Paradis e lost ?

b y Joh n Wehrhei m

Hawaii is the epitome of the tourist paradise, with its promise of blue skies, white sand, splendid scenery and a warm welcome from the islanders. Now this promise has been broken by greed and stupidity, so that air and water are befouled, flora and fauna endangered i f not destroyed, and the welcome soured by an alien ethos of puritanism plus profit.

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The pilot of a Honolulu-bound jetliner doesn't need to check his instruments or consult his navigator to know when his plane is nearing its destination—he can spot the murky grey-brown pall that hangs over the city while still miles out to sea. And looking down into the ocean he can see its natural blues and greens discoloured with erosion, industrial waste, and raw sewage.

Hawaii, and especially the state capital Honolulu, has a serious pollution problem and there doesn't appear to be much hope that the situation will get any better before it gets much worse. "The loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean," as Mark Twain described them, is in trouble.

And it was in the 19th century when Twain visited Hawaii that many of the seeds of today's problems began to take firm, deep root. Large segments of the Islands' land and most of the territory's trade had fallen under the controlling hands of a few families. Ironically, most of these men were descendants of the original New England missionaries, and gained legal title to much of Hawaii through family land grants and quick dealings with goodnatured and unsuspecting natives whose culture placed little significance in the concept of private property.

Fences went up all over the islands. Huge sugar and pineapple plantations owned by these families monopolised the markets and gained economic and political control of Honolulu. The original missionaries introduced Western architecture to the island in the form of traditionally white, woodenframed and steepled churches. Their descendents continued to bring Western architecture to Hawaii: refineries, canning plants and colonial mansions. What the missionaries' puritanical fire and brimstone preaching didn't destroy in the Hawaiians' lifestyle the economics of their children would. The ways of New England and its harsh people and climate prevailed over the easy natural ways of these tropical people. Smooth skinned, bare breasted women in colourful wrap-round skirts were shamed from their innocence into long dresses that covered them from neck to ankle. The tie replaced the lei, a sweet smelling string of tropical blossoms, as the proper neckwear for formal occasions. The new economics made retreat back into the old life impossible and the Hawaiians were forced into the factories or plantation fields to labour next to the Filipinos