Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 12, 1 December 1989 — A spirit of unity and destiny [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A spirit of unity and destiny

By Moses Keale, Trustee, Kaua'i

Anoai Kakou: It was a heart warming journey to the big, big island of America. All of us experienced the generous greetings of our Hawaiian 'ohana in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Seattle, Salt Lake and Washington, D.C. We set out on this journey

not knowing what to expect and got more than we expected. The formal testimonies were expected. The formal testimonies were comprehensive, knowledgeable and given in a spirit of sharing. The concerns seem to be the same eoncems as Hawaiians everywhere. The informal

discussions were even more rewarding. There seemed to be a eommon theme. He Hawai'i Au! He Hawai'i Kakou! As we listened to speaker after speaker, 'ohana after 'ohana tell us how mueh they missed "home" and wished to return to Hawai'i soon, it became apparent that Hawaiians, no matter where they live, leave a great part of themselves in their homeland. Maybe it is because their other 'ohana is at home in Hawai'i or maybe it is just to ensure that there will always be a reason, an excuse to return to the home of origin. I was especiaily stmck with the emotional expression of our transplanted Hawaiians. The plea was not to forget them. They said to us in every plaee we visited, "Don't forget us. We are Hawaiian too. We care about what is happening at home. We want to help. We want to do our share. Tell us what to do. How ean we help our people? Tell us where to go and who to talk to and we will

march to the drumbeat of our people." With such warriors who could not feel choked with emotion? Yes, there is room at the table for all. Our energy, our spiritualness will speak from Hawai'i — the homeland — across this nation to mobiKze us aU in a eommon battle cry "He Hawai'i Au! He HaWai'i Kakou!" 'Ekolu mea nui ma ka honua, 'O ka mana'o'i'o, ka mana'olana, A me ke aloha, ke aloha ka i'oi a'e, Pomaika'i, na mea apau, With this faith in ourselves, hope for our future, and aloha kekahi i kekahi, let us march into the new year with the spirit of unity and destiny. Merry Christmas to aK and a safe and prosperous New Year. A i mana'o kekahi e lilo i po'okela i waena o oukou, e pono no e lilo ia ia kauwa no oukou. Na ke Akua e malama a e alaka'i ia kakou apau.