I have the opportunity to go to Hawai'i in March, for a conference. I usually combine my conferences with some personal time that I take to explore the place, whether it's Boston or Basel, Salt Lake City or Costa Rica. Why waste free flight, right? I never really was very attracted to traveling in Hawai'i, though - it seemed a bit too touristic for me. However, it is very beautiful, there's a lot to see there (coral reefs, volcanoes, beautiful beaches, jungles...), so why not go should the opportunity arise?
But then I read this book: From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i by Haunani-Kay Trask. And it opened my eyes. I don't know if it's because I wasn't raised in the US, or if it's despite that same fact, but I was completely ignorant regarding the history of Hawai'i. I didn't know that Hawai'ians never wanted to be controlled by the US. I didn't know Hawai'i was taken over by the US by force. Though I wasn't surprised. Hawai'i had the ill fortune of being in a strategic point, while at the same time looking like a paradise. Well, military operations and tourism are not going to keep it that way. They are taking the paradise away from the people who belong to it.
Haunani Kay Trask appeals to readers to not come visit in Hawai'i. Her appeal is so touching, I couldn't help being moved, and I couldn't help sharing my thoughts here. Hawai'i really doesn't need more tourists, it already has a lot more than enough. Even if you're not going to a big resort, and just want to backpack around, which was my plan for after or before the conference (though the conference will definitely be in some sort of resort - probably a cheaper one, we are entomologists after all), still, the proceeds of my stay there will not go to local Hawai'ians, and definitely not to Native Hawai'ians. Most likely they will benefit rich tourism operators from the outside (Japanese, Canadians, American).
That is why I will not go to Hawai'i. I do not wish to take part in tearing Hawai'i apart from Native Hawai'ians, and contribute to prostituting their culture.