The restrictions have been lifted....

The restrictions imposed on us by a general were partially lifted after 2 weeks. We are now allowed to go anywhere between 5 am and 10 pm. For the service members alcohol of base/camp is still not allowed and there is a curfew of 10 pm for all. We can however go to a movie on base at 9pm and go home, we can just not be walking the streets or be in restaurants, bars etc. The local business owners are pretty happy with the exception of the bar/strip joint owners....
The local English paper had quoted some of the local Japanese activist on the lifting of the restrictions. One comment by a lady in charge of a women's organization made me pretty upset: she thought that 2 weeks were not enough and we were not all sorry and apologetic for what a few have done (see my previous post on the subject) She suggested a 3 month or longer restriction for all including women and children. I am sorry, but I did not do anything wrong nor will I do anything wrong in the near future (drinking and driving, breaking into residences or kissing on 14-year old girls) . I am as disgusted by the behavior of a few, but I do not need to apologize for them, nor do I need time to reflect.... I do however agree with the alcohol ban for service members and the curfew, since most of the bad things have been happening late at night and often involve alcohol!!!!
Since the restrictions (or as the military called it: period of reflection) have been over I have been trying to be extra courteous and polite when I am out amongst the Japanese. I want them to know, that not all Americans ( I am not, but they think I am) are ruthless, thoughtless, selfish brutes (that is how we have been described in the papers here). I think, that is what all of us here one Okinawa need to do. This is their country after all and we are invited guest.

Stil under restriction.....

It has been almost 2 weeks since the restrictions were put upon us (all service members, Civilian employees of the military and every ones family members) here on Okinawa. The rules say that we are not allowed to go anywhere, but to the military installations on the island, churches of base, for medical appointments and to and from home (if we live off base). Okay, that does not sound too bad, but it is : just imagine you work downtown and are not allowed to pick-up your children from school on the way, stop for a coffee or run real quick to the post office.... You can see it, but you can not go!!!! Last week we had two incidents in our house that made me question the rules: our car needed to be jump started (the battery was old and I have since gotten a new one), it was 5 am and time for my husband to go to work. He called his boss, so one of the guys could come by for the jump start. His boss had to put that on hold to find out, if that was legal first.... The other situation involved our son, who just had gotten a new soccer ball. He was playing with it in the parking lot of our apartment building. The ball ended up bouncing over a fence and going down the ravine behind our house. The ravine must be over 100 feet deep - it is more like a cliff... We had a long discussion about it being legal for us to go look for the ball down below. It is not legal for us to do so! Even every day little thing require us to think "Are we allowed to do that?" It is pretty bad to be here on a beautiful island and we can not take advantage off it!!! There was a statement by the General in charge of all troops in Japan ( General Zilmer) that there would be a review of the restrictions and the policies today March 3rd. Well, it is almost 9pm Japan time and nothing has been said.... Not even a give us until tomorrow. So here we are with an open-ended restriction and no answers to be found. I think, I could live with this, if I knew when it is supposed to end.....

Just to remind the reason for the restrictions was mostly the allegation of rape of a 14 year old Okinawan girl by a 38 year old Marine . Those charges have been dismissed by the Japanese police and the guy is now in US military custody. He had always admitted to kissing the girl, but denied the rape. (What a 38 year old is doing picking up a 14 year old is beyond me and it was wrong!)Also there had been a few other incidents involving drinking/driving, breaking/entering a Japanese residence and an alleged assault on a Philippine bar worker in a hotel. Since we have been on restriction it has been pretty quiet except for two incidents last weekend: an air man breaking into a Japanese office after climbing the fence to get off base (the guy was intoxicated) and the husband of an air man (woman) being caught in a raid on a drug house... So there are more thing to hold over our heads.

My husband spend 4 hours (from 11 pm until 3 am) on courtesy patrol outside the gates of our local base going through the bar/club district together with some Marines, Soldiers and Air Men. The bars were mostly closed and they ran across nobody breaking the rules....

Most of the problems have been happening during the overnight hours and are alcohol related.... So how about the day time???? Freedom soon, hopefully.......

The picture on top is Shuri Castle here on Okinawa (now we can not go there either).....

I can not leave my house....

Okay, this is a bit of the beaten path, but worth mentioning! As of today we (all Americans affiliated with the US military) can not go anywhere! That is a direct order from the US military. We are guest of the Japanese government here on Okinawa. About 10 days ago a 14 year old local girl accused a 38 year old marine of picking her up on his motorcycle, taking her to his home and then sexually assaulting her while taking her home in his car. First of all that is horrible!!!! No male adult has any business picking up teenage girls (they wear pretty obvious school uniforms here)!!! The guy is in jail for up to 46 days without charges being filed while the Japanese police is doing their investigation. Then last weekend two marines messed-up again - one drinking and driving and the other was found in a locals home with no business there. There are ongoing protests against the behavior and the presence of all Americans on the island. Last night at a family meeting we were informed that of today all military members are restricted from all activity not involving the military installations. Family members were told not to venture out also. We are "banned" from stores, restaurants, bars, clubs, any tourist facilities, the beaches not belonging to the US military etc. We were told that we could travel from and to work, go to all military installations, but nothing else. Since I live about one mile away from a military installation and we have only one car, I am stuck at home unless my husbands work schedule lets me work something out with him, so I can drop him off and pick him up later on....
This situation , we were told, can last anywhere from days to months.... The reason we were given is that we are supposed as low profile as possible, while the powers that be work things out. The last time something like this has happend, the US military ended up giving major amounts of land back to the Japanese and had to pull out troops from the island.
It is very sad that the alleged actions of one idiot reflect upon all ...... I am a female and I do not think, there is a great danger for me to go out and hurt any of the locals....
Let me hear what you think about this!