In 1994, at the age of 82, Kim Il Sung had a heart attack and as a result, died shortly after. That is basically all that is known about his death. "The Great Leader" as he was called, had finally met his maker and a huge elaborate funeral followed. Before his death, years earlier, Kim Il Sung had already designated his successor, his son from first marriage, Kim Jong Il, nicknamed "Yura." His youngest son from his second marriage, Kim Pyong Il was purposely kept away from Pyongyang to eliminate contact with his older half brother! Kim Il Sung knew his son "Yura," and was afraid that harm would come to the younger Pyong Il if he was near his older brother! So, Pyong Il was assigned as a North Korean Ambassador to Poland and other communist countries, as far away as possible from Pyongyang! It is said that Kim Il Sung suspected that "Yura" was responsible for the death of his younger brother "Sasha" back in 1947! Yet, he wanted "Yura" (Jong Il) to replace him because he wanted a "strong" leader, he felt that the younger Pyong Il was too "soft."
So, in 1994, with the death of "The Great Leader," a new era began with "The Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Il had plenty of time to prepare himself for the role. He was now 53 years old, had served in various capacities in the North Korean government and held the title of the Supreme Commander of North Korean People's Army! He had initiated multiple assassination attempts and other terrorist acts against South Korea as well as the United States. A new, even more terrible era had begun for the poor people of North Korea.
Shortly after officially taking control in 1994, Kim Jong Il announced that North Korea was going to follow a new policy of songun, military first! He poured just about all of the resources that North Korea could muster into building a bigger and stronger military. The 1990s were not good for North Korean people. There were terrible crop failures in agriculture, and the North Korean economy was so badly mismanaged that hardly any money was coming in. People were starving! The whole world knew about the horrendous conditions and famine, yet the large military was maintained, fed and equipped!
To give you an idea of what he did, and to compare North Korea with other countries, here are some figures. North Korea has a population of something like a little under 25 million. Their GDP is around 40 Billion and per capita income of $1800. I believe both figures are slightly inflated! Yet, their military consists of 1.2 million men and women on active duty! There are 9 and a half million active, reserve, and para military combined! North Korea has the world's 4th largest military today! China has the largest, followed by India and the United States. North Korea is fourth! But that isn't all. They have the largest Special Forces in the world, all designed to infiltrate and conduct terrorist activity! They have 25 Special Forces Brigades in uniform, and untold (classified) number of out of uniform para military! With such a large military force, it is little wonder that a small poor country would have problems feeding its population, especially when the military, with the songun policy, takes first priority!
Kim Jong Il is said to have been "officially" married once but has had three mistresses. From his combined wife and mistresses, he had several sons and daughters. His wife only gave him one daughter. His first mistress, a movie actress, gave him a son and two daughters, his second mistress, a dancer, gave him two sons and a daughter. His third mistress did not give him any children. His favorite son, Kim Jong Un, was born to his first mistress, so the current leader of North Korea is a bastard in a true sense! Mysteriously, his official wife and two mistresses sort of disappeared in time, only his last mistress (#3) remained visible before his death. No one seems to know for sure what happened to the other three!
Kim Jong Il was a complete nut case. He was afraid of flying so he traveled everywhere in a special armored, luxurious train. He indulged in all sorts of luxuries, is said to have owned a tremendous DVD library of movies from all around the world. He loved Rambo movies as well as Godzilla! He was a great Elvis fan and NBA basketball was his favorite sport! He fancied himself to be an expert on just about any subject and as mentioned earlier, in 1978 ordered the kidnapping of South Korea's best movie director and best actress. He held them in prison until they agreed to teach North Koreans how to make movies, etc. He ordered many wild kidnappings and killings. His father Kim Il Sung could not control him!
His favorite son was Kim Jong Un, who it is said was just like him, both physically and psychologically! Kim Jong Un showed a mean, cruel streak early on. His other sons, he felt, were all too "soft." He even called one of his sons feminine! All of his children except for the eldest daughter were born out of wedlock!
Kim Jong Il had all sorts of medical problems, some of which were caused by his lavish life style. He is said to have suffered from gout as well as epilepsy. In the last few years of his life his health declined rapidly before his death in 2011 at age 70. During his relatively short rule over North Korea, he managed to drag the country into desperate condition. His rule lasted only 17 years, but it was through some of the worst period in North Korea's history. Millions died of famine, and more people were sent to labor camps or simply executed under his rule. He was definitely more cruel than his father Kim Il Sung, and he left the country in the hands of a then 28 year old, who many said was a clone of his father!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
The Rise of the Cult of Personality
Kim Il Sung was influenced as much by the Chinese as he was by the Soviets. He took to wearing "mao suits," those style-less, sack-like tunics in dark drab colors. He mandated the use of simplified written system just as Mao did. In Kim's case, it was an easier process since Korea did have its own simple alphabet. There were many other things that he did that were more or less copy of what Mao did in China - the cult of the personality was one them. At the same time he tried to enforce a system similar to what Stalin had in the Soviet Union. In short, he tried to be like Mao in some ways, but leaned more towards Stalin's way of ruling! He was a Stalinist-Maoist!
In late June of 1950, Kim's People's Army, the Inmin-gun invaded South Korea. The Inmin-gun were almost an exact copy of the Soviet Red Army. Most of the officer corps and senior NCOs were World War Two veterans, former Soviet Red Army soldiers. The Chief of Staff of North Korean Army, General Nam Il was a Russian born, former Soviet Red Army General, a World War Two hero and a graduate of Smolensk Military Academy! Thus, the North Korean Army was a smaller version of the Soviet Red Army. However, Kim insisted on maintaining a large unconventional (Special Forces) army, patterned after the guerrilla forces with which he fought for so many years in Manchuria and China against the Japanese. These forces were given a Russian name of partizan (partisan) which the Koreans pronounced as palchisan.
The Soviets actually planned every detail of the invasion! They were essentially using Kim and his army as a test case, to test the ability and the will of South Korea and the U.S. to defend the southern part of the country. Kim was more than glad to have the opportunity to conquer the entire peninsula and become the supreme leader of the unified country. Stalin, on the other hand, told him bluntly that if he failed, the Soviet Union was not going to step-in to bail him out! Stalin just didn't trust anyone! The invasion was launched and in the first couple of weeks the Inmin-gun cut through South Korean and token U.S. defenses like a hot knife through butter. However, by July the invasion was stalled at Naktong River where the U.S. and South Korea set up the Pusan Perimeter.
