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then it won€t be Mr. Barden anymore, it will be all these new people, whoever moves into these <br />homes. And I hope that you would not punish them for what you feel, you know, was the <br />developer€s wrong way of moving into a community. It seems to me that when those new people <br />move in, if this passes, that it would be the people who live there that you should make the <br />outreach to them and say okay, you know, like welcome to our community, we would like to <br />introduce you to us, your neighbors, and who we are and how we can help you and educate you <br />about what to do during a tsunami, how to, you know, how to live with these ponds, and all that <br />sort of things, rather than expect those new people to go to you. Because they€d be feeling a <br />little, you know, strange maybe coming into a new community, wouldn€t know who to go out to. <br />But you would know who to go out to, them, because you would know where that parcel is and <br />where those people are located. So I€m just hoping that you would not, you would be looking <br />towards the future, not just constantly back on what they should have done, what they didn€t do <br />and how you feel that you might have been left out of the process. Because it€s up to you not to <br />be left out of the process. You came out here today to share with us your manao and you can <br />continuetodothat,notonlywiththedeveloperbutwiththenewpeoplewhomaymoveonto <br />that property. <br />WOODWARD:Mr. Chair? <br />WATANABE:Yes, Commissioner Woodward. <br />WOODWARD:Well, I just have a question because you have talked quite a bit, both you <br />and Patrick, about this fishpond. My understanding from the reading I€ve done is that this was <br />not a native Hawaiian fishpond. It was built as a commercial fishpond by a Portuguese in the <br />1920s; and that in the 1960s the tsunami destroyed the homes; and the place has been going into <br />a continuous state of decline since that time. So it would seem to me to be to your advantage to <br />have somebody who€d want to come in and clean this up. We€ve gotten numerous testimonies <br />about rat infestations, and drug use, and illegal activity, and it€s overgrown with weeds. So it <br />doesn€t sound to me like this is something that is a part of ancient Hawaiian heritage. This is <br />something that was built in the 1920s, basically destroyed in 1960s, and it has been going <br />downhill ever since. Is that right? <br />AH NEE:I honestly don€t believe that. Prior to the 1920s we as Hawaiians have <br />evolved in this environment. And to say that we, just because records show that it was done by a <br />Portuguese does not mean that it wasn€t there prior to him recording it. We come from an <br />oration culture and our culture knowledge is passed on through oration. We haven€t written <br />anything until the missionaries got here. So in order for us to have records, you would have to <br />assume that our culture prior to 1778 has been able to write down every piece of information that <br />we have ever acquired; and I think that isn€t true. That whole coastline is filled with fishponds, <br />undeveloped, some developed, some restored. What you see in writing, although it says <br />something in writing, it doesn€t mean that something prior to that didn€t exist. So to think that <br />somebody as a Portuguese man came in and just cleared the land and saw water coming into a <br />piece of property and said I€m going to build a fishpond doesn€t say that that environment there <br />particularly didn€t thrive once before, maybe 100 years prior to that. What you only have is what <br />you have on record. <br />WOODWARD:Okay, thank you. <br />14EXHIBIT A <br /> <br />