Illinois has an estimated 1,716 Guamanian or Chamorro people, and some of them are concerned about the safety of the island and their family still there.
Chicagoan Amiel Cabiling grew up in Guam, and he says it is truly an island paradise: White sand beaches. Crystal-clear water. Warm, carefree days that seem to stretch on forever.
«You’re like a 12-year-old retired person, » he says.
But with Guam threatened by North Korea amid a war of words with the U. S., Cabiling says he is concerned — perhaps for the first time — about the safety of the tiny island in the Western Pacific and his relatives living there.
«This is something out of the ordinary and very new to my family and the people of Guam, » said Cabiling, a 37-year-old information technology director. «We’ve been through 7.2 magnitude earthquakes. We’ve been through huge, huge typhoons. And we prepare for things like that. But how do you prepare for a missile that can essentially hit any part of the island?»
The threat to the island seemed to ease somewhat Tuesday, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un indicated he would stand down from his threat to Guam. U. S. Secreary of State Rex Tillerson also sought to lower tensions, saying «we continue to be interested in finding a way to get to a dialogue.»
Cabiling, who moved to the U. S. in 2002, said his parents and two sisters still live in Guam, and for now, they are taking a wait-and-see approach to the crisis. President Donald Trump has said if North Korean threats persist, they would be met by «fire and fury»; North Korea has said it might fire missiles into waters near Guam, an American territory and strategic base.
Cabiling said his mother thought about flying to the Philippines for safety but decided to stay put. Cabiling said he finds it increasingly difficult to watch the news. «I just don’t like thinking about it, » he said.
Illinois has only an estimated 1,716 Guamanian or Chamorro people in the state, which includes those who have a mixed heritage, according to the Census Bureau’s 2011-15 American Community Survey.