By September the Inchon landing was made and Seoul retaken. In late October Kim Il Sung and his family had fled to China! By Thanksgiving the UN Forces (they may have been called UN forces, but they were mostly U.S. and South Korean troops with only a small international contingent) were at the Manchurian border by Yalu River! As Stalin warned Kim, the Soviet Union did not step-in. However, Mao became very nervous as the U.S. and South Korean troops came near and when they reached Yalu, he sent his famous 8th Route Army across the border. The rest is history. The war was fought to a standstill and a ceasefire agreement was signed at Panmunjum. To this day, there is no real "peace" treaty, just a cease fire agreement between the warring parties. The state of war still exists, that is why the DMZ in Korea is still one of the most dangerous places in the world!
Mao and the Chinese People's Liberation Army saved Kim Il Sung's bacon! He felt betrayed by the Soviets, although the Soviets did help out during the remainder of the war with material and "advisors" who supposedly did not participate in combat but in fact actually did! They flew MIG 15s with Chinese or North Korean markings and participated in ground combat as well. Advisors always participate, so don't believe what they say about our current advisors in Iraq and Afghanistan not being in combat, they are in harms way!
Kim's hatred for the U.S. grew. Without U.S. intervention in the Korean War, he would have easily conquered the entire peninsula by the end of the summer of 1950! The U.S. not only ruined his conquest plans but embarrassed him by chasing him across the border into China! As he rebuilt the almost completely ruined North Korea, he constantly reminded his people that the U.S.was at the root of all their problems. It was the U.S. planes that bombed and killed their loved ones and destroyed their homes. It was because of the U.S. that they were experiencing hardship. At the same time, it was he who was going to make things better. He was going to raise North Korea from the ashes. He was going build a country that was going to be strong and would protect itself.
In this way, for the next couple of decades, the Kim Il Sung regime existed in the north. They received economic and military help from China, and economic help from the Soviet Union. His relations with the Soviet Union had cooled considerably, to a point that even the Soviets began to consider him a nut case. Then something happened that changed everything that made North Korea even more extreme, more suspicious of everyone. Henry Kissinger made a trip to China in 1971 and engaged in a dialogue with Chou En Lai, the second in command in China. The following year, 1972, President Nixon made a trip to China and toasted drinks with Mao! The U.S. had normalized its relations with China! The country that took the hardest hit on this turn of events was Taiwan, the Republic of China. Only a few years earlier we had vowed to never abandon them, yet, seemingly overnight, they were cast aside! But the Republic of China in Taiwan, although small in size, was a wealthy country, it had many trading partners, so despite the shift in its political status, it was going to survive. In fact it not only survived, but prospered. North Korea was a different matter, without China, they would really suffer!
In 1972 Kim Il Sung announced that North Korea henceforth would live by the code of juche (self reliance). Everywhere the word juche was heard in North Korea. There were huge signs, posters, proclaiming that North Korea was going to immerse itself in practice of juche, they didn't need foreign help! What this did was further isolate North Korea from everyone else in the world! They were already probably the most isolated country in the world at the time. With the introduction of juche, they became even more so! They began to attempt to produce everything on their own. At first there were many failures, but gradually they began to produce copies of military hardware that was given to them by the Soviets and the Chinese. Within a decade they were producing much of their own needs in military armament, although it was outdated! By the 1980s they were selling some of the hardware to generate hard currency. North Korean made SCUD missiles were a very popular item with many third world countries, especially the Arab world!
Through all this, Kim Il Sung was constantly portrayed to the population as the benevolent great leader, the savior of the country, etc. His smiling, chubby, rosy cheeked portrait hung in every household and children began their daily lessons by first singing songs that glorified and gave thanks to their great leader. By the late 1980s, two generations of North Koreans grew up constantly bombarded with propaganda about the great, benevolent leader, Kim Il Sung. With that type of exposure and constant indoctrination, no doubt, at least some had become believers!
Kim was more of a CEO than an "on hands" dictator. He relied on his cronies, trusted friends to provide him with advice on how to handle situations. Make no mistake about it, he was an absolute ruler. But, unlike Stalin, he was more like Mao, who relied on the advice of Chou En Lai and Deng Shiao Ping for advice. What most people didn't know was that much of the extreme stuff that was carried out by North Korea during this period was not done at his orders. It was his mercuric, violence prone son Kim Jong Il that carried out those acts, like the suicide attack on the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea by North Korean Special Forces, the ax murders of U.S. soldiers at Panmunjum, the bombing in Rangoon, the kidnapping of South Korea's leading movie director and leading actress. All of these seemingly crazy acts and attacks were carried out at Kim Jong Il's orders, not Kim Il Sung's! Kim Il Sung died in 1994, and unfortunately for everyone, for North Korea and the rest of the world, the crazy, murderous Kim Jong Il became his successor!
In late June of 1950, Kim's People's Army, the Inmin-gun invaded South Korea. The Inmin-gun were almost an exact copy of the Soviet Red Army. Most of the officer corps and senior NCOs were World War Two veterans, former Soviet Red Army soldiers. The Chief of Staff of North Korean Army, General Nam Il was a Russian born, former Soviet Red Army General, a World War Two hero and a graduate of Smolensk Military Academy! Thus, the North Korean Army was a smaller version of the Soviet Red Army. However, Kim insisted on maintaining a large unconventional (Special Forces) army, patterned after the guerrilla forces with which he fought for so many years in Manchuria and China against the Japanese. These forces were given a Russian name of partizan (partisan) which the Koreans pronounced as palchisan.
The Soviets actually planned every detail of the invasion! They were essentially using Kim and his army as a test case, to test the ability and the will of South Korea and the U.S. to defend the southern part of the country. Kim was more than glad to have the opportunity to conquer the entire peninsula and become the supreme leader of the unified country. Stalin, on the other hand, told him bluntly that if he failed, the Soviet Union was not going to step-in to bail him out! Stalin just didn't trust anyone! The invasion was launched and in the first couple of weeks the Inmin-gun cut through South Korean and token U.S. defenses like a hot knife through butter. However, by July the invasion was stalled at Naktong River where the U.S. and South Korea set up the Pusan Perimeter.
