Tokuda reads names of Maui victims into Congressional record
COURTESY U.S. REP. JILL TOKUDA
A screenshot of a video of U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda addressing the House today.
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda used her 5-minute opportunity to address the House today by honoring the 102 victims and the two people missing from the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires by reading all of their names into the Congressional record.
Most of them were senior citizens but Tokuda — who represents the neighbor islands and rural Oahu — made a point of highlighting the ages of the three youngest victims.
She stood by an enlarged display of a full-page tribute to the victims published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser while reading the names of the victims alphabetically.
Time did not allow Tokuda to read the ages of all of the victims but made exceptions for the youngest, calling “Keyiro Fuentes, just age 14. … Justin Recolizado. Justin by the way was just age 11. … (and) Tony Takafua. Tony was age 7.”
“On August 8th, Hawaii gathered to observe the one-year anniversary of the fires on Maui and in Lahaina,” Tokuda said before reading all of the names.
“Today, as Congress reconvenes, I rise to honor and remember the family and friends we lost.
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“They are beloved mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, grandparents and grandchildren, brothers and sisters, friends and life partners. Their ages span almost a century, from our youngest keiki just 7 years old to a cherished kupuna aged 97.
“Many had lived their entire lives in Lahaina. Others chose to make Lahaina their home, having come from faraway places across the United States and abroad, like the Philippines, Mexico, and Scotland.
“Today, I rise to read all 102 of their names into the Congressional Record. While they no longer walk among us, they will never be forgotten by the family and friends they left behind, by our community, or by this Congress, in whose records their names will forever be remembered.”
After reading all 104 names, Tokuda closed by saying:
“As we continue our work to recover and rebuild Lahaina, may the happy memories of those we lost carry our community forward and inspire us to live each day in their honor.”
To view a video of Tokuda’s speech, visit bit.ly/3MDf7gL.
