[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 4 (Friday, January 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E58-E59]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE KALAUPAPA MEMORIAL ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 9, 2009

  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 Molokai, Hawaii, 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.
  I had hoped to see this bill become law last year. The 110th Congress 
version of the bill (H.R. 3332) passed the House in February 2008. It 
was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in 
June 2008. Unfortunately, despite heroic efforts by Senators Akaka, 
Inouye, and Bingaman, the bill did not come before the full Senate for 
a vote.
  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were not repealed until 1969, even though medications to control the 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 left to make a life in this isolated area. It is important 
that their lives be remembered.

[[Page E59]]

  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 whom 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.
  I have met with the elderly residents of Kalaupapa; many have 
expressed a strong desire to know that the memorial will be built 
before they die. I also 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.
  The National Park Service is supportive of this legislation. I am 
hopeful that the Senate will soon pass an omnibus bill including the 
text of this legislation and other public lands bills.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
legislation.

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