By September the Inchon landing was made and Seoul retaken. In late October Kim Il Sung and his family had fled to China! By Thanksgiving the UN Forces (they may have been called UN forces, but they were mostly U.S. and South Korean troops with only a small international contingent) were at the Manchurian border by Yalu River! As Stalin warned Kim, the Soviet Union did not step-in. However, Mao became very nervous as the U.S. and South Korean troops came near and when they reached Yalu, he sent his famous 8th Route Army across the border. The rest is history. The war was fought to a standstill and a ceasefire agreement was signed at Panmunjum. To this day, there is no real "peace" treaty, just a cease fire agreement between the warring parties. The state of war still exists, that is why the DMZ in Korea is still one of the most dangerous places in the world!
Mao and the Chinese People's Liberation Army saved Kim Il Sung's bacon! He felt betrayed by the Soviets, although the Soviets did help out during the remainder of the war with material and "advisors" who supposedly did not participate in combat but in fact actually did! They flew MIG 15s with Chinese or North Korean markings and participated in ground combat as well. Advisors always participate, so don't believe what they say about our current advisors in Iraq and Afghanistan not being in combat, they are in harms way!
Kim's hatred for the U.S. grew. Without U.S. intervention in the Korean War, he would have easily conquered the entire peninsula by the end of the summer of 1950! The U.S. not only ruined his conquest plans but embarrassed him by chasing him across the border into China! As he rebuilt the almost completely ruined North Korea, he constantly reminded his people that the U.S.was at the root of all their problems. It was the U.S. planes that bombed and killed their loved ones and destroyed their homes. It was because of the U.S. that they were experiencing hardship. At the same time, it was he who was going to make things better. He was going to raise North Korea from the ashes. He was going build a country that was going to be strong and would protect itself.
In this way, for the next couple of decades, the Kim Il Sung regime existed in the north. They received economic and military help from China, and economic help from the Soviet Union. His relations with the Soviet Union had cooled considerably, to a point that even the Soviets began to consider him a nut case. Then something happened that changed everything that made North Korea even more extreme, more suspicious of everyone. Henry Kissinger made a trip to China in 1971 and engaged in a dialogue with Chou En Lai, the second in command in China. The following year, 1972, President Nixon made a trip to China and toasted drinks with Mao! The U.S. had normalized its relations with China! The country that took the hardest hit on this turn of events was Taiwan, the Republic of China. Only a few years earlier we had vowed to never abandon them, yet, seemingly overnight, they were cast aside! But the Republic of China in Taiwan, although small in size, was a wealthy country, it had many trading partners, so despite the shift in its political status, it was going to survive. In fact it not only survived, but prospered. North Korea was a different matter, without China, they would really suffer!
In 1972 Kim Il Sung announced that North Korea henceforth would live by the code of juche (self reliance). Everywhere the word juche was heard in North Korea. There were huge signs, posters, proclaiming that North Korea was going to immerse itself in practice of juche, they didn't need foreign help! What this did was further isolate North Korea from everyone else in the world! They were already probably the most isolated country in the world at the time. With the introduction of juche, they became even more so! They began to attempt to produce everything on their own. At first there were many failures, but gradually they began to produce copies of military hardware that was given to them by the Soviets and the Chinese. Within a decade they were producing much of their own needs in military armament, although it was outdated! By the 1980s they were selling some of the hardware to generate hard currency. North Korean made SCUD missiles were a very popular item with many third world countries, especially the Arab world!
Through all this, Kim Il Sung was constantly portrayed to the population as the benevolent great leader, the savior of the country, etc. His smiling, chubby, rosy cheeked portrait hung in every household and children began their daily lessons by first singing songs that glorified and gave thanks to their great leader. By the late 1980s, two generations of North Koreans grew up constantly bombarded with propaganda about the great, benevolent leader, Kim Il Sung. With that type of exposure and constant indoctrination, no doubt, at least some had become believers!
Kim was more of a CEO than an "on hands" dictator. He relied on his cronies, trusted friends to provide him with advice on how to handle situations. Make no mistake about it, he was an absolute ruler. But, unlike Stalin, he was more like Mao, who relied on the advice of Chou En Lai and Deng Shiao Ping for advice. What most people didn't know was that much of the extreme stuff that was carried out by North Korea during this period was not done at his orders. It was his mercuric, violence prone son Kim Jong Il that carried out those acts, like the suicide attack on the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea by North Korean Special Forces, the ax murders of U.S. soldiers at Panmunjum, the bombing in Rangoon, the kidnapping of South Korea's leading movie director and leading actress. All of these seemingly crazy acts and attacks were carried out at Kim Jong Il's orders, not Kim Il Sung's! Kim Il Sung died in 1994, and unfortunately for everyone, for North Korea and the rest of the world, the crazy, murderous Kim Jong Il became his successor!
Monday, December 29, 2014
A Family of Sociopaths
The most recent incident involving the so-called controversial movie the Interview brought to mind the whole business of the totally unpredictable and dangerous mindset of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. However, I believe that this whole business runs something like: 1. It was a publicity stunt, perpetrated by Sony Pictures to gain publicity for an otherwise crummy movie. 2. It was a scam by some hackers, possibly for financial reasons. After all, there was a monetary demand in the beginning! Despite what FBI says, it just didn't seem like something that was worth all that much effort for North Korea over a silly movie. But that is just my opinion, nothing more.
On the other hand, the entire ruling Kim family of North Korea is completely unpredictable, and as loony as anyone can get! I believe most Americans do not realize just how unbalanced and crazy that family is, beginning with the grandfather who started it all, Kim Il Sung! Most people outside of that crazy world known as North Korea know only bits and pieces about this family. Mostly stuff that they release for propaganda purposes and to perpetuate their own family"myth." What is really scary is that in the time that Kim Il Sung and his progeny have ruled North Korea, they have managed to actually make some of their citizenry believe in the "myth" that they created.
The former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was known for his rather unusual commentary about other countries. However, what he said about North Korea was right on! He said that the Arab world will always be a mess, more or less conceding that there will never be real peace in that region. And although it could bring danger to us (terrorist attacks, etc.) it was nothing compared to what would happen if we went to war against North Korea. Perhaps Rumsfeld was not completely on target, but he got the gist of it right. North Korea is no Middle East! If there should ever be a "hot" war with North Korea, it is unlikely that North Korea would win, but the casualty rate for us would be very high, much higher than when fighting in the Arab world! Remember my earlier blog on Egypt? The one about North Korean instructors taking to the air to defend the skies over Cairo when the Egyptian pilots refused to go? That incident, I think, clearly demonstrates the difference between the North Koreans and the Arabs.
