OPINION
Left: Two Hawaiian monk seals fight near the shore at Kaena Point on Oahu, Hawaii, Mar. 26, 2018. Harassment of Hawaiian Monk Seals is a felony with fines up to $50,000 and/or five years in prison. Middle: Waves roll over rocks that are covered in bright green seaweed at Laniakea Beach on Oahu, Hawaii, Apr. 2, 2020. Right: Tents, city lights and roads create a layout of the night on the Ko’olau Range, Oahu, Hawaii, Jan. 8. Photo courtesy of Storey Welch
Over-tourism takes Hawaii by storm SAMANTHA LOGERWELL
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illions of people visit Hawaii every year without a second thought about the locals. Lots of tourists don’t realize the ethical controversy about visiting Hawaii, but there are a variety of reasons why people should do more research and stop going to the state altogether. Traveling is an essential part of modern-day culture, and something many people consider their passion. Summer, specifically, has become synonymous with traveling. When people travel for the summer, the most popular places to visit in the United States are New York, Las Vegas and Maui; Hawaii has been listed as the second most popular travel destination in 2021. The islands are some of the most popular summer vacation destinations because of their beauty, from the beaches to the palm trees. However, the islands may not stay this way for long. As people continue traveling to the islands, Hawaii is getting slammed with over-tourism. Over-tourism is a phenomenon that occurs when popular spots are highly populated by tourists, causing harmful effects on those places, ranging from excessive traffic and crowding to making room for more tourists by displacing locals.
After the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over-tourism only grew as people wanted to get out of their houses and travel. Nearly 600,000 people visited Hawaii in 2021. The population of Hawaii is only 1.4 million people, so an influx of visitors was too much for the small state to handle. The islands are only so big. When large groups come it becomes overcrowded, and the locals are the ones who end up displaced to make room for more tourist attractions. Many tourists think of Hawaii as a vacation spot, rather than a home to locals, which can lead to many people disrespecting the island. Being mindless in their own vacation bubble, tourists do not recognize there are islanders who pay the price for their actions. Visitors have been seen purposely going to places that are sacred to Native Hawaiians, trashing the island and disrespecting wild animals. Sacred sites such as certain temples and mountains are even advertised to tourists. Last year, people posted videos of themselves in Hawaii touching the endangered Hawaiian Monk seals. The seals were resting on the beach and the tourists took it as an opportunity to disturb the animals.
See HAWAII on PAGE 9
NEWS
The underlying sex trafficking issue in Flagstaff WILLIAM COMBS III
Records obtained from Flagstaff Police Department show Flagstaff has sex trafficking issues
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rizona is considered one of the hotspots for human trafficking and sexual exploitation in the United States, according the the U.S. State Department. Nevertheless, state laws — many of which blame victims — have discouraged reporting these crimes in Flagstaff and in turn have led to a disconnect between the victims and number of arrests made. Records obtained from the Flagstaff Police Department (FPD) show there has been only one recent arrest made in regard to suspected human trafficking in the area. The arrest was made Aug. 28, when FPD assisted the Department of Public Safety in the arrest of Samuel Bateman, who was traveling through Colorado City with three females in a truck trailer. Authorities said trafficking was not taking place and Bateman
pleaded not guilty to tampering and endangerment charges. No other arrest for sex trafficking in Flagstaff has been made over the past three years. At first glance, this would seem like an isolated incident. However, when looking at the issue from the perspective of Kate Wyatt, director of human trafficking services at the Northland Family Help Center, sexual exploitation in Flagstaff is much more prevalent. Since the inception of the Flagstaff Initiative Against Trafficking (FIAT) in 2017, Wyatt has recorded over 600 victim-reported incidents of exploitation in the area. This stark disconnect between victims and arrests is a problem Wyatt said is clouded in misconceptions about the nature of the crime. Public perception of human trafficking and sexual exploitation is usually confined to sex workers who operate on the city streets, Wyatt said. However, since this is not the case in Flagstaff, many people do not realize it is happening in the community. Further misunderstandings involve the issue being limited to non-citizens, kidnappings or the use of travel, Wyatt added. See TRAFFICKING on PAGE 4 ILLUSTRATION BY LENORE OTERO-STRONG