Risk, Courage, and Women: Contemporary Voices in Prose and Poetry

doshite human rights?

149 doshite human rights? Mitsuye Yamada Why you and Maiku go to visit bad people in prison? They are our friends, Mother, our tomodachi. Why you have bad tomodachi? They are not bad friends, they are good friends. If they not bad people, why they in prison? Because they stand for what is good and decent because, Mother because they don’t like what the government is doing. If they not bad people why they don’t like the president? He looks like such a nice boy. The president is not the government, Mother. The president is the president is well never mind. Doshite never mind? Doshite yutte kurenaino? Why you not tell me? Mother, remember when we were put into camp during World War Two? Do you remember that? Did we do anything bad then? Are we bad people because we were imprisoned? Nooo but they must have some good reason we don’t know about Yes, they had a reason all right, but it wasn’t good. It’s called how do you say it sabetsu—discrimination. I don’t know about those things. I don’t like to think about such things. Nobody does, Mother 150 Risk, Courage, and Women But we have to How come I never hear people talk about your tomodachi in prison? Mother, if you did something bad to people would you tell everybody about it? Would you? Nooo, I don’t think so. That’s why we are telling people to help get them out of prison. That’s why Mike and I are telling people about their human rights. Wakaranai. I don’t understand. What is this thing, humanu raitsu? Mother, these friends of ours believe in justice. Let me see, how do you say justice in Japanese? Hooritsu mamoru? No, Mother, that’s not it. Not law-abiding. Abiding by the law if the government is wrong is wrong. If we put people who want to do the right thing in prison it keeps other good people who want to do the right thing from doing it Do you understand now? I don’t know. Hakkiri wakaranai. I don’t quite understand. But these people are your friends, yours and Maiku so they must be good people. That I understand. 1992 ...