How did it all begin? How did we end up with one half of a small peninsula populated by a fanatical people ruled by a crazy? It all goes back to what happened after World War Two when Korea was split in half and the north was taken over by the Soviets. I have already talked about this in several of the earlier blogs, so I won't repeat it. But what bears repeating is information about the first leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim Il Sung was appointed a lifetime leader for North Korea by the Soviet Union. He was their man, they trusted him, and he was also liked by the Chinese, for he had fought against the Japanese on the Chinese side. Kim Il Sung was born Kim Song Ju in 1912 in Japanese occupied North Korea.
His parents, ironically, were deeply religious Christians, his grandfather was a minister in a Presbyterian Church! Japanese persecuted Christians as well as Korean nationalists, so the Kim family fled to Manchuria where the young Kim Song Ju grew up. At about age 17 he joined the Korean freedom fighters and fought the Japanese along the Korean/Manchurian border. These freedom fighters were supported by the Chinese communists and the Soviet Union. Since Kim never really received any formal Korean education, he became fluent both in Chinese and Russian during his time in Manchuria.
When the Japanese Kwantung Army began to really press the Korean guerrillas, Kim fled to China and joined the Chinese communist guerrilla forces fighting the Japanese. He ended up being a commander of a guerrilla army. When World War Two broke out, Kim left China along with a contingent of other Korean communist guerrillas and went to Russia where they were organized into a Soviet Red Army Infantry unit. He became a Battalion Commander in the 88th Infantry Brigade. He married Kim Jong Suk while in Russia and she gave birth to two sons, Yuri Irsenievich Kim (Kim Jong Il) "Yura" and Alexander Iresenievich Kim (Kim Man Il) "Sasha". It was while he was in Russia that he changed his name from Kim Song Ju to Kim Il Sung. He took the name of a former Korean Freedom Fighter that he had served under and admired. The original Kim Il Sung was somewhat of a folk hero, so the "new" Kim Il Sung reinvented himself completely. He served in Stalingrad with the 88th and at the conclusion of the World War Two was said to have become the commander of the 88th Brigade.
When the war ended, the new Kim Il Sung, along with thousands of other Soviet Red Army veterans were sent to North Korea to create a new state. Kim was appointed the head of state and others were tasked with raising a new army and organizing a communist government. In 1947 when the so called nationwide elections were called off, Kim Il Sung became the leader of the new country, the Chosun Inmin Kong Wha Gook, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the myth of Kim Il Sung began! Stories began to be circulated in North Korea that he was born on Paektu-san, the mountain range along Manchurian border. In Korean mythology, gods are said to have originated on Paektu-san, sort of like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. In short, he was creating a god-like persona and his personality cult began. This fictionalized biographic information was put in text books so children began to be indoctrinated with the myth as soon as they entered school.
Shortly after he took over North Korea, his wife Kim Jong Suk, who was only 31 years old, died unexpectedly. The official announcement was that she died in difficult childbirth, but in fact, there were reports that she died of a gunshot wound! That wasn't the only death in the family. Shortly before his first wife's death, his youngest son "Sasha" drowned in a mysterious swimming pool accident at their house. The only witness was the older brother "Yura" whose Korean name was Kim Jong Il! It is said that the mother favored the younger "Sasha" who was an attractive little boy, always cheerful and bright. The older boy is said to have been sullen and showed a nasty cruel streak at a young age. Anyway, the young son died in a drowning "accident" and the wife also died mysteriously shortly after. A few weeks after the wife's death, Kim Il Sung introduced a new wife, Kim Song Ae, who had actually been his mistress for the last couple of years.
Upon becoming the ruler of North Korea, Kim Il Sung immediately launched into making some changes. For one thing, he eliminated the use of Chinese characters in North Korea. There were several reasons for that. Kim wanted his population to be able to read propaganda material, but the vast majority of the population was illiterate. The Korean written system called hangul is very easy to learn. Kim mandated that henceforth, beginning in 1947, only the native Korean alphabet would be used, and rather than calling it hangul, which is what it was called from its inception in the 1400s, he called it chosungul.
It was indeed a good way to get people to read propaganda, but it also served another purpose. Kim, along with many of his generals and officers who came from Russia, were not fluent in Korean! In fact, until his dying day, his spoken Korean is said to have sounded like that of a Chinese at times, and other times Russian! So he wanted to make sure that he and his men would be able to read anything that was printed in North Korea! Actually, he took a page out of Mao Tse Tung's tactics. Mao insisted on using a simplified version of Chinese so it would be easier for most illiterate peasants to learn to read. Again, it was self serving for the purpose of making the population read propaganda. Mao started the simplified Chinese campaign when he was up in the mountain caves in Yenan. Kim Il Sung spent some time there before he went to Russia and he got the idea of a simplified language system from Mao!
In the next blog I will continue with Kim Il Sung and his legacy. After all, his son Kim Jong Il and the present leader the grandson Kim Jong Un are carrying on what he started!
On the other hand, the entire ruling Kim family of North Korea is completely unpredictable, and as loony as anyone can get! I believe most Americans do not realize just how unbalanced and crazy that family is, beginning with the grandfather who started it all, Kim Il Sung! Most people outside of that crazy world known as North Korea know only bits and pieces about this family. Mostly stuff that they release for propaganda purposes and to perpetuate their own family"myth." What is really scary is that in the time that Kim Il Sung and his progeny have ruled North Korea, they have managed to actually make some of their citizenry believe in the "myth" that they created.
The former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was known for his rather unusual commentary about other countries. However, what he said about North Korea was right on! He said that the Arab world will always be a mess, more or less conceding that there will never be real peace in that region. And although it could bring danger to us (terrorist attacks, etc.) it was nothing compared to what would happen if we went to war against North Korea. Perhaps Rumsfeld was not completely on target, but he got the gist of it right. North Korea is no Middle East! If there should ever be a "hot" war with North Korea, it is unlikely that North Korea would win, but the casualty rate for us would be very high, much higher than when fighting in the Arab world! Remember my earlier blog on Egypt? The one about North Korean instructors taking to the air to defend the skies over Cairo when the Egyptian pilots refused to go? That incident, I think, clearly demonstrates the difference between the North Koreans and the Arabs.
