Travel – Page 4 – Where’s Fran?

A Day or Two in DC

This photo posted on my Facebook needs a little explanation. So let me explain. I was in Washington for two days in response to a request to help find a way to bring together Pacific Island representatives in Washington to engage in a discussion of issues that are important to them. After all, Micronesia has three ambassadors in DC (FSM, Palau and the Marshalls) not to mention the other Pacific Island embassies within the Beltway. But there are also three members of US Congress from the islands?Guam, CNMI and American Samoa. Why not try to get them together to meet occasionally on Pacific matters?

April 6, 2015
Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Compact, Culture, Economics, Migration, Travel, Videos

Max Yarawamai

Max Yarawamai?s story is that of an island boy who made good. Today he owns a landscaping company on the Big Island of Hawaii that employs over 200 people and has big projects underway all over the state. Despite his success, he has not lost contact with his own people. Max, born in Ulithi, has set up clinics on his own atoll and has built a park that provides basketball, volleyball and other freetime activities for other migrants.

April 2, 2015
Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Compact, Culture, Economics, Migration, Travel, Videos

Innocenta Sound

The move to Honolulu didn?t come easily for Lukunor-born Innocenta Sound. She was uprooted suddenly to care for her father, the former lieutenant governor of Chuuk, when he went on dialysis in Hawaii. The former policewoman became a social activist even as she began full-time work with fellow migrants in a low-income neighborhood of the city. She lives out the ideal of islanders taking care of their own.

April 1, 2015
Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Compact, Culture, Economics, Migration, Travel, Videos

Lowery Lowery

Lowery Lowery, born in Kosrae, had an interest in security from the outset. After graduating from PATS, he joined the US Marines and served in Iraq. Later he became a key figure in a local security company in Hawaii. Like so many other community leaders, he has been asked to play a key role in helping his fellow migrants. Besides serving as a lay leader in his church, he has been asked to preside at community events.

March 31, 2015
Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Compact, Culture, Economics, Migration, Travel, Videos

Alice Ehmes

Many knew Alice Ehmes back in the islands, when she worked for the College of Micronesia and then served with the National Government. The competent administrator then is still the same, but now she is working for the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. You?ll see her at the computer tending her website, advising women applying for jobs, and on her favorite means of transportation.

March 30, 2015
Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Compact, Culture, Economics, Migration, Travel, Videos

Serpian Yaliweisei

There?s more than enough room in a family for two or even three cultures, as Serpian Yaliweisei?s story shows. The boy from Ifaluk who once thought he might be a navigator ended up as the quality control manager for a large heavy equipment company in the outskirts of Dallas. His family redefines the term cultural melting pot; there is room for both Mexican and Micronesian music and dance. Read More

Castro Mudong: At Home While Away

March 29, 2015
Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Compact, Culture, Economics, Migration, Travel, Videos

Castro Mudong

Salem, Oregon, is just a few miles south of Portland?one of the largest concentrations of Micronesians in the mainland US. The grandfather of the Pohnpeian community there is Castro Mudong, the former police chief on Pohnpei before moving to the US to serve for years in the Portland area. Because of his seniority Castro presides at events like the softball tournament held there last summer. Read More

Asinech Hellan Pangelinan: At Home While Away

March 28, 2015
Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Compact, Culture, Economics, Migration, Travel, Videos

Asinech Hellan Pangelinan

Here?s Asinech Hellan Pangelinan at work as an optometrist in Phoenix and at home with her young child. She made the move to the US when she finished high school in Chuuk and remained there ever since. She may have left, but a good part of her remains in the islands, as you?ll see from the charity work she does and the songs she sings. Read More

Francis X. Hezel, SJ, is a Jesuit priest who has lived and worked in Micronesia since 1963. At different times he has served as high school teacher, school administrator, pastor, and regional superior to the Jesuits of Micronesia. He spent thirty years directing the Micronesian Seminar, a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Pohnpei, Micronesia.

He has written and spoken widely about social change and its impact on island societies. He has also written several books on Micronesian history, including The First Taint of Civilization, Strangers in Their Own Land, and The New Shape of Old Island Cultures. His most recent book, Making Sense of Micronesia: The Logic of Pacific Island Culture, is available through University of Hawaii Press.