by Alonzo Kahalic

alkahalic6801@gmail.com

Dear Editor,

Living Beyond Survival: A Call for Proactive Leadership in Palau

In Palau, we are being asked to tighten our belts again—this time over the rising costs of water, waste, and electricity. Our leaders are quick to speak on these utilities, and rightly so. But where is the same outrage, the same urgency, when it comes to the rising cost of food and fuel—items that we need every single day to survive? The silence is deafening.

While some complain about water bills on national radio or post about electric prices online, the price of a bag of rice or a gallon of gas quietly go unspoken. These are not luxuries. These are lifelines. And the reason our leaders may not see the urgency? Because they earn $50,000 or more a year, while 66% of our people earn less than $15,000. There’s a disconnection—not just in wealth, but in perspective.

We are not just talking about numbers. We are talking about dignity. About survival. About the day-to-day struggle of families choosing between food and medicine, between electricity and transport, between sending their kids to school or sending them to the store to buy spam on credit.

The purpose of this article is simple: to wake us up. To remind us that we must be proactive, not reactive. We can’t afford to wait until we are drowning in crisis before we start to build a lifeboat. Life in Palau cannot just be about watching problems grow and clapping for anyone who says something popular on television. If you’re a leader, lead—don’t just perform.

The worst tragedy isn’t poverty or suffering. It’s to be alive and yet not be living. It’s to have power but no wisdom, to have position but no purpose, to live in a beautiful land and still not feel joy. No wonder our kids are struggling with ICE and other drugs… so they can run away from this created reality.

Leaders must help us change how we think. “In order to change the way a person behaves, we must first change the way they think,” said Albert Bandura. And to think clearly, we need leaders to LEAD and not create ego drama between the OEK and Executive Branch. While you both are arguing about who should be minister, WE still have to face our problems of high cost of living and low wages. How do we make ends meet when the gap is too far apart?

That is why we voted for you so you can have the time to think about how to help your citizens. We need leaders that act with vision. Lead with courage to find ways to support its citizens without taxing the little they have to support a government that does not know what people really go through.

Don’t wait until the house is on fire to fetch the water.

Your Humble Servant

Al Kahalic