Laulani Teale — Standing Her Ground During APEC
A 44-year-old Native Hawaiian activist is spending the night camping on a busy Waikiki sidewalk during APEC week.
Laulani Teale — a long-time activist, singer, artist and a mother of two — started camping Monday in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near the Honolulu Zoo, along with three other supporters.
“We are here to work towards bringing to light the concept of Kānāwai Māmalahoe,” said Teale. The concept is that any person should have the freedom to go forth and lay on the roadside without fear of harm.
“It restricts governmental power and specifically says government and those who have power should not abuse it,” she said.
Teale said her encampment was “for the sake of peace” and to “uphold the Kānāwai Māmalahoe.”
Teale is upset that the state of Hawaii is welcoming APEC. She said,“ … the state of Hawaii is doing things we highly disagree with. The APEC conference is harming not only us and our aina but all people all around the world and the land we all share.”
Her canopy covers an area between the sidewalk and the grass. Two canoe paddles are crossed over the top of a canopy, symbolizing the splintered paddles. The splintered paddles are on the . The police website says the following: “In the heart of the badge are two crossed paddles and a triangular flag on a green field. The paddles symbolize the Law of the Splintered Paddle or “Mamala Hoe Kanawai”, which was decreed by Kamehameha I, circa 1782, to protect travelers from wanton attack.”
Under the canopy earlier this week, in one corner, a dim candle flickers.
“We are praying for Kollin Elderts,” said Karen Murray, a friend and supporter of Teale who was camping Monday. Elderts was shot to death in a Waikiki McDonald’s early Saturday morning. A U.S. State Department special agent has been charged with second-degree murder in the case.
Another camper, Dangelo Mcintyre, a 25-year-old man from Kentucky who has been living in Hawaii for six years, said that he is supporting Teale to “fight against APEC”
“Why do they have such a high security? What the hell do you [APEC] have to hide? What have you done in the past?” Mcintyre said.
During the interview, at about 2:30 a.m., two HPD officers arrived and asked Teale to stretch the canopy away from touching the grass. The canopy was too big to fit only on the gray zone between sidewalk and the grass. The canopy looked crooked and unstable.
“See this is the harassment that the houseless people face and that happens every day and this is exactly the violation of Kānāwai Māmalahoe,” Teale said.
Teale also supports other activist such as Occupy Honolulu, World Can’t Wait and APEC sucks and said those groups should all work for “pono” and “aloha.”
“All these folks are coming from very, very different perspectives, but we are working together to huli this, to overturn the mentality that’s causing all these problems here in our aina and worldwide,” Teale said.
