Dear People of the World (formerly Dear Americans)

From last December to beginning of this month, I was in Okinawa to join protest activities of locals who are opposed to construction of new military base runways in US Marine Camp Schwab in Nago city, Okinawa.

Why we are opposed has been described in this blog for years. Please read the posts clicking the tag Okinawa.

Especially, this article gives you outline of what is going on there. My letter to US Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK.

While I joined the protest, I used picket board that says "We are Rosa Parks."

Rosa Parks as you may know, is the symbol of refusal to unjust matters. A Black woman who refused to give front seat to white passengers in a bus and was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955. But her action sparked bus boycott protest led by Dr. Martin Luther King. 9 years later, civil rights Act was passed. A year after that, Dr. King led peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery to call for enactment of voting rights bill. Black people in the Southern states were blocked at voting registration office.

What surprised me was marines reaction to the picket board. Young marines looked positive. I asked one security guard, who was a young white man inside the camp premise, if he knew what it meant. He said smilingly "I know what it means." One Black man driving a car looked at me, smiled and gestured his support. "Rosa Parks" is known to every American.    

I saw the movie, "SELMA" after I got back home in Tokyo. It was a great movie. I found how hard it was for him to do this. A lot of people were hurt and even killed. But he and his followers never gave in.

Interesting thing to know was Dr. King was a very smart man so that he once retreated the march to avoid bloodshed by local police. He filed lawsuit against the Alabama state that bans peaceful march. Then the court made an order to allow the march. He prevailed.

Just like Rosa Parks and Dr. King. we did peaceful protest at the gate of Camp Schwab. Sit-in-protest at the gate that construction vehicles passed through.

Police came and took us from the gate. We never foughtback but just kept sitting down on the ground. I was carried by the police from shoulders to toes.

Protestants do every day. It has been going on for years. There were several injuries and arrests. But we still keep doing this. We cannot stop the construction but at least we are delaying that. We will never give in.

While I joined in the sit-in protest, I really felt like Rosa Parks, Dr. King and their followers in their times. We may be backed up by their souls. 

Thank you, Dr. King and Ms. Rosa Parks. I am proud of being part of this protest activity.

The US government should hear the voice of protestants and halt such stupid construction project. It is as stupid as segregation laws. It is actually what is happening in your own yard. 

 

I just happened to know this film while participating in Tokyo Pride Parade event.

It was British movie. The Japanese title was "Parade e Yokoso (Welcome to the Parade)"

The story is based on facts. In 1980's coal miners did strike against Thatcher adminisitration's policy to close down unprofitable mines.

Gay activists in London launched fund-raising campaign named "Lesbians and Gays support miners."

At first they were not accepted by miners' community but later on both sides understood significance of corporation getting over the difference. Like one of important characters said "You support us so we support you."

In the end, miners joined gay parade to show solidarity with the activists.

The both oppressed communities got united to help each other.

I recently came up with the idea of new novel using the concept of unification among oppressed communities. Gays are not the only oppressed but women, disables, and recently those who are fearing new foreign military base construction in their local prefecture, Okinawa, Southernmost prefecture of Japan. For details, please read the articles tagged Okinawa in this blog.

The mining town in the film was in Wales. It was several hour drive from London but very different culture and people exist, even language is different. One different tribe in one nation. That thing is very much like Okinawa.  

I kind of do the similar action to the film, helping that prefecture people. On 24 May 2015 I joined protest activity such as human-chaining demonstration around Japan's Diet building in order to show solidarity with them.  

  

Last year I saw the rainbow on the construction area. It appeared from the sea. The construction project is reclaiming the beautiful coral sea. It was on the same day after I attended Okinawa's gay pride event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it seems another oppressed ones got united helping each other for the better future.

Just my fantasy?

 

A story of a man whose father was shot in front of him on the cotton field by a white farmer and later became a house servant of the farmer and then hotel servant and finally was hired by the White House.

It is a fiction but it is based on a real butler who served the White House from 1950's Eisenhower until Reagan's administrations.

It was like Black history of America.

How Black people struggled with the oppression and finally be honoured by the society.

Maybe Obama should have experienced similar things.

In order to change the society, people need to be not only brave but also clever. You cannot just fightback. You might have to get along with majority of the society regardless of their unfair treament of you.

It is a fiction but surprising thing was even in the White House, Afro-Americans were discriminated in salary and positions. It was fixed after Reagan's administration 1980's.

I like that part of America's history, not interested in founding fathers.

It is common with current event happening in Okinawa, Japan.

 

Because of that, America is no longer my favourite nation.

I can only feel mutuality with the oppressed Afro-Americans who lived in the past. 

 

I saw the dragon there, in Henoko, Okinawa prefecture, southernmost chain of the islands in Japan.

You might not believe that. This is the proof.

Yes, it looked like rainbow. But the sea is known to be sacred place for the dragon. The locals worship it and established a shrine on the sea coast.

Recently the dragon seems not very comfortable living there because of construction project going on his or her place. On the sea coast is US Marine training camp base, Camp Schwab. There is a plan to expand the base by reclaiming the sea where he/she lives.

 

The locals oppose the plan because their environment would be deteriorated as well. However, US military and the Japanese government never mind local resisitance movement.

 

Will he/she leave as the things are? I doubt it.

 

The sea reminds me of what I experienced 3 years ago in Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture in the mainland of Japan. Actually I learnt about that town when I joined environment activists meeting in Henoko. I met Kaminoseki activists who protest the construction project that reclaims the sea to build nuclear power plants there. They did the same things as locals in Henoko do, kayaking the sea to prevent construction work from proceeding.  

So I visited Kaminoseki later. There I saw the same scene.

Activists on the beach calling for the halt of the project but the authorities and power company never minded their voices. The project was about to be proceeded and the beach might be destroyed sooner.

I felt something when I was on the beach. I sympathized, and then prayed to call for the help.

 

Two weeks later a big earthquake and tsunami occurred in Fukushima. 4 nuke plants were destroyed by the nature and massive radioactives were released to the environment.

 

Now the construction is halted in Kaminoseki (not yet terminated.) No nuke plants are operated in Japan at present.

 

In that town, there enshrined the sea dragon.

 

Was it just an coincident? I just don’t think so. That is why I’ve been feeling fear.