Women Dismantling Militarism
Facts, Articles,
and Ideas from
the Global Fund's Militarism Initiative
Confronting U.S. Occupation in Guahan
Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice
Guam/Guahan
In 2006, indigenous Chamoru/Chamorro women in Guam – “Guahan” being the indigenous term for Guam – founded the Coalition in response to the United States-Japan Realignment Initiatives signed in May 2006. The initiatives ordered 8,000 US soldiers to relocate to the island of Guahan from Okinawa. This created great concern for the group's founding mothers, who were aware of “voluminous sexual and heinous crimes committed by U.S. military members towards women and girls in Okinawa.” The Coalition supports a movement against the hyper-militarization of Guahan by researching and informing Guahan residents about the buildup, writing extensive reports on the military's human rights abuses and environmental impact, circulating petitions, and conducting public education events to raise awareness about the military's occupation of their island.
As one of the sixteen non-self-governing territories listed by the UN, Guahan has been a “military dumping ground” for the United States since World War II. The island's history of occupation has resulted in violations of land rights, environmental contamination and degradation, and grave health concerns with record high cancer rates linked to the military's toxic sites. The group comprises four organizations, all led by women: Famoksaiyan, Conscious Living, the Guahan Indigenous Collective and I Nasion Chamoru.
The Coalition is a member of the International Women’s Network for Genuine Security (formerly the Women’s Network of Women Against Militarism), also a GFW grantee-partner. The International Network includes women activists, policymakers, teachers and students from South Korea, Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines, the United States, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. The International Network held their seventh international gathering in Guahan in 2009 to gather solidarity and support for resistance to the unprecedented U.S. military expansion planned for the island. Sixty-two delegates came from twelve countries, including women from Australia, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Pelau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Unfortunately, the U.S. has recently announced plans—despite adverse environmental impact assessments and high costs—to move forward with base expansion in Guahan.
