I confess that before today I had not. I don't think that I have ever even heard of the Mariana islands in spite of some knowledge of the South Pacific and South East Asia. This surprises me because I have had good friends from this region. This is the area south of China, east of India and north of Australia. It consists of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam & the Malaysian Peninsula on mainland Asia and the eastern/southeastern volcanic isles of Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines & Singapore. Then there are the Christmas and Cocos Islands ruled by Australia and Taiwan which is sometimes counted. Everyone must have heard of the West Indies; well, this region was the East Indies. They certainly have a diverse and rich culture.
Do you know of the Chamorro (or Chamoru) people? Again, I had not until today.
Well, the common factor in the answer to these questions is Guam. I challenge you to look up this island's history- you might find it interesting but if not, at least you'd have learned something. I did. I was stimulated by a meeting I watched on C-Span that talked about the HR 44 and recognizing residents of Guam. Another fact that I just learned is that C-SPAN, a channel which airs continuous programs on government proceedings, stands for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network. Anyway, pardon the digression... I have read that the U.S. captured Guam in 1898 while the Spanish were still in occupation, a situation that had existed since the sixteen hundreds. Many decades would pass before the three-year Japanese invasion, after which the colony would be restored as an American territory. However, it remains an unincorporated territory even now. So what is H.R. 44? It is the Guam WWII Loyalty Recognition Act. The bill was introduced earlier this year and has been referred to the legislative committee which I guess is what I was watching, with Del Madeleine Bordallo and others speaking at length. Here is a quote from WashingtonWatch.com:
Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act - Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the people of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II.
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make specified payments to: (1) living Guam residents who were killed, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; and (2) survivors of compensable residents who died in war or survivors of compensable injured residents (such payments to be made after payments have been made to surviving Guam residents).
Well, this was quite fascinating to me and as they say, learning is lifelong. It is easy to get engrossed in one's own little world, to the point of becoming ignorant of other important happenings around the nation or the world at large. I usually stay up to date by watching the news, but in recent years I find the news incredibly dismal. All I seem to catch nowadays is ... today there was a plane crash, house fire, car accident, or gunshot and the victims were... Nevertheless, I will endeavor to keep informed of current affairs from henceforth. By the way, SEA refers to South East Asia!
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