Where is the Aloha?

Tourism resumes in Lahaina while residents have no place to live

By Lareesa Butters, Resident of Lahaina

A month after a devastating tragedy that still holds more questions than answers, no accountability and a community coming together while being left in the dark. The announcement of an October 8th reopening has left emotions high and residents' heads spinning.

The residents, lucky enough to still be taking refuge on the west side of Maui, are all scattered between a 6 mile stretch north of Lahaina from Kaanapali to Kapalua. Most of these are the generational families and the hotel industry employees that serve the area's guests. While Maui’s economy is currently structured to rely heavily on tourism, we, as a community, just aren’t ready to open our doors. 

Kai Nishiki, a west maui community activist, summed it up best when she said, “think about it, would you ask someone who just lost their child, their parents, their brothers and sisters to open their home up to host parties and have houseguests mere weeks after such a tragedy?” As much as the residents here need to get back to work to afford the astronomical cost of living, the idea of serving mai tai’s at the poolside, sharing the art of hula or entertaining guests of a luau is insulting and heavy. 

Thousands are still without long term housing. AirBNB vouchers are moving families from condo to condo, living out of suitcases in tiny rooms without kitchen amenities. Hotels that previously opened their doors to displaced families have banned them from utilizing the amenities like pools and recreation areas. Those rooms are now being taken from them to make space for the visitors to pad the pockets of the corporations or cover the poor investment choices of off island investors. Many of the homes in this area sit vacant as their owners only occupy them 6 months of the year. Rental rates- especially in west maui- were already unrealistic based on the median income and cost of living ratio, now- they’re unreachable. The average salary of the hospitality industry in Hawaii brings in $53,000/year while the cost of a one bedroom is reaching $3,000/mo. One solution from Governor Green is to house these families on other islands while they rebuild- but who is going to staff your hotels after you've shipped the employees away?

Lahaina children still aren’t in school and no aftercare options have been secured for parents being economically coerced to go back to work servicing tourists. Options to bus the kids to the other side of the island (an hour commute each way) is the best solution the leadership has come up with. For many of us, the idea of our children being on the other side of the mountain, with only one access road and the potential to be trapped or separated again is just too much. Area teachers are setting up volunteer groups at the parks, their voices and recommendations to the DOE being largely ignored, but sure- let's open up the resorts.

West Maui residents are still living in areas with unsafe water and compromised air quality due to the toxic ash. We know there is asbestos. We know there is arsenic. We know there is lead. Disturbing the ash and dirt in these areas without proper protection puts everyone at risk. The EPA testing isn’t geared towards these toxins when they release their reports saying they've deemed the areas “safe”. Many residents in these areas are still without power and their sewer lines are broken.  

You’re stepping into and all over the lives of indigenous, sovereign people that have been taken advantage of and remained silent for so long.. They come from a place of distrust- and the actions of the state and county officials have only validated their concerns and shined light on the corruption behind closed doors. We are mad. We are hurt. We are still processing and grieving the extent of our losses and the change in our world. We have barely begun scratching the surface of wrapping our heads around what this new reality means, for all of us. 

Even now, in the midst of the devastation, tourists are raiding support hubs to stock their own condos. We’ve seen them seek refuge in designated shelters and hot meal handouts alongside the families that have lost everything. We’ve seen posts on social media from tourist groups saying “we’re keeping our vacation to come help the people of maui, how do we get a free airbnb?” We’ve escorted tourists out of burn areas after they’ve hopped the fence and trespassed for their devastation selfie. Often tourists have an attitude of entitlement that they spend whatever amount of money to be here and telling residents to be ‘grateful’ of their generosity. When guests don't get their way, residents are verbally accosted and often asked “Where's the Aloha?” 

The people of our community haven’t even been able to lay eyes on what's left of their homes and properties to properly mourn and say goodbye. We still have uncles, brothers, cousins, and friends unaccounted for. Most folks in west maui are still in a very fragile and volatile mental state. Thinking about allowing outsiders wanting to escape the reality of their own lives to come party, drink, ask insensitive questions and wander around in areas they shouldn’t seems like a recipe for compounding the disaster and trauma this community is already enduring. Aloha is a reciprocal energy, so the question remains- “Where is the Aloha?”

Lareesa Butters is a longtime resident of Lahaina and friend of the show, Breaking Battlegrounds.