Letter to the editor

From: Wayno Cochran

Reflecting on all of the gpac, sporting and graduation activities
going on in our island community this past weekend, it amazes me that
Maui Land and Pineapple, a multi-million dollar corporation, is asking for
volunteers on a Saturday, to reforest 'their' abandon pineapple field.
With most families in West Maui working 3-4 jobs per household just to
make ends meet, many do not have the time or energy to volunteer to
restore MLP's abandoned strip of pineapple that is between 'their' two
luxury home developments. Can't MLP afford to pay our people? I read
that Ed Lindsey has a volunteer program on Saturdays to restore
Honokowai valley and I know there are restorations going on in
Honokohau and I would rather support Mr. Lindsey, he doesn't have
millions of dollars, but he has heart and he continues to teach our
keiki through his words and actions, the concept of aloha 'aina. Our
keiki will be the future leaders, so we must prepare them now and
encourage them to learn all they can from kupuna while they are still
here. We are rapidly losing the knowledge, the mana'o, of the older
generations and if I had to choose for my self and my family, where to
spend what precious free time we have to volunteer and restore Hawai'i,
I personally would choose to spend it in Honokowai learning from Uncle
Ed Lindsey and let MLP have their own workers reforest land that they
claim to own and try to restrict public access to. Weren't they the
ones to alter its original state for their own profit? Don't they
practice the concept of malama 'aina, if they claim to own this land,
they should know it is their kuleana to restore it and not pull
volunteer's from grassroots community efforts. Besides I am a little
nervous digging around in that dirt up there with all the toxic
chemicals they pumped into the land back in the 70's before we knew the
harmful effects of DDT and DBCP, etc. That way if people get sick from
those chemicals, at least they can collect worker's compensation for
their illnesses.