Homeless In Hawaii - More Land For The Military Than For Hawaiians

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Part One of Two
By Winona LaDuke

It's summer in Hawaii, the state is considering another generous land donation to the military and has made homelessness a crime. Under the cover of the term "Military Transformation" and with the blanket of 9/11, the military is taking a wide berth in land stealing. And, recently enacted Act 50 makes criminals out of people who have been displaced by the military itself, many of them Native Hawaiian.

"They bombed the houses in the l940s and took over the entire valley," explained Sparky Rodrigues, one of many Makua residents still waiting to move home. "The government moved all of the residents out and said after the war, you can move back - and then they used the houses for target practice. The families tell stories that the military came with guns and said, 'Here's $300, thank you,' and 'You've got to move.' Those people remain without their houses, and for years, many lived on the beaches in beautiful Makua Valley, watching the bombing of their land.

http://www.indiemediamagazine.com/article.php?story=20040808031045146">Homeless in Hawaii