When Sha Ongelungel saw yet another derogatory post directed at Micronesians, she decided enough was enough

It was the case of one offensive Facebook post too many.

Sha Ongelungel, a Palauan-American woman, was looking at Facebook when she saw yet another derogatory post directed at Micronesians – people from the western sub-region of the Pacific, including the countries of Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Nauru, as well as three US territories.

She decided she had had enough.

Ongelungel, a writer and activist now living in Hawaii, began sharing examples of online abuse directed toward Micronesians, that she had been collating over the past three years, in what she’s called the “anti-Micronesian thread of shame”, under the hashtag #BeingMicronesian.

Among the abusive comments she shared are ones calling for Micronesians to be killed, hunted, purged and cleansed.

Sha? Nanigans!! (@sha_merirei) In lieu of creating a whole new account/blog documenting the anti-Micronesian hate I see online, I’ve decided to just make a thread of it. I encourage everyone to read through it, share their own, contribute, and RT. Will be using the hashtag #BeingMicronesian with this thread. pic.twitter.com/D8xyeGDB22

One Facebook post is a picture of a cockroach with the comment: “I have utter disdain toward Micronesians and its community” [sic].

A tweet directed to Donald Trump, asked the president to “deport the fucking Micronesians causing trouble”.

“I was just tired of it,” Ongelungel told the Guardian. She says xenophobia against Micronesian people is extremely common in Hawaii and increasingly in parts of the mainland US.

“‘You look Micronesian’ is used as an insult by non-Micronesians, which means you’re dirty and your clothes don’t match,” said Ongelungel.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Upon discovering Sha Ongelungel was Micronesian, a man asked what restaurant she worked in. Photograph: Sha Ongelungel

Ongelungel has had people tell her that she’s too pretty to be Micronesian, and once had a man, upon discovering she was Micronesian, asked her which restaurant she worked at.

“Because it’s assumed Micronesians are dishwashers, working in the kitchen, mopping floors,” said Ongelungel, who at the time was an art gallery director.

When Ongelungel first moved to Hawaii from Oregon, where she was born and raised, her cousin told her that when she was going for jobs she should tell people she was from Oregon. If they pressed her further, he told her to tell them she was Palauan, but his advice was: if you tell them you’re Micronesian you probably won’t get the job.

It is difficult to obtain numbers on how many Micronesians live in the US, including Hawaii, but some countries in the region have agreements allowing their citizens the right to live and work in the US, leading to significant migration from the islands.

Ongelungel is trying to draw attention to prejudices – including that people from Micronesia are dependent on welfare, don’t work and have too many children – which she feels go largely unchallenged in Hawaiian society, as well as highlighting the differences in culture between different Micronesian nations.

“As a general rule, people don’t walk around and say ‘I’m Polynesian’ or ‘Polynesian is a language’, which obviously it’s not, so why do they do that to us?”

She said these comments and attitudes were especially hurtful because the xenophobia was coming from fellow Pacific islanders.

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“You want to think your whole Pacific family would be there to support you, because there are so few of us compared to other groups. When you find out that some of them want you dead, or think that your people aren’t as good as their people, it hurts.”

Since posting her #BeingMicronesian threads on Twitter and Facebook, a few weeks ago, Ongelungel has been amazed at the response, which has been largely positive, as people shared their own stories of prejudice, and expressions of solidarity. One woman wrote on Twitter: “I’ve seen it all before … but it still hurts so much. #NoAlohaForUs”.

“I’ve been overwhelmed with the last two weeks with the people reaching out. For all the hate that these posts show, talks of genocide and purging us, it’s also been an amazing opportunity to connect with amazing people in those communities who support us and are our allies,” she said.