PARADISE LOST

The August 8 blaze which decimated the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui was the nation's deadliest wildfire in a century, claiming at least 115 lives. This devastating event could also develop into having a climactic affect on the traditional Polynesian culture of the Hawaiian islands. Since tourism gradually replaced the island's historic economic structure based on subsistence farming for communal use, its continued viability is now almost entirely dependent on the travel industry. As a direct result of this catastrophic, all consuming, firestorm, Maui now sees 4,250 fewer visitors each day, losing $9 million tourist dollars every 24 hours. Hawaiian natives employed in the tourist industry, even those well removed from the burn site in West Maui, are losing their jobs. They will soon be unable to pay for rent and food. In the meantime, many locals are legitimately concerned that unscrupulous corporate real estate developers will attempt to exploit this dire situation by purchasing devastated plots of land to build more resorts on what used to be traditional grounds - further eroding the cultural core of the islands. The assault on the Polynesian culture of the islands began, arguably, with the initial contact between the native population and outsiders. Historically the most prominent incidence of this was the landing by Captain James Cook, an English explorer, and the first European to set foot on the Hawaiian islands. During his 3rd voyage to Hawaii, Cook and some of his men lost their lives in the course of a violent altercation with native warriors at Kealakekua Bay on the big island of Hawaii on February 14, 1779. A Hundred and twenty one years later Hawaii became part of the United States. Before annexation by the U.S. the kingdom of Hawaii was a sovereign nation state under the authority of a monarch, globally recognized since the 1800s. A governmental takeover forced King Kalakaua to sign a new constitution - dubbed the Bayonet Constitution - which granted voting rights only to Americans, Europeans and land-owning Hawaiians. Most native Hawaiians were not land owners. Decades of colonial interference and coercion ultimately culminated in the forced abdication of Hawaii's last queen Liliuokalani. Outside business interests took over control of land and policy, disenfranchising local people in the process. The use of the Hawaiian language was banned, causing its near extinction. Schools and all government functions were conducted in English. Agriculture shifted from subsistence, community focused farming to cash crop plantations in order to produce exportable, salable goods. In the late 20th century use of the land would once again shift from agricultural crops to a focus on tourism. Today, tourism generates billions of dollars a year for the Hawaiian economy. It comprises 21% of the state's financial resources. In 2019 visitor spending was almost $18 billion, provided by more than 10 million visitors. The Hawaiian government reported $2.07 billion in tax revenue for that year. However, these economic gains don't trickle down to the native population. Tourism spurs land development and resort construction, funded largely by shareholders of American-Japanese investment companies. Buying up the land to resell and rent out to tourists drives up rent prices for the locals who have lived in these communities for generations. While Hawaiians are being hired, they often end up with the lowest paying service jobs. The average income of native Hawaiians is $36,989 per year. The median price of a home is well above $1 million. It is estimated that a single person who wants to live comfortably in Hawaii needs an annual income of $70,000 to $100,000. Residents are spending 42.06% of their income on rent - the highest of any state in the nation. (California ranks 2nd at 28.47%). According to a 2022 report by the Oahu Continuum of Care, Hawaii is ranked 2nd highest in the nation for rate of homelessness per 10,000 people. Fifty-one percent of these are natives. The state's poverty level grew from 9% in 2018 to 15% in 2022. Native Hawaiians have the highest poverty level at 27%. In 2022, nearly half of Hawaii's youth population reside in households unable to afford basic life necessities. The tourism industry functions as a method of wealth extraction without providing benefits to the native Hawaiians on whose lands the industry profits. No wonder that an increasing number of Hawaii's native population is leaving, forced out by the high cost of living, the lack of job opportunities and career growth, and an economy moving at a slower rate than the continent. Many are "just exhausted from trying to make ends meet." They are being priced out of the Aloha state. For them and for those still hesitant to leave, even aside from financial considerations, it must be sad to see that: deforestation and construction for tourism are destroying sacred ecosystems and the habitats of thousands of wildlife species; major islands have lost nearly a quarter of their beaches during the last century, caused by seawalls and other barriers erected by wealthy homeowners; and perhaps even more than anything else, the marginalization of a once rich Polynesian culture. All of these factors contribute to the feeling that they no longer live in the paradise of their ancestors. Theo Wierdsma