Fear is here

Many months ago there was a small group of local folks that met several times to talk about making a future vision for the CNMI. Our leader organized the group of about 20 people and we made good progress toward defining the things that in an ideal “life” we would like to see become the norm for the CNMI. The list was long and somewhat of a dream, but the group felt good about what we were doing and participation in the meetings was good!

One of many topics we discussed was we wanted to have “Freedom from Fear” in the CNMI! At first we did not fully understand what that meant. Some group members did not agree that this would even be a good topic for us to put into the “vision” statement. But as time has passed the level of fear in the CNMI has increased, and I am sorry to say that we have now reached the point where fear is causing serious problems for our society.

The most recent event that has caused great fear on Saipan is the two missing girls. They are innocent children who have disappeared for no reason. The sadness of the community and the fear that all parents now have that their own kids could also become victims, this event has made our people age with worry. Who did this thing and why is it this devil cannot be caught creates more fear for all.

As horrible as this event has been, there are others that also generate fear. For example, the young girl that got raped by multiple persons on her way to school. It is known who these people are, but still they are not punished. How can parents accept this slow movement of justice? The people who did this crime are still walking the roads of Saipan. There is fear that it could happen again, that is easily understood.

There are many other examples of fear living in our community. People are afraid to speak their minds. For example when I have taken polls and opinion surveys, it sometimes takes me five people to find one that will sign the paper. I have asked, you support the proposal but why not sign? Sometimes the answer is, “My family owns a business and I am afraid that if my name appears on the list it could hurt them,” or “I work for the government and I do not want to lose my job,” or “I support the position, but I want to ask my parents first.” There is fear to be honest and open to express opinions. The reason appears to be that some people in our government will retaliate if “crossed”; a job given by a politician can also be taken away. It is intimidation in the worst form and people have fear of losing their jobs and livelihood. Even some parents intimidate their adult kids to think only like them.

The laws of the CNMI do not seem to treat the people equally. It is often the case that jury trials can be unfair if it is a “local” vs. an “outsider”. Minor situations can to go to trial with the use of lawyers and the associated expenses. People fear that this situation may fall upon them for no other reason than to extract money from the deepest pocket. The local insurance companies do not like to offer high payout policies on liability protection because of these sometimes frivolous lawsuits.

I could go on and on with examples of how fear lives in the CNMI. One only needs to go to the local newspapers to get examples. The real issue is how can we change to become a community that is “free of fear.” The leadership in our churches, schools, businesses, and government need to come together and face this huge problem directly. They need to ask the hard questions: “why” fear happens, “what” steps must be taken to help our community, “how” do we take actions that make change happen for good, releasing us from fear.

Our government is failing to help remove fear from our lives. In reality our government is failing the people of the CNMI. Government seems to be the source of many problems that result in fear. They do not seek help from our other leaders in the community to collaborate together to create the good changes we need. Our people are becoming fearful and depressed, I can understand why. For example, the people have voted twice not to allow casinos on Saipan, but some legislators still want to force casinos on the people, for the benefit of whom? Zoning law is for the benefit of all the people, but zoning seems to be opposed by some in government. Is it personal gain by some special interest? People have a fear that their retirement will not be paid? Who is to blame? The fear of deportation lives with many of our people who have no status. All of us have the fear of not having enough money to pay utility bills. Even simple things like driving on unmarked roads with no center or edge lines create fear for the lack of safety. All of these fears, and many more, are with us while the Legislature spends their time on useless new laws about trash fees, many resolutions, and marijuana. We the people are filled with the fear that our government officials do not seem to understand what to do to help. Ask yourself, can our current government manage the many changes we need?

People must think about these issues and decide if they want change for a better standard of life. Voting for the same “leaders” we have will not bring change. Do the people want to help themselves by voting for new government officials, ones that will dedicate themselves to the well-being of all? Or do we stay where we are, in the deep rut of life that we are in now, to never change, never improve, never realize the best for everyone in the CNMI? Will we live in fear for the rest of our lives? I vote to live without fear and to be free.