50 percent drop in Okinawa Memorial tour

Only 100 people from Okinawa will be visiting Saipan for the 39th Annual Peace Memorial Tour this May 26.

“Last year, there was more than 200 tourist that visited Saipan for the Memorial tour; it really has been decreasing. During the 1980s, usually around 600 tourist would visit the CNMI, then on the 1990s it would be around 300 tourists,” said Gordon Marciano, assistant general manager of Pacific Development Inc.

For the past 19 years, the Micronesian Repatriation Association has been coming to the CNMI to pray for those who passed away during World War II and to extend the same prayers for those who are still fighting wars in other countries.

The association has also been bringing students from Rota, Tinian and Saipan for a cultural exchange tour of Okinawa. This is not going to happen this year, though, due to financial difficulties.

The 39th Annual Peace Memorial event will be held on May 26, 10am at the Okinawa Peace Tower, next to the Last Command post in Marpi.

The next day at 11am, the 31st Tinian Okinawa Peace Memorial Services will be held at the Okinawa Peace Tower, Banzai Cliff on Tinian.

The public is invited to join both ceremonies.

Marciano said the group’s number has been going down through the years as some have already passed on. The members are looking forward to meeting each other again since for some it may be their last trip, he said.

This year, the MRA has received word that “they are unable to come up with the funds to help with the 20th CNMI/ Okinawa student exchange.”

“I believe if we all put our hearts together we can make the 20th student cultural exchange possible for them,” said Marciano. “I hope that we can send three students from each of the district. Even a small help of sending one student to Okinawa would mean a lot for them.”

“We hope and pray, that the future generation of Okinawans will continue to foster the good relationship which their forefathers have accomplished and always return to the Micronesia to revisit where their parents were born and raised. It is very important to keep the ties strong, as they are also a part of our history and culture,” he added.

For more information, contact Hiroko Tajima at 287-8780, or Marciano at 287-1195 or 322 8761.