Peace and the Dignity of Life: What My Uncle Taught Me
by Tomomi Kimura
Imabari Nishi High School, Ehime Prefecture
Messages of Peace from Chiran
13th Annual Speech Contest, 2002
Honorable Mention, High School Division
Everyone, what thoughts do you have about the dignity of life? What
feelings do you have about "death"? To what extent does a person's
death leave sorrow with those who remain behind? There
is an incident that I will never forget my entire life. It happened a year and
four months ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. Since I was on
vacation from school on that day, our family had gone out shopping. When we
returned home at about noon, my mother suddenly shouted, "It's terrible! We
must go to your grandmother's house!" I asked with surprise, "Eh! What
happened?" My mother said to me, "The Ehime Maru [1]
has had an accident. It's on TV now!"
My mother's older brother, my uncle, was on the Ehime Maru. Choosing the
sea for his workplace meant that he was usually close to danger, but it
seemed that my mother and grandmother felt that this was distantly related
to the accident since it was a training vessel. My mother got her luggage ready right away, and
she went to my grandmother's house by car. It
takes about three hours to go to her house by car. My father,
younger sister, and I also headed toward my grandmother's house in the evening.
My grandmother was weak and was lying down without eating anything. Every
once in a while she muttered a prayer. Nothing could be done to console her.
The next day my mother went to Hawaii with others in her family.
Why did such a tragic accident happen? It was thought that Hawaii is a global tourist site
and a safe location. The ocean area where the accident happened was not more
than a few kilometers from the tourist spots. Also, there were also many
other Japanese training vessels on the sea there. Why did the submarine have
to be conducting drills in such a place? Isn't an American nuclear-powered submarine
supposed to be an instrument for maintaining peace? The lives of nine people
who had no connection with it were snatched away by that instrument, and it
exposed the lives of twenty-six other people to danger. In addition, under certain
circumstances, radiation could have leaked from the submarine and not have
been possible to stop. How could such an incident happen? Wasn't it a
publicity event in which they let civilians aboard under the name of a
training drill and an arrogant maneuver that gave them a false sense of
peace?
Afterward in September, the Trade Center Buildings' terrorist incident took
place. Then the retaliatory attack against Afghanistan. The actions of a
small group led to the trampling underfoot of the dignity of people who knew
nothing about it and who were completely innocent, and even their lives were
taken away. Moreover, certain people lost their families, others lost their
limbs, and they lost even their hopes of living. Even
now people wage untold numbers of wars. These are wars for freedom and
conflicts for rights, religions, and ethnic groups. However, there surely
are innocent victims. Why don't people have the ability to learn? Why do they
repeat their errors? Why aren't the feelings of people who have lost their loved
ones understood? Before fighting, they ought to be able to reach a solution by
recognizing each other, talking together, and negotiating. The difficulties are
understood. Perhaps it can be said this way of thinking is naive and that I do
not understand the world. However, isn't there some other way to settle an issue
without shedding blood? However long people fight with force, there will not be
a true peace. Even though you settle something temporarily with military power,
I do not think there is a true solution. The sadness of people who have became
victims cannot be healed in the future. As long as they are alive, they continue
being sad. Even now somewhere in the world there is war, and many innocent
people are turning into victims.
Japan now has peace. I think this is due to the people who were victims of
the war that ended 57 years ago. Isn't it necessary that we believe in future
peace, think about the present so that we do not waste the hopes of the many
people who sacrificed their lives on behalf of their families and country, and
to take action to do something we can?
This is not something in a faraway world. Somewhere in this small world
tragic slaughters are taking place. Many people our same age are also
becoming victims. If we do not do something, who can do it? The time has come
when we must seriously think.
My uncle was not eloquent and said few words, but he was a very
gentle person. He was a person always concerned about my grandmother. When
someone talked to him, he listened kindly to everything as he nodded and said,
"uh-huh." But I can no longer talk with my uncle. I can never meet
him. I hate America, which took away my uncle. Putting it a different way,
my uncle is also a victim of war. But my uncle taught me with his death. The
importance of peace and loving people. Within my heart I made a promise to
my uncle. To tell people of the importance of life, thinking of what can be
done for peace and living the part of my uncle who died young at 47 years of
age. I promised my uncle.
Note
1. On February 9, the American nuclear submarine USS
Greeneville collided with the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fishing training
ship. The submarine had sixteen civilians on board during the training drill when
it hit the Ehime Maru.
Translated by Bill Gordon
September 2005
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