Dear Readers,
I am Mr. Confuse married to Mrs. Confused and we both come from a beautiful tiny place called Election District 4 in the State of Yap. I am here to tell you a little bit about myself and my wife. Please bear with us as we try very hard to explain the situation we’re facing in this election cycle. We have grievances and we have questions which we both think worth raising.
See, the very first thing is that we both don’t have a clue on which of the candidates we’re going to vote for. This dilemma has brought us a very unique challenge that we never thought we would have to deal with. My wife and our eldest son are leaning toward voting for Igechep but my eldest daughter and I are leaning toward Fagolimul. And our two youngest are disappointed that no one from Eauripik or Fechailap is running because each of them wanted to vote for anyone from those two places. Our family is all over the place on this issue. As a man of the house, I must do everything in my power to keep everyone happy, including everyone in our Clan and especially the Chiefs, Mr. Moushmwai, Mr. Hoos and Mr. Kuurukak.
The clan’s plan, as far as I know, is that we have to vote for Igechep because he is the uncle and uncles rule. The chiefs, on the other hand, have picked side with the understanding that every one of their people, as dictated by culture, custom and tradition will vote with them. And the three principals from each of the island schools as well as the FTO (Field Trip Officer), the Public Defender, the Communication director, Dr. Inslee and other Foreign Educated ED4’s have made it known to everyone that they must vote their conscience because that will lead to voting the best candidate. They argued that voting on the ground of relationships is non democratic and defeats the purpose of choosing a candidate in the first place.
Now, tell me this thing is not confusing! There are pretty strong forces in play here so I must make my move wisely so not to disappoint anyone and to be sure that I pick the right person to represent myself and my peeps in a very challenging environment at the Yap State Legislature. I know we are picking the person that will either set our government up for success or sail our canoe into the eye of the storm with no plan of getting us out of it. I must do this right for my family and for my peeps. And to do so, I must ask some very tough questions.
My very first question will go directly to the candidates themselves. Please give me ONE word in EFI’s (Eauripik, Feraulap, Ifalik) language that describes you and why you picked it? Second, tell me what is the number 1 concern of our District when you first took office and if that concern has been addressed. If not, why would I vote for you again if you cannot get it done? Third, tell me a few things you are most proud of during your tenure. Fourth and the most important question is, do you think it is fair that only Ifalikese representing our district? Why and why not? Fifth, where do you think our district will stand the day after COFA? Sixth, are we heading forward or backward? Last but not the least, who is right in deciding whom to vote for? The clan? The Chiefs? or the Foreign filled heads?
To be fair, I think as citizens of District 4, we must each ask ourselves the same questions raised above. In addition, we must ask Where were we, Where we are and Where will we be? What is that one thing that our district will benefit from the most? Is it a ship? A business? An Insurance policy for our citizens? An airplane? Whatever it is, we must strive in our own ways to help thrive our district to a better place.
I have brought enough bettlenuts for you to chew on for now. I hope it opens up your eyes to the many questions and challenges we face as voters, candidates and district. I pray that whomever you picked will be the right choice for our district. I urge our candidates to share their views with us and see how we respond.
Thank you. Sa Hashigeshig.
Respectfully yours,
mr. Confuse.