Diversity Matters

Ka Lamakua revisits "Diversity Matters at Manoa", a series of lectures, movie screenings, workshops, and performances that occurred March 10-14, on the UHM campus. We would like to recognize the winning writers and poets in the Diversity Matters creative contest, by featuring their works here. The events were hosted by the Manoa Commission on Diversity and the Office of Student Equity, Excellence, and Diversity.

Ka Lamakua recognizes the winners from the Diversity Matters creative writing contest!
Identity Idealization - by Maricela Yee
“Because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11 - by John Pang
Michelle is twenty-two years old... - by Akiko Ishii
Why does diversity matter? - by Merrily Cretton

Identity Idealization

By Maricela Yee

Racial politics of disgust
Make the litmus paper scream

Take an empty vessel
Stories of old and other
lessons of another’s mother
In a different language
Anomalous to senses

Take a rhythm evoking spirit
Translate the experience
understand your own lineage
Research the familiarity
Understand that ethnic difference
Doesn’t translate into ethnic deficiencies

Untrain your developed sense of odd
Realize similarities beyond
Skin eyes hair and ideas
Look through and past
To personality and personhood

Embrace a diverse world
Like a bold teenager
Not an old world
Made of cell bars
Of ethnic intolerance

Society’s Privileged rule out opportunity
Experts on difference
Label one Post-it
Less than
Or more than
the other
This not that
But sister we are all that-
An ecosystem reproducing

Maricela Yee is a Masters Social Work student working with homeless women and families. She is an aspiring world changer. On her free time she finds outlets like dancing and singing karoke or shopping in Chinatown with her Grandmother.

She says, "I am really happy about the School of Social Work and its mission to
include Diversity in all the curriculum and application in class. I am very appreciative for all that the school and the Commission on Diversity and other departments are doing. There could always be more work and drive from students. I wish we didn't have to celebrate Diversity in a week and that it could be an intrinsic reaction to our Aloha State. If this school were to embrace all aspects of diversity beyond race, culture and ethnicity, like ideas and lifestyles, there would be no need for an awareness raising event as Diversity Week. Thanks for putting this together."

“Because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11 - Honorable Mention

by John Pang

The patient was a 54 year old man. The nurse crinkled her nose as she handed me the paper. Wonderful. Another stinker. I walked into the exam room to introduce myself, and was overcome by the combined odor of alcohol, urine, and feces, each of which hit me one after the other. I ignored the smell, and introduced myself. He appeared much older than he was, yet had a pleasant face, smiling through his grimace of pain. He was alert and cooperative, and to my surprise, rather well-spoken.

He had come into the clinic with a broken hand. The nurses outside had already told me that he had probably broken his hand during a drunken scuffle. When I asked him about what happened to his hand, he claimed to have fallen down. He continued talking his life, about how much he liked the clinic, and how much he hated sleeping on the ground. He appeared cheerful for what I saw as less than optimal conditions in his life.

Most of the interview remained rather uneventful until I asked about his living conditions. I already knew he was homeless. I wanted to know why.

He grew quiet, and after a moment, said that he had lost his job.

I asked him why he had lost his job. He said that he was disabled, and was on a number of antidepressants. Curious why, I pressed on. His answers remained short.

He had not always been homeless. He had once been married. He had had two children. Two boys. I do not remember where exactly he said they used to live; I remember being surprised. I could not understand why this seemingly intelligent man, who once had a wife and children, would now be living on streets and park benches.

He spoke slower now. He had lost everything in a house fire, including his boys at the ages of 5 and 7. Tragedies can either draw families closer or tear them apart, and the stress of losing their children caused the latter between this man and his wife, and they divorced. He then took up odd jobs painting and doing construction, during which time he fell off a ladder and became disabled. He could no longer afford to support himself and subsequently became homeless.

I was stunned.

This man had once led very different life. He had been a husband and a father. He had an entire future to look forward to, and in an incredibly unfortunate turn of events, lost everything. I could not comprehend the devastation he had experienced.

At the end of his story, my patient asked me to change the subject. He would prefer not talking about his past. I agreed, and proceeded with the rest of the exam. As I ended our encounter and directed him to the x-ray technician, I could not stop thinking about his story. As he walked away, I took a look at the entirety of this man. He was disheveled and in torn clothing. He was rank, with greasy hair and old shoes. He was no representation of the man of his past. I felt profound sadness. Had I seen him on a park bench, I realized I would have probably dismissed him among the many other homeless.

I could not imagine the magnitude of his loss, and found myself distracted for the rest of the day in clinic, overwhelmed by the destruction of a single person’s life. I wanted to rebuild his life for him.

