Here's Where We're Headed. Which Way Should We Be Going?

Hezel, Francis X. (2000-06-13). [www.micsem.org Here's Where We're Headed. Which Way Should We Be Going?]. Micronesian Counselor (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Micronesian Seminar. p. 1.

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Abstract: Every now and then a traveler has to stop and check his bearings. Voyagers in seagoing canoes did this by necessity at regular intervals to ascertain their location with respect to the landmarks they steered by. Those making a long car drive today usually do much the same thing. Drivers will occasionally stop, pull out the map, look over the route, heave a satisfied sigh at the distance they have traveled, and make sure they are taking the right road to wherever they may be going.

The citizens of the new island nations that make up Micronesia are often told by their leaders that they are headed on a national journey towards development. If so, they might profitably stop for a moment to reflect on where their nation is headed. The point of this exercise is not only to check on our bearings, but to make the continual course adjustments demanded as some of the variables (eg, population, economic opportunities, educational factors) change. Here we will be looking at some of these variables for the Federated States of Micronesia [FSM], the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands [RMI].

This article, based on recently gathered statistical data, is nothing more than a brief pause in the journey to take stock of where we are and how far we have come. It allows us to reflect on where we are headed and, even more importantly