How did it all begin? How did we end up with one half of a small peninsula populated by a fanatical people ruled by a crazy? It all goes back to what happened after World War Two when Korea was split in half and the north was taken over by the Soviets. I have already talked about this in several of the earlier blogs, so I won't repeat it. But what bears repeating is information about the first leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim Il Sung was appointed a lifetime leader for North Korea by the Soviet Union. He was their man, they trusted him, and he was also liked by the Chinese, for he had fought against the Japanese on the Chinese side. Kim Il Sung was born Kim Song Ju in 1912 in Japanese occupied North Korea.
His parents, ironically, were deeply religious Christians, his grandfather was a minister in a Presbyterian Church! Japanese persecuted Christians as well as Korean nationalists, so the Kim family fled to Manchuria where the young Kim Song Ju grew up. At about age 17 he joined the Korean freedom fighters and fought the Japanese along the Korean/Manchurian border. These freedom fighters were supported by the Chinese communists and the Soviet Union. Since Kim never really received any formal Korean education, he became fluent both in Chinese and Russian during his time in Manchuria.
When the Japanese Kwantung Army began to really press the Korean guerrillas, Kim fled to China and joined the Chinese communist guerrilla forces fighting the Japanese. He ended up being a commander of a guerrilla army. When World War Two broke out, Kim left China along with a contingent of other Korean communist guerrillas and went to Russia where they were organized into a Soviet Red Army Infantry unit. He became a Battalion Commander in the 88th Infantry Brigade. He married Kim Jong Suk while in Russia and she gave birth to two sons, Yuri Irsenievich Kim (Kim Jong Il) "Yura" and Alexander Iresenievich Kim (Kim Man Il) "Sasha". It was while he was in Russia that he changed his name from Kim Song Ju to Kim Il Sung. He took the name of a former Korean Freedom Fighter that he had served under and admired. The original Kim Il Sung was somewhat of a folk hero, so the "new" Kim Il Sung reinvented himself completely. He served in Stalingrad with the 88th and at the conclusion of the World War Two was said to have become the commander of the 88th Brigade.
When the war ended, the new Kim Il Sung, along with thousands of other Soviet Red Army veterans were sent to North Korea to create a new state. Kim was appointed the head of state and others were tasked with raising a new army and organizing a communist government. In 1947 when the so called nationwide elections were called off, Kim Il Sung became the leader of the new country, the Chosun Inmin Kong Wha Gook, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the myth of Kim Il Sung began! Stories began to be circulated in North Korea that he was born on Paektu-san, the mountain range along Manchurian border. In Korean mythology, gods are said to have originated on Paektu-san, sort of like Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. In short, he was creating a god-like persona and his personality cult began. This fictionalized biographic information was put in text books so children began to be indoctrinated with the myth as soon as they entered school.
Shortly after he took over North Korea, his wife Kim Jong Suk, who was only 31 years old, died unexpectedly. The official announcement was that she died in difficult childbirth, but in fact, there were reports that she died of a gunshot wound! That wasn't the only death in the family. Shortly before his first wife's death, his youngest son "Sasha" drowned in a mysterious swimming pool accident at their house. The only witness was the older brother "Yura" whose Korean name was Kim Jong Il! It is said that the mother favored the younger "Sasha" who was an attractive little boy, always cheerful and bright. The older boy is said to have been sullen and showed a nasty cruel streak at a young age. Anyway, the young son died in a drowning "accident" and the wife also died mysteriously shortly after. A few weeks after the wife's death, Kim Il Sung introduced a new wife, Kim Song Ae, who had actually been his mistress for the last couple of years.
Upon becoming the ruler of North Korea, Kim Il Sung immediately launched into making some changes. For one thing, he eliminated the use of Chinese characters in North Korea. There were several reasons for that. Kim wanted his population to be able to read propaganda material, but the vast majority of the population was illiterate. The Korean written system called hangul is very easy to learn. Kim mandated that henceforth, beginning in 1947, only the native Korean alphabet would be used, and rather than calling it hangul, which is what it was called from its inception in the 1400s, he called it chosungul.
It was indeed a good way to get people to read propaganda, but it also served another purpose. Kim, along with many of his generals and officers who came from Russia, were not fluent in Korean! In fact, until his dying day, his spoken Korean is said to have sounded like that of a Chinese at times, and other times Russian! So he wanted to make sure that he and his men would be able to read anything that was printed in North Korea! Actually, he took a page out of Mao Tse Tung's tactics. Mao insisted on using a simplified version of Chinese so it would be easier for most illiterate peasants to learn to read. Again, it was self serving for the purpose of making the population read propaganda. Mao started the simplified Chinese campaign when he was up in the mountain caves in Yenan. Kim Il Sung spent some time there before he went to Russia and he got the idea of a simplified language system from Mao!
In the next blog I will continue with Kim Il Sung and his legacy. After all, his son Kim Jong Il and the present leader the grandson Kim Jong Un are carrying on what he started!
Friday, December 26, 2014
Using Others for Dirty Work
Historically, mobs, syndicates, triads, yakuza, drug cartels, all used outsiders to do their dirty work from time to time. This was done for a variety of reasons, but mainly to distance themselves from the act, usually killing, as much as possible. In most cases it worked. Although the authorities suspected that the particular killing was connected to the mob, the drug cartel, etc., it could not be positively pinned on them! The American mobs or syndicates often used street gangs to do their dirty work, but it wasn't until recently that it became a widespread practice by non-American criminal organizations to use American street gang members to do their killing. This has been especially a common practice by Mexican drug cartels.
The Arellano Felix Cartel from Tijuana routinely used Hispanic street gang members from San Diego area to do their killing on either side of the border. They found it to be a very practical way of doing business, much cheaper to hire a gangbanger to do the killing and at the same time, if done properly, with no ties to the cartel! The Juarez Cartel hired entire gangs out of El Paso not just to do their killing, but to conduct kidnapping on both sides of the border, transport drugs, etc. It is a known fact that Hispanic gangbangers are the main suppliers of firearms to the Mexican drug cartels. They purchase guns legally through straw buyers who turn the guns over to the gangs for small payment. The gang in turn sells the guns to cartels for a profit.
