D.C. about issues important to people in the Micronesian region is par for the course. While islanders have that in common with Katie Porter, when islanders are dismissed (like Ms. Porter was) the LA Times doesn’t usually deem it worthy of a headline.

…things from Guam

There’s still time to save endangered species on Guam.
CHamoru princess and pop star Pia Mia released a Christmas album. Even though I’m definitely not Pia’s target market, I will never not listen to her music. If you recall, she is the sparkling voice on the 2015 bop “Do It Again.”¹

…more reason to talk to your dog

They listen and that’s why they’re tilting their heads.

Adopt A Shelter dog month is over but I still have boonie dogs and rescues on the brain.

Before the Boonie Flight Project was born this year, there were a few other times dogs from Guam were rescued and flown to homes off-island. In 2012 , about a dozen boonie puppies were sent to Trenton, Maine. It looked like it was a pilot project of sorts named—wait for it—the Island Hopping Campaign (cue a chorus of coos). I tried to reach out to the executive director of the Hancock County SPCA at the time to find out what came of that campaign. I suspect nothing happened beyond that.

When the Guam Greyhound Race Track shut down in 2008, some 300 greyhounds found themselves without a home, according to GAIN. Over 100 were flown to the states and one even became quite famous.

After the track closed, a greyhound who would become known as Cartier was found emaciated on the streets and taken in. He was adopted by Dana Provost and then in 2010, he was entered into a Petfinder.com contest. He won and the $10,000 prize money from the contest was given to GAIN. Cartier has since died but it appeared he lived quite the glamourous life before his passing. Dana wrote that Cartier also placed third in a Cesar Millan Best Camera Face competition and won in a past Las Vegas Humane Society’s Polished Pooch Contest. ²