Grassroots protest aims to launch 1,000 boats for transparent governance post-Lahaina wildfire.
Standing for Truth in Wildfire-Ravaged Lahaina
Shelby Thomson believes some things are worth fighting for—and the truth is the aina—”ground” in the Hawaiian language—on which she’s willing to make a stand in wildfire-ravaged Lahaina in west Maui.
On Sept. 11, at 8:08 a.m., Ms. Thomson, 27, a Maui resident, will lead the open-ended protest of what she considers to be the government’s lack of transparency regarding the number of dead and missing in Lahaina, a small coastal town of 13,200.
The official death toll stands at 115, despite an estimated 2,000 children reported missing from Lahaina’s school enrollment by the Hawaii Department of Education.
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And other questions need answering, Ms. Thomson said.
“Why did the governor sign emergency proclamations in July that gave him power to acquire land after a disaster?” Ms. Thomson asked in a promotional flier.
“Why did the governor remove the Sunshine Law?” This is Hawaii’s open meeting law allowing public discussion on land development.
Ms. Thomson, whose mother Christy Albinson, 47, barely escaped the Lahaina fire with her life, said the lack of transparency by government officials is alarming.
But the suffering of her fellow Maui residents and native Hawaiians is even more so.
“They’re just going through so much trauma—they’re still grieving; PTSD from what they saw and experienced—losing family and homes. They’re in fight or flight [mode] right now. It’s so hard,” Ms. Thomson told The Epoch Times.
Rather than sit back and wait for answers, Ms. Thomson decided to take her quest for truth to the streets of Lahaina.
“I believe [the Lahaina wildfire] is the sloppy 9/11. It’s 9/11 of children. It’s the 9/11 of Hawaii,” she said.
The event’s start time—8:08 a.m.—represents the Aug. 8 fire date and the Maui area code.
Ms. Thomson said the location of the protest will remain a secret for now, fearing police shutting down the event before it starts.
She envisions an open-ended campout/standout with hundreds of protestors and a flotilla of 1,000 boats, jet skiers, paddlers, and surfers along the coastline in a show of support for Lahaina—and Maui.
“We have every single right to be standing in solidarity and demanding transparency of the Lahaina lands,” Ms. Thomson said in the flyer.
Ms. Thomson said the protest has been spreading by word of mouth, but the support is significant as the island’s first organized public outcry against the government’s handling of the crisis.
On Sept. 4, Maui County officials declared the Lahaina burn area—one of three that erupted on Maui—100 percent contained and searched, with 115 confirmed fatalities and 2,170 acres destroyed.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has placed black security fencing around the burn area ahead of plans to spray an adhesive chemical to prevent the spread of toxic dust.
As security around the impacted areas grows tighter, so does residents’ access to their property, said Ms. Thomson, who advocates for a peaceful protest.
“It will take brave individuals who understand what happened. It will double each day if we can bring enough people at the start. It will be like a domino effect.
“We’re not going down without a fight. There are so many Hawaiians grieving and suffering. We will stand for them and say, ‘Please join us. This is your land.'”
In the meantime, the American Red Cross announced it will provide financial assistance to families of victims to h
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