Even with my previous exposure volunteering at the HOME homeless clinic in Kaka’ako, I acutely realized yet again that these individuals and their stories were often forgotten in the midst of their label as the homeless. When we talk about diversity in the community, we talk about skin color, language, culture, religion. We talk about the most obvious differences that make up the entity of humanity, yet we often forget that the diversity of our communities also encompasses those who are made distinct by their socioeconomic status.

The HOME project homeless clinic was started by a family medicine physician and some of my classmates, a selfless endeavor on their part to recognize the homeless members of our community and their special healthcare needs. During my first and second years of medical school, I volunteered whenever I could at their weekly Tuesday night clinic. It served to remind me of just how far the diversity of our community extended.

Like any other minority group, our homeless face their own unique set of challenges. Whether it is finding employment or establishing healthcare, what appear to be basic activities and services to any other member of the community prove to be uniquely difficult for these individuals and their families.

Part of recognizing diversity is acknowledging even the most uncomfortable differences between people and yet accepting them. Homelessness is one of them. Diversity reminds and even forces us to recognize the underlying sense of humanity that we all share; it pushes us toward a stronger sense of community. My homeless patient reminded me how easily our lives could change; that our desires for life, family and future were similar, as were our capacities to feel pain and loss. I could not fully comprehend his loss, but I could sympathize, at times even empathize with the overwhelming sense of struggle he faced in life.

As I ended my family medicine rotation, my patient’s story is one of a few that I cannot forget. It haunts me. His broken hand was not important to our encounter. There was an entire life behind his façade of soot and torn clothing, and I was one of the few to know his story.

Whenever I work with the homeless, I am reminded of his story. Diversity is a beautiful paradox. Beyond our differences or distinctions, beyond the characteristics that identify us in a certain group, the presence of diversity reminds us that we are all very much the same.

John Pang is currently a third year medical student at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, at the University of Hawaii. He graduated from UH with a B.A. in biology and B.S. in animal science. His eventual plan is to pursue a career in a surgical sub-specialty.

He says, "I think Diversity Week was a wonderful idea. Especially here in Hawaii, it seems appropriate that we take the time to celebrate the rainbow of differences that encompasses our community. It was especially nice for me, because I got to take this opportunity to appreciate my homeless patients, members of our community that are often forgotten."

Michelle is twenty-two years old... - Honorable Mention

By Akiko Ishii

Michelle is twenty-two years old. She waits for The Bus with her guide dog at a bus stop. When the bus comes, a passenger helps her get on. Although the bus is packed with people, the driver suggests that the passengers offer her a seat. Michelle is allowed to sit in the front row. When she stands up to get off the bus, a couple of people offer to lead her down the steps and onto the street.

Amy is also twenty-two years old, and waits for The Bus. She is a young woman with rosy cheeks. She has no obvious disability, but she has a chronic and life threatening health condition that requires her to visit a doctor’s office every two weeks. Amy experiences fatigue and joint pains. In addition, she suffers from nausea, high blood pressure, and depression due to the side effects of her medications that treat her illness.

Amy has difficulty walking up the steps of the bus. Passengers watch her impatiently. Finally, she gets on the bus, but she finds no seat. She asks people in front of her if she can have a seat. They ignore her. Some give her a look of disgust. Amy prefers not to disclose her health condition in public. Instead, she stands near the door so that she can get off the bus by the time it arrives at her stop. Nevertheless, the driver suggests for her to move back for another passenger. When the bus reaches her stop, she is too slow to make it off the bus in time. Amy is almost in tears by the time she gets off at the next stop because she must walk back several blocks to reach her intended destination. Amy is exhausted, both mentally and physically.

Amy’s disability is often called a “hidden disability”. The population of people with hidden disabilities has increased rapidly in recent years. This is mainly because medicine has made tremendous progress in the past several decades, which has saved many lives.

For example, according to the executive director, Paul Groesbeck, at the Life Foundation, (which is a non-profit organization for people with HIV/AIDS), the life expectancy among people who are living with HIV/AIDS, has dramatically increased since 1995 after the invention of HIV medications.

Groesbeck stated at the bereavement service in December 2007 that on the average 300 members had died annually during the first 12 years after the Life Foundation was established in 1983. The numbers of deaths have decreased constantly each year. There were 14 deaths at the Life foundation in 2007. Having HIV/AIDS used to be a death sentence. Nowadays, this has become a manageable disease by utilizing adequate treatments and medications.

Lupus is another example of an autoimmune disease, which mostly affects young, childbearing age females. A study showed that 50% of lupus patients were dead within 2 years in 1939, 50% of patients were dead within 4 years in 1955, and within 10 years in 1969. Now, more than 90% of all lupus patients survive more than 10 years. About 75% of them live more than 15years. Moreover, 80% of the people living with lupus expect to have a normal life span. Lupus is also incurable, but is a controllable disease with the proper treatment and medications`(DiGeronimo, 2002).

