Chuuk Reform Movement – Our Principles

Preamble
Tirow Lang! Tirow Pwul! Tirow Mataw! We, the members of the Chuuk Reform Movement, locally and globally, exercising our rights as active participants in the Chuuk democratic government, protected by the promises of our state and national constitutions, affirmed by the universal rights to human dignity, empowered by our desire to build a better future for our children, compelled by the decline of our social and political fabric, do hereby unite to take responsibility for our islands, our future, and the well-being of our people.

Crossroads of Change in Chuuk
Our beloved Chuuk, built on the strength of our ancestors, preserved by the character of our culture, has reached a crucial crossroads of inevitable change evident in political divisions that have challenged our culture and way of life. These changing times require creative solutions to changing needs. In adopting a democratic form of government, the forefathers of our Nation have reclaimed for us certain rights and power to guide our own future as a people. With that power comes the rights for every citizen to elect our leaders and the responsibility to demand excellence from our elected officials.

Call to Be Citizen Leaders
By adopting a democratic form of government, we as a people are committed to the call to become citizen-leaders in complete control of our destiny. We are no longer slaves to the citizen-followers model of government we once led when our islands were governed by imperialists and colonizers.

Rethinking Our Chuukese Culture of Silence
In our traditional Chuukese culture, humility is a virtue of which silence is a sign of respect. Today, we must rethink that traditional value in a democratic government in which voicing our opinions is a shared responsibility. For so long our silence has led to unchecked corruption by our elected officials; silence has fueled a culture of irresponsible decisions and lack of accountability by the very leaders in whose trust we give by our vote of confidence.

Speaking for Justice is a Shared Responsibility
We can no longer depend on silence to solve our problems in Chuuk. We must respectfully speak up often and regularly, virtually and verbally, personally and communally, wherever justice demands our courageous actions and whenever we must demand better leadership for a more just and prosperous Chuuk. For to remain silent in times of injustice is irresponsible.

Chuukese Challenging Chuukese to Greatness
We have long been victimized by our own culture of humility. Through this coalition of concerned citizens we wish to challenge our perceptions, improve our State, question our elected leaders, inspire each other to humble greatness, educate our new generation to do the right thing, and fight for justice to rebuild pride in our beloved Chuuk State.

Reclaim Chuukese Self-Respect
Self-respect leads to respect of others and the world in which we share. To reclaim our self-respect, we must respect one another’s opinions without prejudice, refrain from self-aggrandizing and divisive tactics that destroy us as a people, and find the common grounds that lead to solutions for the common good of our people. We believe that only Chuukese can solve Chuukese problems with respect, humility, courage, fortitude, and commitment.

Chuukese Credibility Built Upon Chuukese Responsibility
Words without responsible actions have no credibility in this movement. To build our credibility, we must take responsibility for our personal decisions, our words, and our actions. We know that individual decisions contribute to the building up or the destruction of our islands, our state, our nation, and our world. Our indecisions in the face of injustice will destroy us. Our silence in times of corruption discredits us.

Organizing Chuukese Strength in Numbers
We, who have been victimized by unscrupulously corrupt leaders, hampered by outdated cultural obligations, weighted by a culture of self-doubt, hindered by those who doubt our ability to control our own destiny, now hereby unite in a common call to organize our efforts and our dreams to collectively demand change in the State of Chuuk.

Our Chuuk, Our Responsibility
We are empowered by the belief that the solutions to social and political problems in Chuuk today are the responsibility of every Chuukese citizen. While we lay the majority of the blame on failed leadership, we as citizens of Chuuk are equally culpable by our silence, indifference, and ignorance. Through our network of reformers, we are resolved to never again allow ignorance to control our decisions, indecisions undermine our voting power, handouts manipulate our hearts, and our culture of humility to hinder our duty to question our leaders.

Local Needs, Global Resources
We are Chuukese wherever we are in the world. While we applaud those citizens who choose to stay in Chuuk to live amidst the daily struggles, we also recognize those who have made the difficult decision to leave Chuuk to pursue educational and employment opportunities. Together we can all work together to bring global resources to solve local needs in Chuuk. We may be separated by distance, but we are strongly united by our common love for Chuuk and our dream for a better and prosperous State.

Reform Starts from Within First
And this demand for change must begin this moment and every moment with small steps and giant leaps involving one and all! And it must begin within each Chuukese person permeating outward to our families, friends, clans, municipalities, state, and to our beloved nation. But the reform must always begin with each member of the Chuuk Reform Movement first and foremost before advocating a reform in others and the system.

Conscience as our Guide
Our conscience is our guide; our questions inform our conscience and our vote is our confidence.