Sunday, November 16, 2008
A Rainbow Soldier
I met a man with an incredibly strong-will. He was a former Iraqi soldier, and now working hard to rebuild his hometown Ramadi, Iraq. Even though he lost his brother, cousins and many friends because of the US invasion, he would not use his anger to retaliate the US, but to rebuild Iraq.
I have been asking for help to change the chain of violence into a chain of hope. And he has been working in Iraq to change the violence into hope! What a man!
This is his third visit to Japan to let Japanese people know the REAL situation in Iraq. I am so grateful that I had a chance to meet him again and talk with him about the project he is now working on to rebuild Ramadi. Very good news is that Ramadi has been in order since US army left last year, and the tribal leaders has held good control of the area. Only few battles took place last one and a half years.
He is now working hard with his friends to help homeless widows and children. I promised that I would continue to donate to his project.
He is a calm and wise man. But it does not mean that he lived a happy life in Iraq. He came through so a hard situation and his country's future is still unclear.
I wish him peace and harmony in his hometown,
and I do hope to see him again as a friend of those working to realize a peaceful world.
His English blog
I R A Q - M A I L ~ THE VOICE FROM RAMADI ~
I met a man with an incredibly strong-will. He was a former Iraqi soldier, and now working hard to rebuild his hometown Ramadi, Iraq. Even though he lost his brother, cousins and many friends because of the US invasion, he would not use his anger to retaliate the US, but to rebuild Iraq.
I have been asking for help to change the chain of violence into a chain of hope. And he has been working in Iraq to change the violence into hope! What a man!
This is his third visit to Japan to let Japanese people know the REAL situation in Iraq. I am so grateful that I had a chance to meet him again and talk with him about the project he is now working on to rebuild Ramadi. Very good news is that Ramadi has been in order since US army left last year, and the tribal leaders has held good control of the area. Only few battles took place last one and a half years.
He is now working hard with his friends to help homeless widows and children. I promised that I would continue to donate to his project.
He is a calm and wise man. But it does not mean that he lived a happy life in Iraq. He came through so a hard situation and his country's future is still unclear.
I wish him peace and harmony in his hometown,
and I do hope to see him again as a friend of those working to realize a peaceful world.
His English blog
I R A Q - M A I L ~ THE VOICE FROM RAMADI ~
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
You did it!!
Yes, you did it.
My American friends,
You have made history!
Yes, we can!
We can make the world much better and more peaceful,
when we keep the faith and get together.
You made it clear.
And "Change has come!"
At this historical night,
Let me share a poem sent by an American friend of mine.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!
Langston Hughes
Yes, you did it.
My American friends,
You have made history!
Yes, we can!
We can make the world much better and more peaceful,
when we keep the faith and get together.
You made it clear.
And "Change has come!"
At this historical night,
Let me share a poem sent by an American friend of mine.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!
Langston Hughes