A definition of “hidden disability” is people who look fine, healthy or normal, yet are suffering from chronic illness, chronic pain, or a psychiatric disability; such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancer, ADD, depression, fibromyalgia, lupus, HIV/AIDS and more. These people are definitely an under-represented group in our society for a number of reasons.

At first, a hidden disability seems to be invisible. Often people in society delay to support people with a hidden disability because society cannot see their issues clearly. People with a hidden disability are too sick and/or busy to deal with their own health issues. They tend to isolate themselves. Therefore, organizing a group or community that will stand up for their rights to improve their lives is not easy.

Second, people with a hidden disability tend to fall into a lower socio-economic status. It is very common that financial aid and/or medical programs, such as the social security disability insurance program, or Medicare are usually strict to people with a hidden disability. They often have a hard time holding onto a job due to their hidden disability. Their job may affect their health. People with a hidden disability often hesitate to reveal their health issues to their work place because they are afraid of facing stigma and/or losing their jobs. Without being employed, they cannot afford to have health care coverage. However, people with a hidden disability must have medical treatment in order to manage their health. Therefore, their quality of life dramatically declines. They feel afraid and powerless.

I am actively engaged in supporting and promoting people who have hidden disabilities and chronic health conditions. Currently, I am a student in a master of social work program at UH Manoa. I have held a presentation “Living well with a hidden disability” to promote awareness of hidden disabilities among graduate social work students. I am an intern at the Life Foundation, supporting people living with HIV/AIDS. I have talked with numerous clients who look like healthy individuals, but suffer from chronic illness. Mainly, I talked with them for emotional support. I discovered that having HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence. Instead, people living with HIV/AIDS must have good coping skills and a support system in order to live well with the illness in the long-term process. In addition, I have learned through the internship that people who have other hidden disabilities may face similar life experiences.

It is great that advanced medicine can manage many people’s physical as well as mental illnesses in order to maintain healthier and longer lives. However, new challenges seem to always surface. I strongly believe that more people in society must recognize and understand issues about people with a hidden disability in order to support their well-being.

Why does diversity matter? - Honorable Mention

By Merrily Cretton

Why does diversity matter? From the start we were special. From the beginning, from the first of all firsts, life emerged upon a razorblade of impossibility. The earth, that great marble, eyeless and gleaming, had its beginnings in a single point of solidarity some 14 billion years ago. This point, which contained the universe - and thus time and space – existed precariously, balancing at just the necessary conditions for life as we know it. The unique asymmetry of matter to antimatter, the critical density and expansion of the universe, the birth of carbon atoms, the appearance of DNA (the living genetic code for all life on earth), all bespeak of a complexity and incomprehensibility that inspires modern scientists with awe. And, in some unworded, miraculous feat, space and time and the parameters of the universe were all created, life burgeoning out of this vast, dark diamond, amoebas and flagellates and worms and fish squirming and multiplying and breathing their heartbreaking breaths. And somehow, incredibly remarkably unbelievably, we are here. Caught fixed planted within an ever-evolving universe, thrust within a self-propagating garden, revisiting our genesis again and again. It is baffling, this design. It is delicious and inescapable. Not only are we the product of some infinitesimal, mind-baffling chance, design, call-it-what-you-will, but we are also undergoing revolutions of our own, playing the Darwinian game and surviving, always surviving. And the very fact of this survival is a kind of quiet marvel in itself, dependent upon the wide range of genetic diversity that exists within a single species. Diversity, it seems, is the requisite for life on earth.

Genetically, each human being possesses two sets of chromosomes (23 chromosomes in each set); and these chromosomes contain around sixty naturally occurring mutations. Although generally harmful, these mutations can be beneficial, producing traits that may aid a species survival. In humans, the removal of a 32 base pair in chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) produces a resistance to HIV. A diverse genetic pool means varied traits, and varied traits equate to a greater chance of adapting to our changing environment. In essence, genetic diversity ensures that, despite shifting temperatures, habitats, and resources, at least some members will have the traits necessary to adapt, allowing the species as a whole to survive. Diversity, then, is the foundation of our being, the living blocks that create a continuity to our world, that give us life and breadth and hope.

Every individual in the world is unique, containing their own distinctive genetic imprint, intricately engineered and unbelievably complex. They say that we are created from the stars, that the elements of our bodies were cooked and heated in the giant supernovas of the past, that we are miraculous and improbable; and yet, here we are -- not passive dormant dead, but moving growing changing. Our purpose, in a sense, is to be different. To maintain those sixty some odd mutations, those genetic variations, and hence to ensure our own survival.

Put simply, our purpose is to be ourselves.

1 Collins, Francis.  The Language of God.  Free Press 2007. (p. 131)

2 Pacheco, Antonio.  CCR receptor gene and HIV infection.  April 2002.