The Former Campsite Has Paved the Way to International Friendship
of the 24 March 2000 evening edition or
the March 25 combined edition of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper
Translated into English by Hiromu Yagi
The Peace Memorial Park Seen from the Museum on 26 March, 2000
| What connected Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture,
with Australia was the former site of the POW camp that had been set up
in the Naoetsu district of the city during the Pacific War.
In February 1942 Singapore fell to the Japanese army. And then in December 300 Australian soldiers were sent to the Naoetsu camp. For the two years and nine months until the end of the war, 60 soldiers died of cold, hunger and forced labour. After the war, eight Japanese guards of this prison camp were indicted as "Class B/C" war criminals, sentenced to death, and executed. A few years before the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War a movement developed to shed light on this dark side of the local history and to erect the Statues of Peace and Friendship at the former site of the Naoetsu camp. It was in 0ctober 1995 that the site was developed into a minipark and two monuments for the war victims of the two countries were erected in it alongside the Peace Statues. The unveiling ceremonies were attended by 32 ex-P0Ws and their relatives. On behalf of them Mr. Jack Mudie gave a speech, beginning it with the sentence: "This is indeed a very historic day ...." A reconciliation was brought about and a close friendship was established. "We must hand down to the younger generation this tragic history and tell them how horrible and outrageous war can be. And let's promote international friendship. These two are the way to a lasting peace." Agreeing to this remark of Mr.Ishizuka's, approximately 100 citizens got together and launched the Japan-Australia Society of Joetsu. Every other Sunday quite a few members gather to learn English. On 15 August almost all the members participate in the Gathering for Peace. In 0ctober they hold a memorial service for the deceased guards. They exchange visits with Australian people. A lady aged 70 has visited Australia seven times. Their activities and experiences are publicized on their Website. In September last year nineteen poems made by Mr. Mudie in the prison camp were translated into Japanese and edited into a bilingual anthology. They are going to make another small step forward in their international exchange activities. Twelve of the ex-P0Ws and relatives are coming to Joetsu City on 25th March. All the members are looking forward to welcoming their Australian friends back to Naoetsu.
(Hiromu Yagi is responsible for the wording of the translation.) |