It is said that black gangbangers also provide services to mobs or syndicates, although not quite as much as the Hispanic gangs. During my tour of duty in Tijuana, Mexico from 1997 to 2000, there were practically daily drug related killings on the Mexican side of the border. Some were mass executions, others were simple, individual hits. Whatever the case, the authorities on both sides of the border believed that these killings for the most part were carried out by gangbangers from the U.S. side, paid to do the work by the Tijuana Cartel. A gang out of National City (just south of San Diego) was the favorite of the drug cartel. It was rumored that these kids were willing to conduct a hit for as little as $500 and a good time with prostitutes in Tijuana!
In the earlier blogs I made mention of the fact that the yakuza sometimes used gurentai or other street gangs for some of their dirty work. Mostly it was just minor stuff like roughing up an uncooperative bar owner etc. But during the "Yakuza Wars" on Okinawa, both sides are said to have used non-yakuza members to do some of their work. Like the Mexican drug cartels of today, the yakuza, especially the Okinawan yakuza, is believed to have hired American G.I.s from time to time. I said in the last blog that there were no reported American casualties of the "Yakuza Wars," that is not entirely correct. There were a number of G.I.s serving time in the Sagami Prison (maximum security) just outside of Tokyo in the 1970s and 80s who committed crimes that were believed to have been connected with the yakuza. The U.S. press simply reported these cases as those of G.I.s who committed crimes on Okinawa, nothing more. Under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), unlike in the earlier years prior to reversion in 1972, all G.I.s who committed crimes on Japanese soil and involving Japanese nationals were tried and imprisoned in Japan.
There was a case involving three G.I.s from Kadena Air Base who entered a bar in Koza and opened fire on two Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza members. Although no one was killed, the wild west style shootout produced several wounded innocent bystanders as well as both yakuza and two of the G.I.s suffered minor wounds. The Japanese news initially reported it as a gun fight between yakuza from Japan and the G.I.s who were hired by Okinawan yakuza. However, it was quickly changed to simply G.I.s having a disagreement with the Japanese yakuza over women! There is no doubt that pressure from U.S. military changed the story. The three black G.I.s were believed to be members of a street gang back home, Crips or Bloods. This took place in mid 1970s and the Japanese movie industry took advantage of it and in one movie about "Yakuza Wars," this scene was prominently played out with (ironically) three black G.I.s moonlighting as actors! I hope they had permission from their CO to earn money on the side acting!
In another incident, rather a very gruesome killing, a G.I. from Kadena agreed to kill a DEA informant who was a member of the Okinawan Kyokuryu-kai yakuza group. Kyokuryu-kai was in the midst of the "Yakuza Wars" with the Yamaguchi-gumi, but they were not about to ignore housekeeping responsibilities despite the fact they were busy with the "invaders" from naichi. Kyokuryu-kai, like its enemy the Yamaguchi-gumi, did not deal in drugs and dealt harshly with their members who broke that rule. Kyokuryu-kai wasn't concerned that their man was a DEA informant since they did not deal in drugs. However, the informant, as it happens so often, was a drug dealer! That is how he knew about the drug dealing world on Okinawa. The G.I. from Kadena who was asked to do the killing was a drug dealer also! In fact, he was a major drug dealer on Okinawa, practicing his trade strictly with G.I.s.
The yakuza didn't care that the G.I. was a drug dealer, they just didn't want anyone from their organization to be involved in drugs. So, they told the this G.I. that he would be doing them a great favor if he got rid of the Okinawan drug dealer. There was no payment involved. The G.I. drug dealer was anxious to get on the good side of the yakuza, so he was more than willing to do the job. Besides, he would be doing himself a favor by getting rid of a DEA snitch. The yakuza told him they didn't care how he did it, but to make it so that it would send a loud and clear message to other yakuza members not to break their rule and deal in drugs. The G.I., on the other hand, decided to send his own message to anyone contemplating becoming a DEA snitch.
The G.I. with two of his buddies who were also involved in drug dealing working for him, grabbed the Okinawan yakuza/drug dealer/DEA snitch and took him to an isolated beach somewhere past Moon Beach. There they built a large bonfire and burned the yakuza member as if he was roasted on a spit! The bonfire was so large that it could be seen from a great distance and it attracted attention. The police were called and the entire crew was captured before they could complete their roasting. However, it was too late for the poor victim, he was dead and badly charred.
The press had a great time writing this up and Japanese (Okinawan) TV even managed to get some footage of the aftermath of the bonfire and the burned corpse. Everyone said it was a yakuza killing, their way of dealing with their own members who broke their rules. However, there was no proof. The G.I.s may have talked, but their testimonies were not released and the main culprit insisted that he had nothing to do with it, even when he was caught red-handed, so to speak! Ultimately, this episode simply went on record as being one that involved G.I. drug dealers and a DEA snitch killing, nothing more, no yakuza involvement.
The Arellano Felix Cartel from Tijuana routinely used Hispanic street gang members from San Diego area to do their killing on either side of the border. They found it to be a very practical way of doing business, much cheaper to hire a gangbanger to do the killing and at the same time, if done properly, with no ties to the cartel! The Juarez Cartel hired entire gangs out of El Paso not just to do their killing, but to conduct kidnapping on both sides of the border, transport drugs, etc. It is a known fact that Hispanic gangbangers are the main suppliers of firearms to the Mexican drug cartels. They purchase guns legally through straw buyers who turn the guns over to the gangs for small payment. The gang in turn sells the guns to cartels for a profit.
It is said that black gangbangers also provide services to mobs or syndicates, although not quite as much as the Hispanic gangs. During my tour of duty in Tijuana, Mexico from 1997 to 2000, there were practically daily drug related killings on the Mexican side of the border. Some were mass executions, others were simple, individual hits. Whatever the case, the authorities on both sides of the border believed that these killings for the most part were carried out by gangbangers from the U.S. side, paid to do the work by the Tijuana Cartel. A gang out of National City (just south of San Diego) was the favorite of the drug cartel. It was rumored that these kids were willing to conduct a hit for as little as $500 and a good time with prostitutes in Tijuana!
