Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 5, 1 May 2000 — Vandals caught [ARTICLE]

Vandals caught

Mahalo nui loa for including an article conceming the vandalism that occurred at Pu'uiki Cemetery located in the Waialua district on the island of O'ahu. This is a very sensitive topic for Hawaiians because these individuals that are buried at those cemeteries and at traditional sites are our foundation and if it weren't for them we would not exist. The need to mālama them is a necessity. Otherwise incidents such as this and also recent discovery of bones found while replacing a pipe in Waikīkī will disturb the 'āina and result in landslides like those at Kaliuwa'a and at Waimea Bay. The first took life while the current one took the economy. House Bill 2809 (increasing penalties for cemetery vandalism) passed unanimously in the House of Representatives and is now awaiting Senate approval so it ean be forwarded to the govemor for approval. The eulprits that vandalized Pu'uiki Cemetery were caught by poliee. We need more legislative measures to protect our kūpuna and this includes mandatory environmental and cultural impact statements on every phase of eaeh project solicited. Bottom line: no more waivers. We must continue to mālama our kūpuna. Thomas Shirai Jr. Waialua