Lepers Get Long-Awaited Apology

Thousands Were Ripped From Their Families And Banished To Remote Penninsula On Molokai

(AP)  The state delivered a long-awaited apology to former leprosy patients forcibly confined to a remote peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.

"We're sorry. We're sorry for the treatment. We're sorry for the suffering that you've been through," state Sen. J. Kalani English told about a dozen former patients gathered Tuesday at a meeting hall. "The entire state is with me today as I say this."

English then read aloud a resolution the Senate and House passed in April apologizing to the former patients.

It said many patients were torn apart from their families when they were sent to Kalaupapa Peninsula. It acknowledged the sacrifices the patients made, noting they thought of the public more than themselves, and gave up freedoms and opportunities the rest of society takes for granted.

The Hawaiian Kingdom, and then later the republic, territory and state of Hawaii, together banished 8,000 people with leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, to Kalaupapa for over a century after 1866 in an attempt to control the illness. Drugs to cure the disease were first administered in the 1940s.

Patients were no longer required to remain at Kalaupapa after 1969 but many have chosen to live out the rest of their lives there because it had become their home.

Former patient Gloria Marks told English the apology was way overdue but she appreciated it.

"We're very grateful for you to come here and give us this message," Marks told English.

But she was sad that Paul Harada, her brother-in-law and former patient who pushed hard for an apology resolution, was not alive to witness the event. Harada died Jan. 4.

After English spoke, Makia Malo visited the grave of his younger brother, Earl D.K. Malo, who died at Kalaupapa in 1968 when he was 35 years old.

Malo, who is blind, held his cane on top of his brother's gravestone while a health aide read the resolution. Malo, 73, said he thought everyone buried at Kalaupapa heard the statement.

"I know they're watching and nodding. All of these people. They're all agreeing. They're just saying 'at last,"' Malo said.

Edwin "Pancake" Lelepali, 80, said he believed the apology should be made to the earliest residents of Kalaupapa more than anyone because they had to scrounge for shelter and food and were given little medical care.

But by the time Lelepali arrived in 1941 at the age of 14, he said patients received food rations, allowances and health care. Then in 1969, patients were given the opportunity to leave if they wanted.

"Those people up there, they had nothing," Lelepali said. "They really suffered."

[mswolfestock]

Hey y''all - If you want the facts RE: the government-authorized "leper colony," then read this book. I got it right off of Books A Million -

The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of The Exiles of Molokai by John Tayman.

It is a great, true story of human courage and compassion.

[barbaram99]

The bible has caused more pain as it does not state the truth. I have psoirasis and that is hell and anyone that has it knows it. The bible saids that is lepers when it is not. The witch hurt is still here today. They have been mean to the handicpped,women,etc.

[erb0087]

"Perhaps Jesus gave the leper some moldy bread."

After being miraculously healed of leprosy, the poor fellow succumbed to salmonella a week later.

[smurfcrusher]

"Along with mental illness ("possession by demons"), leprosy has been greatly distorted by the gross, crude superstitions of the Bible."

Perhaps Jesus gave the leper some moldy bread.

It''s a miracle!!! So now let''s fight religious wars and kill millions - Inquisitioner

[slim1h2o]

Posted by blondchic at 12:26 PM : Aug 13, 2008

Don''t respond to that freak. You are wasting your breath doing so.

[barbaram99]

I have psoriasis since age 10 and I am 53. A Dr. years ago told foster mother to keep Batbara''s arms and legs covered,and I was not told why. No body in my family has it. It can be passed but not if the person is healthy. I say can be as my friend used my wet towel and he got it, his system is weak that is why,

[blondchic]

This works

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/13/politics/main4347731.shtml

[blondchic]

"I%u2019m afraid that this is all a start of a civil war in the United States between the Democrats and Republican. There is such a drastic difference in the belief system between the two parties that it is a recipe for disaster. SCARY!!!"
Blondchic

Case in point!!!!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/13/politics/main4347731.shtml

[molokaibill]

When I lived on Moloka''i I met a woman who was visiting because her father was stationed there when he was in the Army. He was a sharp-shooter, stationed on the cliffs above Kalapapa with orders to shoot anyone climbing the cliffs.

[greeneyes222]

When did these meaningless apologies become fashionable? The lepers who were confined are long gone.

Lots of things from the past were reprehensible, but they didn''t have facts available that we do now. Supposedly we''re more enlightened, but things like retroactive apologies really make one wonder. Will someone be forced to retroactively apologize for political correctness 50 or 100 years from now? Sheesh.

[blondchic]

Apologizing to those with a contageous disease for confining them? OMG liberalism has run amok!
Posted by GOP_forever

Yeah that%u2019s a typical GOP response, throw the sick people on a desolate island with no food, shelter, or healthcare and let them fend for themselves. It%u2019s no wonder this world is so crippled, it has become a cesspool of cruel and ruthless thinking people (most of who are Republicans I%u2019m afraid). Every time I talk with a Republican I hear things like, screw our environment, forget helping people who can%u2019t help themselves, can%u2019t afford healthcare too bad just give me my tax break because it%u2019s all about money, money, money !!!
Oh yeah, don%u2019t forget religion, the all ol%u2019 mighty Republican Christians of the world. My Aunt and Uncle are perfect examples%u2026money hungry, society hating Christians who cheat on their taxes while looking down their noses at those of us who are trying to better the world. I would be ashamed to identify as a Republican today that%u2019s for sure. I%u2019m afraid that this is all a start of a civil war in the United States between the Democrats and Republican. There is such a drastic difference in the belief system between the two parties that it is a recipe for disaster. SCARY!!!

[erb0087]

RE: "Apologizing to those with a contageous disease for confining them? OMG liberalism has run amok!"
- Posted by GOP_forever at 09:57 AM : Aug 13, 2008

Leprosy (aka Hansen''s Disease) is not very contagious.

Along with mental illness ("possession by demons"), leprosy has been greatly distorted by the gross, crude superstitions of the Bible.

"...forced quarantine or segregation of patients is unnecessary%u2014and can be considered unethical...

Persistent obstacles to the elimination of the disease include improving detection, educating patients and the population about its cause, and fighting social taboos about a disease for which patients have historically been considered "unclean" or "cursed by God" as outcasts. Where taboos are strong, patients may be forced to hide their condition (and avoid seeking treatment) to avoid discrimination. The lack of awareness about Hansen''s disease can lead people to falsely believe that the disease is highly contagious and incurable."

Wikipedia

[molokaibill]

Father Damien would truly be proud this day.

But I''m sure he would be saddened by the comments on this website.

[haoli25]

Oh now we are apologizing to Lepers? lmao

Just give ''em a hand.

[sterlingread]

Please don''t comment if you don''t know what you are talking about - knee-jerk reactions based on your small, limited experience makes you appear really, really stupid. you probably didn''t even know about the people on Molokai, yet you make some stupid liberal comment. Unbelievable. Tell you what - pick up a book, understand the story and then make a comment.

[bigwhtpony]

''Unclean, UNCLEAN!'' - Homer Simpson

Ok, so now that Hawaii has officially apologized, when will the checks to the ''victims'' start rolling in? That has to be the next step. Libeals should be confined to an island.

[gop_forever]

Apologizing to those with a contageous disease for confining them? OMG liberalism has run amok!