Occupy Honolulu' ready for celebrations, taking camp to UH Manoa
By Brenton Awa
By Brenton Awa
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - From Wall Street to main streets around the world, protestors in more than 30 cities will mark "Occupy Wall Street's" one-year anniversary on September 17, 2012. Demonstrators in Honolulu say their fight against corporate greed and other problems are still going strong.
The Occupy Honolulu group claims to be the longest running occupy group in the world. About a dozen tents are lined up on the Beretania street sidewalk fronting Thomas Square. Some onlookers say it's an eyesore, but members of the group tell us it's the most pleasant eyesore in Hawaii. They say its camps look is a way of getting their message across. The group says their main issues are getting "Genetically Modified Organisms" or GMOs labeled and finding a remedy for Hawaii's houseless situation.
"This movement is here with these tents, with the whole purpose of putting it in their face. We do it in a manner that isn't destructive. We're not vandalizing, we're not causing fights. You don't see rubber bullets and chaos and broken windows and all that," said Chris Smith, an Occupy Honolulu member. "We do it in a way that's truly peaceful and our camp has been shown throughout just for that basis, how to maintain a peaceful movement."
The camp had been in Honolulu since Nov. 1, 2011. Supporters have found ways to get around the law enabling them to keep their set-up at Thomas Square. Chris Smith is also a member of the Makiki neighborhood board. He tells us the group has no intention of leaving, until Hawaii's houseless situation is fixed.
Occupy Honolulu has organized several events for Monday's celebration starting with a rally at the State Capitol, followed by a discussion at Thomas Square. Its supporters will then march to University and Dole, where they'll be setting up for a weeklong camp.
Copyright 2012 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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