35th MRA trip to Saipan on Monday
At least 165 members of the Micronesia Repatriation Association of Okinawa will arrive on Saipan Sunday to celebrate its annual pilgrimage tour to Saipan and Tinian in remembrance of those who served and died during the war.
MRA chair Choken Ginoza announced Friday the arrival of MRA members tomorrow and said the group would staying through June 3, 2004.
According to Pacific Development Inc. coordinator Gordon Marciano, the association is chartering Continental Airlines from Okinawa to Saipan this year, with about 166 passengers expected to arrive in the CNMI.
Marciano said this is the 35th peace memorial service on Saipan and MRA would lead the ceremony on Monday at 10am at the Okinawa tower in Marpi.
The group is also celebrating its 27th peace memorial service at the Okinawa tower in Suicide Cliff on Tinian. “The peace memorial service is to pray for those who perished during the war and also for those who are still fighting in wars,” Marciano added.
Both ceremonies are to be followed by an Okinawa friendship night dinner reception. On Saipan, the friendship night will be held at the Hafa Adai Beach Hotel Garden and Poolside at 6pm. On Tinian, the friendship reception would be held at Kammer Beach, a night were members of MRA families and CNMI MRA families come together to appreciate their good relation and to continue to bring peace and harmony for everyone.
Marciano said that this year, the association is sponsoring students to attend the 16th annual Okinawa CNMI Cultural Exchange program where three students from Rota, Tinian, and Saipan each would be awarded scholarships to participate in the program. The Marianas Visitors Authority and the Public School System would announce the participants in the student-cultural exchange program.
“Choken Ginoza shares the difficulties with the events in the world and some of the members of the group were unable to make the pilgrimage tour. But although some of the members can’t make it, he [Ginoza] looks forward to the future as they continue to pray hand in hand with their families in Saipan and Tinian,” said Marciano.
