This year I celebrated American Independence Day in our Nations capitol.A friend of a friend is a retired major in the Army and he was able to gain us entrance to Fort Myer, where we watched the fireworks over the Washington Monument from an unobstructed hillside on Whipple Field.While we waited for the fireworks to start we sipped on mojitos and gorged on a traditional meal of KFC.The fireworks were a sight to behold and afterwards we partook in that other American tradition: sitting in traffic.
Back in Saipan, the local government doesnt officially recognize Independence Day; we celebrate something we call Liberation Day, which coincidently also happens to fall on the Fourth of July.In one of the many ironies that makes Saipan, Saipan, Liberation Day commemorates the anniversary of the day the Chamorro people living on Saipan were liberated from the US Military, not by the US Military.Out of the necessities of war, for two years after the invasion of Saipan, the indigenous people of Saipan (and the Japanese, Okinawan and Korean civilians) were forced to live in an internment camp called Camp Susupe.Liberation Day only commemorates Saipans liberation from the Japanese in the sense that it commemorates the end of the wars hostilities and Americas need for a launching pad to invade Japan.The release from Camp Susupe on July 4, 1946, set the indigenous people down the path towards self-government, something they had not had since Magellan œlearned the islands, and something not achieved until January 9, 1978.The annual celebration of Liberation Day helps remind us of our democracys humble beginnings, beginnings much humbler than those of the land- and slave-owning gentlemen who signed the US Declaration of Independence in 1776.
In practice, but, Liberation Day is more a celebration of Independence Day than it is a reminder of the horrors of war or of the beginnings of democracy in Saipan.In essence, we celebrate our liberation from and relationship to the United States onthe same day.And this supposed parodox plays out every single day in Saipan.For example, in the local House of Representatives, one member calls America an enemy, while another serves in the Army Reserve.Patriotism runs deep, but so does anti-Americanism.
Just another day in paradise.
Excerpt from:Independence and Liberation
Halo Sobat, Nama Saya Sofyan Syah, Memulai Dunia Blogging Sejak Nov 2011, Meskipun Masih Baru terjun di Dunia Blogging, Saya tidak patah semangat Untuk menjadi Yang terbaik dari yang Terbaik, karena saya yakin, Tidak ada hal yang tidak Mungkin.Buat saya Blogging Is My Life.Senang rasanya jika sobat sudah Berkunjung di blog ini.
Komentar :
Post a Comment