A Matter Of Survival

Tommy Remengesau, Jr.

Entering the last year of his first four-year term, Pres. Tommy Remengesau, Jr. sat down with Pacific Magazine to discuss topics ranging from getting along in the global village to future development in this young nation on to the upcoming Festival of Pacific Arts in Palau.

Pacific Magazine: Under your administration, Palau has been a strong proponent for regional partnerships. How important are those partnerships for the success of Palau and the region?

Pres. Tommy Remengesau, Jr.: We have to be realistic about what we can do and what we cannot do. Our nations resources are definitely limited, our capabilities are limited, and only by approaching issues as a region can we really overcome those challenges. Solid waste and scrap metal, for example. Our population is small, our resources are small, but we need to clean up our environment. By cooperating with Guam and Saipan and Yap, it will be feasible for other private partners to come in and make use of all this scrap and recyclables. Also with our regional airline. This is something that anyone alone would not stand a chance, but for Palau to put in a little share, Yap to put in its share, for Saipan to put in its share, for Pohnpei to put in its share, you can make it happen. So I guess the short of it is, it's a reality, it's a matter of survival. As they say in the islands: Four people carrying a load are much better than one person carrying the same load.

PM: What have been the stumbling blocks for such regional partnerships in the past? Or why was there a shift in thinking?

TR: I think a lot of it has to do with the personality and the drive of any administration. When I mention personality I take into consideration the age group that I seem to share now with Gov. Felix Camacho (of Guam), Gov. Juan Babauta (of the Northern Marianas), Pres. Kessai Note (of the Marshall Islands) and the president of the FSM, Joseph Urusemal. I think all of us are in the same generation, and all of us share the need to communicate.

PM: Palau will host the Festival of Pacific Arts in July. What does the event mean to Palau and the region?

TR: In the past, most exposure has been only for maybe our dances, the programs that we bring down to the South Pacific, represented by a handful of people. This is the first time for them to come and see our way of life, how we live, how we eat, how we interact as a society and as a people, and how as region we co-exist with each other. The first impression is always the lasting impression and we're not just going to approach this from a Palau perspective, but from the Micronesia perspective. We realize that this is going to be a one-time in a long-time opportunity, and you really have to take advantage of that.