LIHUE — Even during what Lihue’s Peter Tegan referred to as “the age of terrorism,” he remains confident in his safety on Kauai. He said he will not let fears of something happening change the way he lives day-to-day. “When
LIHUE — Even during what Lihue’s Peter Tegan referred to as “the age of terrorism,” he remains confident in his safety on Kauai.
He said he will not let fears of something happening change the way he lives day-to-day.
“When I was here in the ‘90s, there was terrorism, but nothing happened here,” he said. “Americans are stronger than terrorists.”
With the recent attacks in Paris and Mali, and Islamic extremists threatening to do more of the same in the United States, The Garden Island interviewed residents at random to get their perspective on whether they are worried about incidents happening on Kauai.
A few also offered their thoughts on how the state should respond to the plight of Syrian refugees.
Here is what they had to say:
Victoria Louis, 18, of Kapaa, said she isn’t worried.
“This is a really safe island, I always feel safe here,” she said.
“But I think if it happened, that would be messed up. I’m not worried about it though; I have an Arabian friend who is really friendly.”
Brian Nakata of Lihue said what happened in Paris was a tragedy.
“I think there’s so much stuff going on in the world, you have these radical extremists who do things. They try to send out some sort of message, and the message they’re sending out isn’t exactly the right way to do things,” he said. “They just see, like, killing people to be a middle finger to the face of us. There’s a lot of things that happen that can’t justify what America does in the world. A lot of people can even see us as the actual bad guys. It’s really terrible though. There’s better ways to do things than just killing people.”
Nakata said he feels safe on Kauai.
“I don’t think anyone should be scared. You shouldn’t be scared,” he said. “You should be wanting to do something about it. If you feel like your life is in danger, protect your life and protect people who you love. There shouldn’t ever be any sort of thing where you should be terrified, because then they win, obviously.”
He finds himself getting angry over what happening in the world and the acts of terrorism.
“There shouldn’t be a thing (like this) because they’re sending hateful messages. Then inside myself, I kind of feel hate, too,” he said. “And it makes me kind of want to go over there and do something about it, too. I don’t know. You can’t swoop down to the level of wanting to kill people also, because then you’re just creating this huge cesspool of hate. It’s terrible. It’s sad.”
Sherry Ephan of Kalaheo said she feels safe, but isn’t always relaxed, either.
“It’s unrealistic to think that it will never come here,” she said. “Someday, it might just happen here.”
She doesn’t let it change the way she lives.
“I have a lot of family in the military, and I fear for them because of the situation,” she said.
Konane Henline of Kalaheo said she doesn’t see terrorism as a threat here.
“I don’t get the heebie-jeebies from anyone on the island in that way and we have a huge base here so they’d be quick to respond,” she said. “It doesn’t affect my daily life at all. I feel safe on the island.”
Allison Davis of Lihue said it’s “pretty safe” on Kauai.
”It can come anywhere, right? I think Oahu would be hit the hardest if anything,” she said. “You can never be too safe. It’s a bigger melting pot and there’s a lot more people that go through there. There’s a Marine base and they have Hickam, Schofield Barracks and Pearl Harbor, which got hit in World War II.”
Davis said while it’s important to help the Syrian refugees, Hawaii should take care of its homeless before bringing in more people.
“Who’s to say they won’t end up homeless? Is the government going to put them up somewhere?” she said. “That money could have gone to homelessness that’s happening on our own island. A lot of people are upset with our governor.”
Royden and Kara Yamamoto have seven children and feel safe.
“I think we could be a target, because we have a missile range,” Royden said. “If they want to bomb our missile range then we’d be screwed. I still feel safe. Does that sound weird? It’s in God’s hands. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. I feel like the government is keep us really protected, with the screening of the airports.”
Jason Lee of Kilauea said Kauai is safe because it’s just off the radar” from the major city craziness and targets of possible attack. I just hope the military on Oahu keeps themselves low key.”
Steve Costa of Kilauea said people can’t live in fear, but need to be alert, too.
”While we can’t ignore the impact of recent world events, even on this tiny, remote island in the Pacific, we also cannot allow this type of terrorism to force us into a place of fear or panic,” he said. “If we can accept this awareness as a reminder of the fragile nature of life and emotions, maybe we can all use this is some positive form to do our own individual part.”
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Staff writers Brittany Lyte, Jessica Else, Michelle Iracheta, Nick Celario and Dennis Fujimoto contributed to this report.
