UPDATE: As of Tuesday, March 4th, we've been freed. Zilmer relieved family members & civilians from the restrictions & modified things for the active duty folks to only between 10pm & 5am along with a 24-hour prohibition of alcohol consumption off-base, unless in the home of a SOFA-status person. Thankfully, reason has finally returned to the situation, despite reports of an idiot airman breaking into a business with alcohol on his breath just 2 days before the revised order.
If you want to get a realistic idea of the crime rate as perpetrated by people living on Okinawa under the US-Japan SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement), please analyze the data presented at the following link:
SOFA crime on Okinawa
This is definitely the most over-hyped situation that I have experienced in my 30+ years of life, thus far. The military community on Okinawa is, without challenge (that I'm aware of), committing crimes at a LOWER rate than the rest of the population, including rapes & other sexual crimes (of which experts purport that the majority are not reported in Japanese society). The initial suspect of rape against the 14 year old girl was immediately turned over to local police & has not even been CHARGED with rape (no substantial evidence of the girl's claim has yet been revealed). He HAS admitted to forcing her to kiss him, which is deplorable & criminal (I assume & hope). HE should be punished for that. The Filipino adult female who more recently accused an Army sergeant of rape in a hotel room has not yet pressed formal charges, reportedly (the following is hearsay, I admit) due in large part to the fact that she is a professional “comfort woman” living here in Okinawa on an “entertainment” visa. In other words, she uses her body to entice men for a living (whether she engages in intercourse for money is not yet clear). If that man indeed forced sexual contact with her against her will, HE should be punished, according to the terms of the law. But there is NO WAY that such a crime would NORMALLY be noticed & covered by so many international news media sources, whether or not it should be. The other few crimes that are involved in recent media coverage of "the situation" include:
(a) DWI charges against a Marine (a MUCH bigger problem among the local Okinawan population that relies on personal vehicles, due to inadequate public transportation options) &
(b) an intoxicated Marine entering the wrong unlocked residence & falling asleep (nothing was damaged & no one was harmed).
These crimes are, just like all crimes everywhere, regrettable & deserve punishment TO THOSE THAT COMMITTED THEM.
Is it really so HARD for those in "charge" here to recognize these facts & react accordingly, rather than making HASTY & UNFAIR orders that punish those that have never agreed to give up their rights & freedoms without just cause? Apparently so!!
For over a week now (& for at least another to come), none of the approximately 45,000 people living on Okinawa under the SOFA are allowed to CHOOSE to pursue activities of leisure & happiness, as granted to all other free peoples on the island. They may NOT CHOOSE where they spend their law-abiding, personal, "free" time, whether along the street they live on or in the stores where they normally purchase their food. They may NOT CHOOSE to join in the very obvious intentions of "leadership" to effect an unofficial boycott of the local economy, in order to prove that the US military IS wanted here (as if that was every a real question mark in ANYONE'S mind). In other words, these "orders" are directed not ONLY at the 22,000 military personnel (that are being compensated in so many ways for their willing cooperation with every order & whim of their commanding leadership, regardless of just cause or dessert), which is the common verbiage in so much news coverage (the "troops" are on lockdown in Okinawa). But they are also aimed at wives & children and at the many CIVILIAN Americans who came here to SUPPORT the military's mandate of preserving FREEDOM & civil LIBERTIES. Civilians work here as teachers & counselors & therapists in DoD schools. They provide medical expertise & care to supplement the military's own resources, as needed. Most came here as eager representatives of the American spirit of independence & freedom. Some of us (perhaps many) sacrificed high paying jobs to come to Okinawa to provide these needed expert services, during this time of intense military conflict around the globe. In exchange for our sacrifice, we desired ONLY to be able to get to know a new & beautiful culture, AFTER working for the 40 hours per week for which we are only compensated. Apparently that was expecting too much. Apparently these leaders believe that we "enlisted" & gave up our rights & freedoms, willingly following orders whether or not they infringe on our rights. Without so much as an "I'm sorry & I realize this is unjust, but please cooperate for the following good reasons... x, y & z" they imposed a ridiculous order, effectively removing us of all reason to work for them any longer. We consider that to be hey are WRONG!!
In the United States of America, believe it or not, we do not punish or in any way unreasonably restrict those that have neither committed nor been charged with a crime or offense. We do not restrict the civil liberties & rights of a people GROUP based on the offenses of a VERY SMALL FEW within that group. "Jim Crow" laws in the South are no longer in place. Anyone can sit at the front of the bus now. We punish only those that are proven to commit crimes & restrict (pending trial) only those that are suspected. We do not support leaders that move from a reasonable midnight curfew of the group from which every single offender has come (active-duty US Marines) all the way to an unjust & unusual restrictive "order" that includes ALL SOFA-STATUS PEOPLES, including completely righteous ambassadors of American generosity. I'm told that this is the type of "order" used in the past for such events as the reaction to terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001 (which forever altered the perception of global terrorism in the US) & the brutal rape & torture of a 12 year old girl by 3 US Marines on Okinawa in 1995 (which prompted the public protest by over 80,000 citizens who were rightly outraged by such a heinous & undisputed crime).
And yet here we are. Our every waking moment is subject to the very apparently hasty & INEPT decisions of a few (maybe even 1) US military commanders that have displayed little (if any) regard for the people that are being forcibly involved, against all of the reasons for which we agreed to be here and AGAINST the highest ideals that our military is supposed to be instilling in war-torn (not to even mention peaceful, like Okinawa & Japan) places around the planet. The truth, apparently, is that these US military "leaders" cannot or simply will not treat its own people the way that the US constitution & laws mandate. And let me be clear, that is REALLY infuriating & very sad & COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!!! If the US military won't stand up & preserve freedom & basic human rights, who will?
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