From: norman kaneshiro <nkaneshi@yahoo.com>
Subject: Okinawa needs OUR help…
To: “Norman Kaneshiro” <nkaneshi@yahoo.com>
Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009, 9:24 AM
Hello All:
The details for this message will be long, so I’ll cut to the chase. I was just sent a news video from 5/5/09 that shows the escalation of an ongoing struggle in northern Okinawa (Henoko and neighboring areas). Here is the link to the video (sorry only in Japanese and no subtitles; I’ll provide summary below and more detail thereafter):
http://www.qab.co.jp/news/200905058875.html
**SUMMARY: Basically, the Japanese Defense Ministry has released an environmental assessment for the extension of US military bases into the coast (5400 pages long) that was released on 4/1/09. The newsreel, however, shows that a 30 minute informational meeting was made to present the information, but did not address the concerns of the residents being affected. They literally made their report and left. Even on the day of the informational meeting, construction crews were busy at work making preparations for building the bases. Opponents of the bases point out that the 5400 page report does not mention one of the key environmental issues at hand: the dugong. The ministry is accepting opinions from the general public (most likely only in Okinawa) until May 15, 2009.
**MY REQUEST: I would like to ask all of you to write your support for the people of Henoko, Takae, and other neighboring areas being affected by the construction of the bases. Start thinking about what you would like to write and be ready to send it to me via email BY SUNDAY 5/10. Japanese or English is fine. I will be printing and mailing it to Okinawa on 5/11 and it should reach by 5/14. Please check your email tomorrow for other details such as if you need to include your name, etc. EVEN IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SHOW YOUR NAME, please be ready to submit anyways.
These letters will NOT have any legal standing and will probably NOT be read by any government body. NONETHELESS, we should send it as a symbolic show of support and, if anything, to give encouragement to the residents of these areas. So even if it’s a short note, please send it in because quantity is important. ALSO, please circulate this among your friends and family.
**EMOTIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM NEWSREEL: Even if you don’t understand everything, I think you can get the general idea from the emotions on screen. I am sorry my Japanese isn’t better, but I can give you a rough translation of some of the things in the video. The old lady with the white sweater addressing the meeting said, “People here believe that everyone will be getting lots of money if we let the bases come. They believe that, they are banking on that. So tell me, ‘yes’ or ‘no’, will every household here get tons of money?”
The man in the plaid shirt (Kayo-san, a Henoko resident and a sit-in protester at Henoko for the last 10 years) following her said in outrage, “You expect us to talk about Okinawa’s future…the future of OUR children, in just 30 minutes? Impossible!”
Despite the deluge of questions and concerns, the officials wrapped up the meeting not addressing any of these concerns. You can see the old woman telling one of the officials, “Answer us, don’t run away, answer us…” only to be told, “I am not responsible here.”
You can see the forlorn look in even the young residents’ eyes. Young man in blue, Gishitomo-san, said these comments, “I don’t want them to build 100m. That means 100m of our land being taken away. I don’t even want to see 1cm taken away. These are the kinds of things I wanted to bring up at the meeting. Our voices don’t reach them…too far away. So, I have no opinion.”
Groups are working hard to collect opinions and testimonies. As the young activist says, the opinions must be sent in because that is the only way they will be heard.
An official from the Japan World Wildlife Federation is shown commenting on how strange it is that the dugong is not mentioned in the report at all, when it is a key issue in the environmental assessment. He says that it would make a huge difference in the report. I think the newsreel goes on to show experts on dugong saying that they are present in all those coastal waters. A local resident can saying that he has seen dugong in his area.
**IN CLOSING: Sorry for the long message, but this is not a simple matter. Even though we are far away, many people in Okinawa feel connected to us. Many activists and residents in Okinawa have told us that they need our voices from the international front to muster the courage of the local people and to shake their government into the awareness that the world’s eyes are on them. We can’t do much physically to help, but we can offer our voices. Nonetheless, until you see the tears in their eyes, you cannot know how much that means to those residents in peril to hear someone from so far away say they understand their situation and that they stand together in their hearts.
Norman
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