Our beaches on the Leeward side are being overwhelmed by the homeless. More and more of them are setting up tents and makeshift lean-tos, with pallets, tires, shopping carts, strollers and piles of opala. Why?
I counted more than 65 makeshift tents from Haleakala Avenue to Hakimo Road while driving almost daily. It’s not very nice scenery; it’s unsightly.
Find another location away from the beaches, I say. Can you imagine for a moment where bathing and toilet use are being done, in our beautiful ocean?
Growing up in Nanakuli during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, we respected and depended on the ocean as a means of recreation and food: pa‘akai, limu, a‘ama, pipipi, wana, hau‘uk‘uke, opihi, he‘e, using upena kiloi and bamboo poles to catch fish.
The concept of love of the ocean came from my paternal grandmother, who said, “Take care of the ocean and the ocean will take care of you.” But now I suspect it’s unsafe to eat these foods, knowing that our ocean has become a vast open outhouse.
John Keala
Waianae
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