Sorry, not as stupid…

China’s President Xi Jinping shut down Macau’s huge junket tour operators that included Hengsheng Group (directly under Imperial International Holdings Ltd., known locally as Best Sunshine).

Junket tours involve providing loans to wealthy Chinese gamblers such as property and company assets as collateral but in view of falling home prices and “squeeze on liquidity” most junket firms have been closed.

Now the group is looking at Saipan for its $3-billion casino investment that entails an integrated resort. Interesting how the much-touted $7 billion plan has been quietly reduced to $3 billion. Would the project eventually materialize or peter out? The freewheeling switch in figures makes this project highly suspect, if anything! Is it $3 billion or $7 billion or none of the above?

By the way, I’m interested on BSI’s integrated resort (if there’s still a firm plan to move it forward). You see it would require more than just empty spouts here, there and everywhere! We must buckle down to figuring out how much is needed for the emplacement of basic infrastructure, e.g., water, power, roads, and sewer. Next: Do we have the CIP funds for it or is this alley as empty, forced by the mounting fiscal crisis at home?

Who said that an integrated resort is the answer to tourism development in the NMI? Whose view is this and why the convenient elimination of indigenous sentiment on this very important issue? Are we only cogs on a matter kicked about whimsically by people who think they could mute our sentiments at will with new slaves on imperial Capital Hill, you know, new slaves who’d bow to their every whim?

It’s troubling how this (IR) could just as well replicate what has happened to other casinos in the northeastern part of the country (U.S.) where the promotion is one of building huge facilities. The plan fizzled out that included the shutter of several casinos. Are we trailing behind to replicate failure? Who says “bigger” is better?

Seoul in South Korea has recently approved an $850 million integrated resort to be spread out into nine areas. How do we compete with SK on this score? I mean we haven’t gone past the planning stage as other more fiscally suited competitors are already taking off on their IR plan.

You could chance spouting baseless threats against President Jinping but never forget for a moment that we also know how to read and breeze through critical analysis. Oh, we’re not as dumb as we look! Eh, none of this condescending BS, please?

Loss of indigenous heritage
It feels hopelessly naked struggling to understand our people’s complacence or acquiescence or both in the ruination of sacred ancestral burial ground in favor of casino gambling. I even dreamt it was just a rare nightmare. Unfortunately, it was reality!

I didn’t know it’s now an indigenous tool, sliding in and out of remembering and forgetting. We even include a critical look at the person if he’s a donor or a party pooper.

We watched helplessly too how the Historic Preservation Office disposed of the issue that seemed to have been left to drift on its own. It lacked decisive disposition from the outset that shows lack of commitment to protect what’s indigenous ancestral history.

We hear so much about the rights of the indigenous people. Yet, the element needed to push it through was dropped completely as though “we heard nothing, don’t know anything, saw nothing!” We ignored and walked away from it! It is obvious we don’t have any sense of “oneness” that would lead us to overcome repeating the same mistakes, time and again. Or is this faint commitment indigenous too? Maybe it is!

But why do we talk about indigenous rights when we ignore standing up in its defense? Isn’t it from our cultural heritage that we teach our children the virtues and importance of traditional respect, obedience, attire, honesty, and dedication to themselves and their studies? Isn’t it through our cultural heritage that we instill indigenous values and improvements in their learning abilities? Did you know that what they learn affects them for their whole lives as though it enters their bone marrow?

Need we pretend that our heritage was on the line? How come nobody heard it crashing right in our midst? But we heard the tingling sounds of dimes and quarters in the pockets of visitors standing nearby. And we quickly trashed our heritage in favor of quick games of chance.

This complete disregard for what’s ours is a tale of how reckless we’ve become parting with a rich heritage that takes us back thousands of years. The loose disposition is really sad and very troubling too. Then what are we?

What now is the identity of the indigenous people? Can someone explain this in simple language for the benefit of posterity? Humiliating! Kau taigue esta i dignu na integredat espiritun natibu giya hits?

Peace memorial: I admire our friends from the Land of the Rising Sun for organizing and building peace memorials in Marpi. The blessings of the projects were promptly celebrated with echoes for global peace messages in their expressions on each occasion.

I’ve been to Bikini, Rongelap and Utirik in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. I sat in the graves of islanders poisoned to death by radiation powder that fell upon their roofs when the A-Bomb was detonated in 1944. The strength of a single explosion literally erased an entire island larger than Managaha with nothing but a deep blue sinkhole downstairs.

For years since detonation they had to undergo annual medical check-up by the Atomic Energy Commission to see how far has serious issues developed with thyroid dysfunction. Returning home, I ask: When would my brothers and sisters ever embrace that quieting and calming sense of home again?