HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

373

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

expressing gratitude to the residents of kalaupapa and their families for the sacrifices they made living in isolation on the island of molokai and for being separated from society.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, from 1866 until 1969, people who were afflicted with Hansen's disease, many of them part- or native-Hawaiian, were separated from their families and forced into isolation to the remote northern Kalaupapa peninsula on the island of Molokai; and

 

     WHEREAS, this century-long policy of forced segregation came at a high personal cost for more than eight thousand people in Hawaii who were also affected by the physical, emotional, and psychological isolation brought on by a disfiguring illness; and

 

WHEREAS, most of the patients who were confined on Molokai were stigmatized for the rest of their lives and spent their remaining years cut off from society; and

 

     WHEREAS, chapter 326, Hawaii Revised Statutes, recognizes the disruptions and hardships experienced by former Hansen's disease patients residing at Kalaupapa and declares its intent to ensure that all residents at Kalaupapa are treated with dignity, respect, courtesy, and sensitivity; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hansen's disease is curable and is one of the least contagious of all communicable diseases and there is no longer any need to isolate people afflicted with the disease; and

 

WHEREAS, the people who have chosen to remain in Kalaupapa comprise a unique and historical community and share a special kind of fellowship; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature expresses its gratitude to the residents of Kalaupapa and their families for the sacrifices they made by living in isolation on the island of Molokai and for being separated from society; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of Ka Ohana O Kalaupapa and the Director of Health.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Hansen's Disease; Molokai; Kalaupapa