Onra: Anghet Inspires Island

 

Fighters draw strength from past leader Angel Santos
For Pacific Daily News

“Generations will come and generations will pass, but if no generation has the conscience, courage and moral convictions to right the wrongdoing of the past, then the next generation will have to live with the same injustices in the future.

“We cannot be passive or silent when human beings endure suffering or humiliation. We must step forward and take sides, we must assist immediately.

At times we may fail, at times we may make mistakes. But we must never make the mistake of failing to try. People deserve nothing less. Fanohge Chamoru.”

These are the words of Angel Santos, a good man who stood and fought passionately for the sake of our people and the perseverance of Chamoru culture. I can’t say that I ever really got to know him — that’s my loss — but it’s never too late to learn.

As we’ve been recently discussing Marianas combative sports as a tool for island unification and for the added purpose of paying tribute to the ancestors of this land, Santos’ words have been a great model for the focus of the fighting spirit cultivated in combat sports. I don’t think it’s necessarily just about taking sides or about correcting old mistakes, but it’s also about positive initiatives not just for the sake of victory in sport but also for the sake of fortitude in life.

For the record, this column is not just about keeping us updated on locally-connected combative sports. It’s also about celebrating the sacrifice and accomplishments of our fighters and fighter-athletes.

And, really, there are loads of different battles, defeats and victories. Unfortunately, we can’t cover them all, but we will do what we can. Conflict and confrontation exist everywhere: The cage, the ring, the office, at home — overwhelming stuff. MMA is celebrated here as a tool to invigorate the spirit, prepare us to face these challenges, and to walk away in strong spirit, whether in victory or defeat.

So today, really, Onra would like to pay tribute to a man who incessantly fought a great fight, even to the point where he was criticized by the people he fought so hard for. And he continued to fight even to the day that he died. So let’s continue his fight. Not necessarily his way, as we all express ourselves differently. But in this day and age of Westernization, we should learn to embrace technology and our expanding families even to our brothers from different places in the spirit of these lands, and respect those that came before us and those that will come and go after us.

Forever watering these roots, so the fruits of our ancestors will continue to feed and nurture our people.

Fanohge Chamoru.