Dear wives of Self-Defense Force personnel,
Today (12.12.2003), I read a story entitled "Wives of SDF Personnel at the Komaki Base" in Asahi newspaper.
"When I said daringly 'Why don't you quit the army?' my husband said 'No. Of course I am not willing to go to Iraq. But someone should.' As I heard his word, I wanted to respect his will and thought if only many citizens proactively shipped them off. We, who will have to wait for our husband, are also devastating."
As I read these sentences, I got the feeling that I was beside myself. I understand so well SDF personnel and their wives are suffering.
"No one want to go there," "If I quit, someone else should go instead," "If so, I will go."
This seems chivalrous and manly attitude. I thought her husband should be a very nice man both as a husband and a farther as well as personnel of SDF.
However the war has always been borne by such people, good husbands, and good fathers. And their wives have dispatched them. Despite of their inmost "I don't want to go," cheered up by wives' encouragement, their husbands have gone to the front.
Though Japanese mass media and U.S. government have not announced officially, there have been over 1700 U.S. soldiers run away form Iraq. Multi-times more soldiers have been injured. Dead and injured Iraqis should be hundred-times more. Dispatching SDF to Iraq should produce more casualties. Each of those people also has their families.
Now cumulative number of the SDF personnel in Indian Ocean is 5630. About 60 personnel of them wanted and realized reassignments. There are also personnel who decline their overseas deployment. Those personnel may be made their feel uncomfortable by not being advanced in the SDF or being treated as cowards.
What's wrong with being coward? What's wrong with being wimp? It is much better to be coward than to order to become possible killer. It is good to be wimp.
It's alright that women are effeminate. Men need not be manly.
The same newspaper says there are women in Sapporo and Chiba who started signature-obtaining campaigns in the street against deployment of troops, when they knew their boyfriends who are SDF personnel were selected to be dispatched. Regardless of what the nation and public say and what cause there is, I want to say my honest feeling, "No," "Don't go," at the last minute. Yes, I'll say so.
I AM AGAINST SDF DEPLOYMENT TO IRAQ.
Fu Mizuta