Re: [sumo] [Off-topic] Saipan information

[Lee Ling Family Home <dana@mail.fm>]

Saipan is indeed North of Guam.  Saipan is actually an island in the 
U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Many Japanese, 
Korean, and some Chinese tourists enjoy vacations in the tropical 
resorts on Tumon Bay.  Saipan is the island that has been the subject of 
investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor and, at some points, by 
the U.S. Congress.  Some on Saipan predict that the garment industry 
will collapse once all of NAFTA's provisions come into place. 

The island is the site of a tremendous military and civilian tragedy 
during WWII when Japanese soldiers and civilians, men, women, and 
children all threw themselves off of cliffs into the ocean as American 
troops moved North on the island.  The families lined up youngest to 
oldest, with each older sibling pushing the next younger one off the 
cliff, then mom would throw herself off the cliff, and dad would run 
backwards - according to accounts - so as not to falter in his last 
step.  The civilians threw themselves off of a North shore cliff into 
the sea, the soldiers threw themselves off of a precipice above land 
also on the North end.  Both places are now memorial parks visited by 
many older Japanese.  I have visited both memorial parks and the place 
is very somber and desolate.  The run up to the precipice - now called 
Suicide Cliff - is a favorite among local runners. 

Saipan is just out of the way enough for a wolf cub to escape some of 
the press, and being part of the United States, Saipan is undoubtedly 
seen as a more secure location than places such as Bali.  This is the 
off-season, the typhoon season, hence the rainfall is not necessarily 
unusual at this time of year. 

Dana
Pohnpei, Micronesia


[EndPost by Lee Ling Family Home <dana@mail.fm>]