By Dr. Diana Felton
Today, April 15, is Father Damien Day, a time to reflect on the legacy of St. Damien of Molokai.
Father Damien arrived in Kalawao in 1873 and remained until his death in 1889. He shared his faith and devoted himself to improving the lives of people forcibly isolated to Kalawao and for contracting Hansen’s disease (leprosy). The legacy of Father Damien is his devotion to caring for an ostracized community left to survive with few resources.
As the National Park Service moves forward to restart public tours to Kalaupapa, we urge people to remember that while Kalaupapa is spectacularly beautiful and an important part of Hawaii’s history, it also is still the home of the remaining patient residents. These individuals were separated from their families at a young age and sent to live in exile, facing a disease that promised disfigurement and death. Like all residents of Kalaupapa, the surviving patient residents endured significant hardships as they built a vibrant, strong community in the face of extreme challenges.
As antibiotics were developed that cured Hansen’s disease, many patient residents opted to leave the isolation of Kalaupapa; however, many chose to stay. Kalaupapa is a reminder of the resiliency of a community that survived and has a history that should not be forgotten.
Kalawao County, which shares borders with Kalaupapa National Historic Park, is home to more than 8,000 graves, many unmarked, as well as iwi kupuna from the time before Kalawao was used as an isolation colony for Hansen’s disease.
Since 1977, Hawaii state law has guaranteed that any patient resident of Kalaupapa desiring to remain there shall be permitted to do so for as long as they choose. The state Department of Health’s Hansen’s Disease Branch is responsible for ensuring that the patient residents live comfortably and peacefully, have access to goods and services, including food, and receive needed medical services.
Today, the patient residents live similarly to kupuna elsewhere in the state. They spend their time socializing, tending gardens, caring for pets, watching University of Hawaii volleyball, doing puzzles, celebrating milestones, and talking with family around Hawaii and the world. The law also states that “the Department of Health shall promote and protect the personal liberty, autonomy, and dignity of all patient residents at Kalaupapa.”
But this is not just the purview of the Department of Health. All persons in Hawaii, whether residents or visitors, should respect the tragic history of Kalaupapa and the resiliency of those who were isolated there.
As the patient residents age, their numbers have declined, and their collective voice has quieted. It is incumbent on the rest of us to advocate for their personal liberty, autonomy and dignity and allow them to live their lives in peace at Kalaupapa.
Kalaupapa remains a remarkable place with an extraordinary history. As we emerge from several years of a global pandemic, it serves as a reminder of the valuable lessons about both the worst — and the best — of human responses to the challenges of public health. Kalaupapa and its patients should be viewed with a level of respect and gravity of the conflicted history it preserves and story they tell.
We must remember the hardships of people who suffered from this illness, but also their resiliency, dedication and hope encapsulated by Father Damien and others who contribute to the legacy of Kalaupapa.
Dr. Diana Felton is chief of the Hawaii Department of Health’s Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division, which includes the Hansen’s Disease Branch. This commentary originally appeared in the April 15 edition of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.