[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1725-E1726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF THE KALAUPAPA MEMORIAL ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2007

  Ms. HIRONO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill to 
authorize establishment of a memorial at Kalaupapa National Historical 
Park on the island of Moloka`i, HI, to honor the memory and sacrifices 
of the some 8,000 Hansen's disease patients who were forcibly relocated 
to the Kalaupapa peninsula between 1866 and 1969. I want to thank my 
friend and colleague Congressman Neil Abercrombie for cosponsoring this 
legislation.
  The policy of exiling persons with the disease that was then known as 
leprosy began under the Kingdom of Hawaii and continued under the 
governments of the Republic of Hawaii, the Territory of Hawaii, and the 
State of Hawaii. Children, mothers, and fathers were forcibly separated 
and sent to the isolated peninsula of Kalaupapa, which for most of its 
history could only be accessed by water or via a steep mule trail. 
Children born to parents at Kalaupapa were taken away from their 
mothers and sent to orphanages or to other family members outside of 
Kalaupapa. Hawaii's isolation laws for people with Hansen's disease 
were not repealed until 1969, even though medications to control the 
disease had been available since the late 1940s.
  While most of us know about the sacrifices of Father Damien, who 
dedicated his life to care for those exiled to Kalaupapa, fewer know of 
the courage and sacrifices of the patients who were torn from their 
families and

[[Page E1726]]

left to make a life in this isolated area. It is important that their 
lives be remembered.
  Of the some 8,000 former patients buried in Kalaupapa, only some 
1,300 have marked graves. A memorial listing the names of those who 
were exiled to Kalaupapa and died there is a fitting tribute and is 
consistent with the primary purpose of the park, which is ``to preserve 
and interpret the Kalaupapa settlement for the education and 
inspiration of present and future generations.''
  Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa, a non-profit organization consisting of 
patient residents at Kalaupapa National Historical Park and their 
family members and friends, was established in August 2003 to promote 
the value and dignity of the more than 8,000 persons--some 90 percent 
of who were Native Hawaiian--who were forcibly relocated to the 
Kalaupapa peninsula. A central goal of Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa is to make 
certain that the lives of these individuals are honored and remembered 
through the establishment of a memorial or memorials within the 
boundaries of the park at Kalawao or Kalaupapa.

  Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa has made a commitment to raise the funds needed 
to design and build the memorial and will work with the National Park 
Service on design and location of the memorial.
  The House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on 
the 109th Congress version of this bill, H.R. 4529, on September 28, 
2006. I have read the heartfelt and compelling testimony submitted by 
current patients and family members of former patients who want to make 
sure not only that the story of Kalaupapa is told but that the patients 
are recognized as individuals by having the names of each of those 
exiled to Kalaupapa and buried there recorded for posterity. Families 
that have visited Kalaupapa and Kalawao searching in vain for the 
graves of their family members will find comfort in seeing those names 
recorded on a memorial.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
legislation.

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