Many letters found described about personal incidences, fears and ill treatments by Westerners. A letter by John W. Makanoanoa of Kailua, Kona, island of Hawai'i. On July 28, 1866, Nupepa Kuokoa published one of the earliest letters. An experience of being arrested based on suspicion of leprosy. John described his experience on board the ship Kilaue'a:
Ua haalele aku makou ia Kailua ma ka la 11 o Iulai. A ia makou hoi maliina o ka moku, ua hoonohoia ae la makou iloko o ka pa puaa, me ka hookapu loa ia mai, aole e puka ae iwaho, aole no hoi e pii ae iluna, a hookahi wale no wahi e noho ai, mai ka la i kau mai ai iluna o ka moku.'
We left Kailua on July 11. And when we were on the boat, we were packed in a pigpen, with severe prohibitions not to go outside, and not to go up above, and there was only one place to stay from the day we boarded the boat.
After arriving in Honolulu, at the pier at 'Ainahou, Makanoanoa and others remained in the pigpen; they were not allowed to mingle with the other passengers. They waited, confined, until a horse-drawn carriage arrived to transport them to the hospital in Kalihi-Kai, where Makanoanoa was examined and released. While at Kalihi, he carefully observed the fate of others who were diagnosed with leprosy. He cautioned those who might be arrested and diagnosed with the disease:
Ina oe he keiki no ka helu akahi, e hookomo ko waho ia loko, e paina oe i kau mau mea a pau loa, a e hoomakaukau oe i na mea o koti hopena, no ka mea, o kou laweia ana mai a hiki ma ka Hale-mai o Kalihi-kai, a hala loa aku hoi i Molokai, ua like no ia me kou iho mua ana i loko o ka lua kupapau . . . Eia no hoi; ina no he waiwai nui kou, e hoomakaukau mua oe i Palapala Hooilina no kou waiwai, i ili aku ai ia maluna o kou hooilina, no ka mea, o kou ike hope ana aku la no ia
i kou ohana.*
If you are a first-rate child, you should put what you have outside inside, eat everything that you have, and you should prepare things for your fate, because you will be taken away to the Kalihi-kai Hospital, and passed on to Molokai, it is like your first descent into the grave . . . Further, if you have a lot of wealth, first you should prepare a will so that it will be bequeathed to your heirs, because this will be your last sight of your family". (p. 79)
Reference:
Silva, N. & Fernanndez, P. (2006). Mai Ka 'Aina O Ka 'Eha'eha Mai: Testimonies of Hansen's Disease Patients in Hawai'i, 1866-1897. The Hawaiian Journal of History, (40), 75-97.
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Any person who was suspected of having Hansens Disease would be sent to Kalaupapa, Moloka'i.
Starting in 1865, po'e was quarantined at this remote peninsula. Letters were sent to different Hawaiian newspapers in Hawaiian.
I'm sharing this mo'olelo because a relative of mines was sent to Kalaupapa. He was sent there because he was suspected of having Hansens Disease. The mo'olelo goes on to say that he eventually died there even though he had left a son behind. The wife remarried and name the child after her first husband even though he was raised by the second husband.
The child eventually grew up and found out the truth later. Thus, at a reunion on Molokai in 1999, other 'ohana shared the same mo'olelo and traced back to a Kalaupapa. Although not in letter form, the communication between families of what occurred has been passed from one generation to another.
This hits the "core" of how our 'ohana was ill treated. They had no choice. If he decided to flee, his family would have been tortured too. Irregardless, ill treatment to have the "AKAKA BILL" shoved in our faces reminds me of the letter of John'a personal experience.
I leave you with these thoughts....
DO NOT ALLOW SOMEONE TO TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR OWN HISTORY UNTIL YOU DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH YOURSELF. READ AND EDUCATE YOURSELF OF WHAT HAPPENED TO US (HAWAIIANS) AS WELL AS HEAR OTHERS SHARE THEIR MANA'O.
THE AKAKA BILL MUST BE READ LINE BY LINE IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE HOW IT NEGATIVELY AFFECT HAWAIIANS. DON'T BE FOOLED...
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maikai, namaka'eha. very true and i hope that the akaka bill does not pass. it destroys us hawaiians, and we should stand up for our rights. E ku'e kakou!
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