WORK AFTER GUAM TYPHOON OPENED DOOR TO A CULTURE
The Red Cross asked me to go to Guam as a volunteer mental-health worker just after Super typhoon Paka hit on Dec. 17, 1997, with sustained winds of 150 mph and at least one gust that reached 236 mph. Paka was treated as a major disaster by both the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, although it was hardly mentioned here in the mainland news media.
I was warned I would be working under hardship conditions: The staff would be living in tents, sleeping on cots and eating out of emergency kitchens. Imagine my surprise upon arrival when I was lodged in a luxury hotel and found that fine restaurants were open, but with few customers. But the standard admonition was in effect: "Just don’t drink the water."
In Guam, the second most important industry after the U.S. military bases is tourism, with 1 million visitors a year. Because 90 percent of these tourists are from Japan, arrangements have been made so that they don’t need visas to visit.
Despite the record-setting high winds in 1997, no one was killed and few people were injured. Thousands of homes were, however, reduced to rubble, and many people were left without such basics as beds and clothing.
Most people on Guam who own their land build their homes with cement blocks, but the native people, the Chamorros, often live on government land where they are not allowed to build permanent structures. As a result, they use plywood and tin, which means that after a major typhoon, what remains are piles of rubble with tin roofs wrapped around palm trees and the families’ clothing off in the bush somewhere.
I worked as a companion to a family service caseworker who wrote vouchers for material goods. This gave me an opportunity to talk with the Chamorros about their lives and the effect of the frequent typhoons on their mental health. Mostly they take typhoons in stride as part of the price they pay for living in paradise. They are a warm, friendly people and are easy to like.
One of the first things that struck me about the Chamorros was the contrasts. They have been living in what we would consider shacks: plywood walls, tin roofs and crowded conditions. On the other hand, most people have cars or pickups no more than three or four years old, telephones and big-screen TV sets. Many carry cell phones.
Most of the families we worked with were large by our standards and included grandchildren, nieces and nephews sometimes sleeping four or five to a bed. Formal marriages do not seem really popular among the Chamorros, and a woman may have children with two, three or even four last names. One woman explained that they were all Catholics and that divorce is such a problem that it is easier to live in common-law marriages. One advantage of the big families is cousins and uncles were all in evidence as the family began to use FEMA money to rebuild.
The women seemed to have much of the power. When we found a man at home, he would not give us information, saying his woman might not agree with what he told us and then would be unhappy with him. We were warned to be very careful in discussing cases we were working with, as everyone has so many relatives that only a minor clue would allow anyone who overheard us to know who was being talked about.
"Keep Christ in Your Heart" was an often-seen sign and reflects the religious emphasis in the culture. Many people mentioned Jesus as a great support in their lives, and their beliefs contributed to their mental health in the face of the destruction.
Alcoholism is a major problem on the island. Similar to Native Americans, the Chamorros seem to have a low tolerance for alcohol and acquire addictions quickly. They also have an unusually large number of people with diabetes and asthma. Tattoos, usually well-done, are common, with those on women often being small and discrete but on men being large and numerous.
We heard constantly from the Chamorros about what an inferior group the Micronesians were. Micronesians are the immigrants from other islands who have come to Guam because jobs pay much better. The Chamorros saw the "Truckies" as lazy, unable to keep their homes and apartments nice, and all too willing to live on welfare. This from people who might also be on welfare and who until Paka were living in wooden shacks with termites in the walls.
Because I liked the Chamorros, when I finally was working with a "Truckie," I found myself on guard so that I wouldn’t be manipulated. Despite that, our team ended up giving this family more than any other we encountered.
The many dogs on Guam are mostly of an indefinite breed, with half being allowed to run wild and form packs. These packs were the greatest fear of the Red Cross workers. I heard of four workers being bitten.
No birds are in evidence on the island. I was told that the brown snakes that were accidentally introduced 50 years ago ate them. I never saw a brown snake, largely because they are nocturnal and no one walks around in the jungle after dark.
Living in Guam would be claustrophobic for me because it’s only 32 miles long and 12 miles wide, and you can drive around it in a few hours. For tourists there are great golf courses, windsurfing, deep-sea fishing and great weather most of the time.
