Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory

Foreword

ix Foreword The question of who we are or what we are comes from our life at Kalaupapa. All of us deserve the opportunity that we have earned over the years to tell our story. The idea is that the stories I tell to people, they mean a lot to me. My story is the story that connects my life. It goes back to the day I was admitted as a patient. I was six and a half years old. That was the hardest thing for me. There I was without my Mama, without my family. My family was my Mom. My Mom loved me and she wanted to come as often as she could to visit me. I looked forward to the day when I would see her and hold her and kiss her. I was living for her. For me, that was the hardest part of my life— living without Mama. Without her I was nobody. I remember when Mama came down to see me at Kalihi Hospital for the first time. She couldn’t come inside. I could see the tears running down her face. She wants to hold me and she cannot hold me. It was like I broke the law because I had the disease. To feel the touch between a parent and son—that’s the thing that many of us lost. To be away from my family was the hardest thing that ever happened­ to me. This story of separation from our families is the story that belongs to most of us—to all of us. This story comes from the heart. Without my Mom, I was a little kid without somebody to be my backup. I was eleven years old when I was sent to Kalaupapa. That was very traumatic. I didn’t know how to handle it. But, although I didn’t know the people at Kalaupapa, they became my friends. They became­my family. They made a difference in my life. I cherish those memories—not only the time we spent together, but sharing those memories with you. Without the memories,­there wouldn’t be anything left. Our history, the story of the people who have lived and died at Kalaupapa, can’t x   foreword be separated from the rest of Hawaiian history. It affected the political, the social, and even the economic concerns of the government. I don’t think you can put it on the side and say, well, it was just a page. I think it’s more than just a page in the history of Hawaii. I am proud of our people who, although they were taken away from their homes and families, went on to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of so many others. This is our story—a story to be remembered, a story to be treasured,­a story to be held close to your hearts. bernard ka‘owakaokalani punikai‘a Composer, Musician, Community Leader, International Human Rights Advocate ...