In the earlier blogs I made mention of the fact that the yakuza sometimes used gurentai or other street gangs for some of their dirty work. Mostly it was just minor stuff like roughing up an uncooperative bar owner etc. But during the "Yakuza Wars" on Okinawa, both sides are said to have used non-yakuza members to do some of their work. Like the Mexican drug cartels of today, the yakuza, especially the Okinawan yakuza, is believed to have hired American G.I.s from time to time. I said in the last blog that there were no reported American casualties of the "Yakuza Wars," that is not entirely correct. There were a number of G.I.s serving time in the Sagami Prison (maximum security) just outside of Tokyo in the 1970s and 80s who committed crimes that were believed to have been connected with the yakuza. The U.S. press simply reported these cases as those of G.I.s who committed crimes on Okinawa, nothing more. Under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), unlike in the earlier years prior to reversion in 1972, all G.I.s who committed crimes on Japanese soil and involving Japanese nationals were tried and imprisoned in Japan.
There was a case involving three G.I.s from Kadena Air Base who entered a bar in Koza and opened fire on two Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza members. Although no one was killed, the wild west style shootout produced several wounded innocent bystanders as well as both yakuza and two of the G.I.s suffered minor wounds. The Japanese news initially reported it as a gun fight between yakuza from Japan and the G.I.s who were hired by Okinawan yakuza. However, it was quickly changed to simply G.I.s having a disagreement with the Japanese yakuza over women! There is no doubt that pressure from U.S. military changed the story. The three black G.I.s were believed to be members of a street gang back home, Crips or Bloods. This took place in mid 1970s and the Japanese movie industry took advantage of it and in one movie about "Yakuza Wars," this scene was prominently played out with (ironically) three black G.I.s moonlighting as actors! I hope they had permission from their CO to earn money on the side acting!
In another incident, rather a very gruesome killing, a G.I. from Kadena agreed to kill a DEA informant who was a member of the Okinawan Kyokuryu-kai yakuza group. Kyokuryu-kai was in the midst of the "Yakuza Wars" with the Yamaguchi-gumi, but they were not about to ignore housekeeping responsibilities despite the fact they were busy with the "invaders" from naichi. Kyokuryu-kai, like its enemy the Yamaguchi-gumi, did not deal in drugs and dealt harshly with their members who broke that rule. Kyokuryu-kai wasn't concerned that their man was a DEA informant since they did not deal in drugs. However, the informant, as it happens so often, was a drug dealer! That is how he knew about the drug dealing world on Okinawa. The G.I. from Kadena who was asked to do the killing was a drug dealer also! In fact, he was a major drug dealer on Okinawa, practicing his trade strictly with G.I.s.
The yakuza didn't care that the G.I. was a drug dealer, they just didn't want anyone from their organization to be involved in drugs. So, they told the this G.I. that he would be doing them a great favor if he got rid of the Okinawan drug dealer. There was no payment involved. The G.I. drug dealer was anxious to get on the good side of the yakuza, so he was more than willing to do the job. Besides, he would be doing himself a favor by getting rid of a DEA snitch. The yakuza told him they didn't care how he did it, but to make it so that it would send a loud and clear message to other yakuza members not to break their rule and deal in drugs. The G.I., on the other hand, decided to send his own message to anyone contemplating becoming a DEA snitch.
The G.I. with two of his buddies who were also involved in drug dealing working for him, grabbed the Okinawan yakuza/drug dealer/DEA snitch and took him to an isolated beach somewhere past Moon Beach. There they built a large bonfire and burned the yakuza member as if he was roasted on a spit! The bonfire was so large that it could be seen from a great distance and it attracted attention. The police were called and the entire crew was captured before they could complete their roasting. However, it was too late for the poor victim, he was dead and badly charred.
The press had a great time writing this up and Japanese (Okinawan) TV even managed to get some footage of the aftermath of the bonfire and the burned corpse. Everyone said it was a yakuza killing, their way of dealing with their own members who broke their rules. However, there was no proof. The G.I.s may have talked, but their testimonies were not released and the main culprit insisted that he had nothing to do with it, even when he was caught red-handed, so to speak! Ultimately, this episode simply went on record as being one that involved G.I. drug dealers and a DEA snitch killing, nothing more, no yakuza involvement.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Yakuza Wars on Okinawa
As I have already mentioned in the previous blogs, Okinawa never really had a yakuza tradition or history. The biggest and the most powerful yakuza group in Japan, the Yamaguchi-gumi had business interests on Okinawa, but generally, as long as Okinawa was under U.S. administration with a U.S. High Commissioner in charge and USCAR doing the administration, the yakuza stayed out. They did not want to get involved anywhere with so much U.S. military control. The two major criminal elements on Okinawa, the Naha clan and the Koza clan were nothing but loosely organized bunch of thugs. They squabbled amongst each other, dividing their territories sharply between north and south. Basically, Futenma region was the demarcation line for the two gangs. Each clan had less than a hundred members and they were mostly involved in protection racket and dealing in black market and contraband goods. Much of the smuggled goods from Taiwan and Hong Kong were under their control, and most bars and pawn shops in Naha - Koza areas paid protection to them.
There are close to 100 different yakuza groups scattered all over Japan. Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest yakuza family in Japan (about 55,000 members) is from Kyushu, but headquartered in Osaka-Kobe region. Yamaguchi-gumi controls about 500 lesser yakuza groups and consists of 850 clans. The second largest yakuza family is the Sumiyoshi-kai with about 20,000 members consisting of 277 clans. Inagawai-kai is the third largest from Tokyo area with 15,000 members and 313 clans. But only the Yamaguchi-gumi made any incursions into Okinawa with ownership of various businesses through straw owners. The ownership of legitimate businesses is not something new, the yakuza had been doing this for years. For instance, Inagawa-kai is the majority stock holder of Japan Electric Railroad Company. Their ownership is perfectly legal as they acquired those stocks legally! So, Yamaguchi-gumi's ownership of businesses on Okinawa was not anything unusual and the Okinawan gangs were not in the habit of buying into large legitimate businesses, their ownership of businesses usually consisted of a string of bars in Koza or Naha, not mainstream businesses.
When reversion to Japan took place in 1972 and the administration of the island shifted from the U.S. High Commissioner and USCAR to Tokyo government, Yamaguchi-gumi decided to start moving in on Okinawa before another yakuza group decided to do so. Unfortunately for Yamaguchi-gumi, their timing was bad. Just prior to the reversion, in 1970, the two loosely organized gangs on Okinawa, the Naha and Koza clans decided to unite and form a single yakuza style organization which they called Okinawa Rengo Kyokuryu-kai. As a unified group, they were much more powerful, with a membership close to 1000 thugs. When Yamaguchi-gumi sent some of its "soldiers" to take over the island, they were rudely met by the Okinawans and thrown off the island. Naturally, this didn't sit well with Yamaguchi-gumi bosses back in Kobe! They sent more yakuza to Okinawa, and the "Yakuza War" was on!
