PERSONAL
BACKGROUND
When I was a high
school student, my teacher taught to me about
historical happenings during WWII. I was so
surprised at that time that I started to study it by
myself. My studies took me to the United States
where I visited the War Memorial Museum in
Washington DC, as I wanted to think about the
history from another view point. Still today in
Japan right wing and old politicians hold old
fashion ideas and still maintain great political
power in the country. But Japan is changing, as we
move towards an International era of understanding,
and I am one of the rising younger generation who
will bear the destiny of my country. It is up to our
generation to make peace with the world. This ideal
had always been the main reason behind me becoming a
high school teacher. I read a lot of books about
WWII which had been written by the older generation,
and at the same time I began to meet a lot of human
right activists who had different ideas and opinions
from our older generation. My friends and I began to
hold open seminars and make documentary films on the
subject focusing mainly on the Asian region. I have
found over the years that there are a lot of other
Japanese who share the same ideas as I do and who
really wanted to know what was happening through out
the world.
LEARNING
ABOUT THE BANABANS FOR THE FIRST TIME
Japan is now a very
rich country because we received a lot of business
chances from the United States caused by the Korean
and Vietnamese Wars. It was the only reason that
Japanese economical power become very strong during
this period. Only a few Japanese ever thought about
this prior to the American Students Movement who’s
ideals began to filter through to Japan. More and
more people began to realise it was necessary to
make peace. As a teacher we began to teach how to
make world peace, and realised to do this we must
learn the true history of ourselves and a broader
viewpoint of World history. I was soon to realise
that minority and indigenous people were greatly
discriminated against and still are. I have studied
many such cases through out the world, but the
Banaban case is one of the most serious cases I have
seen.
I was so surprised
when I first heard about Banaban history, when one
of my close friends held an International Conference
in Tokyo when I was working in Fiji in 1993. He is a
one of Presidents of NGO group in Japan and had
invited some Pacific Islanders to attend the
conference. At the time of the conference he knew
nothing about the Banaban people and their history.
A person from Nauru attended the conference and had
been asked by the Rabi Council in Fiji to give a
letter to my Japanese friend who had organised the
conference to discuss the idea of seeking reparation
from Japanese Government over the atrocities on
Banaba during WWII. Unfortunately my friend never
received the letter from Rabi Council and nobody
knew about the letter at the conference. The
International conference had more than 500
participants who were interested in `War crimes and
Repartition’. Everyday the number of people who
are interested in this subject is growing. We are
not Socialists or Communists. We just hate social
ills and love the ideal of peace and wanting to
develop a good relationships with people living all
over the world.
MY
VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
In March this year
I visited Nauru, Kiribati, Fiji and Banaba islands.
In Nauru I spent time at the War Memorial Museum,
and arrived on Kiribati 12th. March and stayed to
the 25th. March. During my time on Tarawa I made a
trip across to Banaba aboard the supply vessel on
the 17th. March. While on this important trip I met
a lot of old people who were born prior to WWII .
They taught me about the historical events including
the Japanese occupation of Banaba island. I
travelled aboard the supply ship to Banaba so that I
could experience the every day lives of the Banaban
people and their living conditions on the island
today. The voyage was a very hard trip and one of
the biggest and most moving experiences of my life.
I crossed the Equator around midnight. The ship
wasn’t that big and the weather not so good at the
time. I can not express in words how I felt when I
first saw Banaba island for the first time (see
photos taken at the time).
All of the instant
foods, gasoline, and daily things like rice are
brought in from Tarawa. All mining and factory
buildings are almost broken down. The old company
houses which the Banabans live in are becoming very
old , and I am concerned about that and the health
condition of the people who now live on Banaba
Island. I met Burinemone Biara a member of Kiribati
Parliament on the ship on the way over and another
Banaban man whose younger brother was killed by
Kiribati Police during a riot on Banaba in 1975 over
land and mining issues.
IMADR
- EXTENDING THE HAND OF FRIENDSHIP
Nowadays a lot of
Japanese citizens are interested in the
‘Reparation of WWII Victims’. Such Civil
Movements are now reaching the ears of our own
government but no information is reaching the
Pacific area. My aim is to educate and connect
people here in Japan with the people living in the
Pacific region. I’m now a member of a
non-government International organisation named
‘IMADR’ (International Movement Against
Discrimination & Racism) which holds NGO
Consultative Status (Roster) to raise issues on
Economic and Social issues of minority groups at the
United Nations, and I currently hold the position of
secretary of the NGO office at TOKYO Headquarters.
Last month I send some information about Indian
peoples social situation in Fiji to a sub-commission
conference in the United Nations, Geneva,
Switzerland.
If you would like
to know some more information about IMADR please
contact me either on -
Email:
BanabaJP@msn.com
or
contact me at -
Manabu
Kitaguchi
International
Secretary - IMADR
3-5-11,
Roppongi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo. 106 JAPAN
Tel:
(81) 3-3586-7447 Fax: (81) 3-3586-7462
The United Nations
published a Press Release about my work with IMADR
last month. My aim is to really help and assist the
Banaban People with the help of my great teacher -
Stacey King, founder of the Banaban Heritage Society
Inc. and Editor of the ‘Banaba/Ocean Island
News’. I hope that my recent photos taken on
Banaba will raise the issue of what has happened to
the Banaban people and ensure that they are not
forgotten by the rest of the World.
Manabu
Kitaguchi 6th. October, 1996 from Japan