The war essentially lasted from 1972 when Yamaguchi-gumi made their first exploratory incursion into Okinawa, until they finally gave up the idea and pulled out completely in 1984, a gang war that lasted a dozen years! It was a violent war, with killings, wild shoot outs, etc. The Japanese media reported on it heavily and called it the Fourth Okinawan War. The First Okinawan War took place in 1429 when the King of Okinawa, Sho Hashi, conquered all of the surrounding islands (Miyako, Yaeyama, etc.) and established the Okinawan Kingdom from Shuri. The Second Okinawan War was when the Satsuma Clan from Kyushu came and took over the island and in 1879 the Japanese sent the Okinawan King into exile in Tokyo. The Third Okinawan War was, of course, World War Two and the Battle of Okinawa, a truly devastating war. The Fourth Okinawan war was the "Yakuza War"!
It is really surprising that the American media did not report on this "Yakuza War" as extensively as the Japanese press. After all, Okinawa has a significant American population, both the uniformed military and their civilian dependents! Although as far as it is known, no American fell victim to the "Yakuza War," there were many innocent Okinawans killed in cross-fires, bombings, etc. The Japanese film industry made a number of movies that became cult films! In 1980, the head of Yamaguchi-gumi died and his widow Fumiko, an attractive woman, took over and continued the violent activity on Okinawa. The Japanese movie makers were quick to capitalize on that, a woman yakuza leader leading a bloody gang war! It couldn't have been more perfect material for a movie! Years later, Quentin Tarantino's violent, manga-like movie series Kill Bill, had Lucy Liu as a woman yakuza leader! I doubt if Tarantino realized that he took a page out of real life! I know he greatly admires Japanese movies and took that idea from one of the yakuza movies from the 1980s!
Around 1984 Yamaguchi-gumi decided to call it quits and pulled out of their attempt to take over Okinawa. In the meantime, the Okinawan gang had changed its name to simply Kyokuryu-kai and had become more like a true yakuza group. They had learned from their enemy! In 1990 a splinter group appeared and called itself Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai. Today the two Okinawan yakuza groups number a bit over 200 each and seem to be coexisting peacefully. They have become much more like the true yakuza from naichi, the main islands. There have even been cases of yubiotobasu, pinky finger cutting, a practice that was alien to Okinawans before.
How times change. Prior to reversion to Japan, there were no yakuza or the annoying, noisy bosozoku teenage gangs. But today, it seems, that once peaceful Okinawa, having become part of Japan, has adopted the worst of the mainland Japan!
There are close to 100 different yakuza groups scattered all over Japan. Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest yakuza family in Japan (about 55,000 members) is from Kyushu, but headquartered in Osaka-Kobe region. Yamaguchi-gumi controls about 500 lesser yakuza groups and consists of 850 clans. The second largest yakuza family is the Sumiyoshi-kai with about 20,000 members consisting of 277 clans. Inagawai-kai is the third largest from Tokyo area with 15,000 members and 313 clans. But only the Yamaguchi-gumi made any incursions into Okinawa with ownership of various businesses through straw owners. The ownership of legitimate businesses is not something new, the yakuza had been doing this for years. For instance, Inagawa-kai is the majority stock holder of Japan Electric Railroad Company. Their ownership is perfectly legal as they acquired those stocks legally! So, Yamaguchi-gumi's ownership of businesses on Okinawa was not anything unusual and the Okinawan gangs were not in the habit of buying into large legitimate businesses, their ownership of businesses usually consisted of a string of bars in Koza or Naha, not mainstream businesses.
When reversion to Japan took place in 1972 and the administration of the island shifted from the U.S. High Commissioner and USCAR to Tokyo government, Yamaguchi-gumi decided to start moving in on Okinawa before another yakuza group decided to do so. Unfortunately for Yamaguchi-gumi, their timing was bad. Just prior to the reversion, in 1970, the two loosely organized gangs on Okinawa, the Naha and Koza clans decided to unite and form a single yakuza style organization which they called Okinawa Rengo Kyokuryu-kai. As a unified group, they were much more powerful, with a membership close to 1000 thugs. When Yamaguchi-gumi sent some of its "soldiers" to take over the island, they were rudely met by the Okinawans and thrown off the island. Naturally, this didn't sit well with Yamaguchi-gumi bosses back in Kobe! They sent more yakuza to Okinawa, and the "Yakuza War" was on!
The war essentially lasted from 1972 when Yamaguchi-gumi made their first exploratory incursion into Okinawa, until they finally gave up the idea and pulled out completely in 1984, a gang war that lasted a dozen years! It was a violent war, with killings, wild shoot outs, etc. The Japanese media reported on it heavily and called it the Fourth Okinawan War. The First Okinawan War took place in 1429 when the King of Okinawa, Sho Hashi, conquered all of the surrounding islands (Miyako, Yaeyama, etc.) and established the Okinawan Kingdom from Shuri. The Second Okinawan War was when the Satsuma Clan from Kyushu came and took over the island and in 1879 the Japanese sent the Okinawan King into exile in Tokyo. The Third Okinawan War was, of course, World War Two and the Battle of Okinawa, a truly devastating war. The Fourth Okinawan war was the "Yakuza War"!
It is really surprising that the American media did not report on this "Yakuza War" as extensively as the Japanese press. After all, Okinawa has a significant American population, both the uniformed military and their civilian dependents! Although as far as it is known, no American fell victim to the "Yakuza War," there were many innocent Okinawans killed in cross-fires, bombings, etc. The Japanese film industry made a number of movies that became cult films! In 1980, the head of Yamaguchi-gumi died and his widow Fumiko, an attractive woman, took over and continued the violent activity on Okinawa. The Japanese movie makers were quick to capitalize on that, a woman yakuza leader leading a bloody gang war! It couldn't have been more perfect material for a movie! Years later, Quentin Tarantino's violent, manga-like movie series Kill Bill, had Lucy Liu as a woman yakuza leader! I doubt if Tarantino realized that he took a page out of real life! I know he greatly admires Japanese movies and took that idea from one of the yakuza movies from the 1980s!
Around 1984 Yamaguchi-gumi decided to call it quits and pulled out of their attempt to take over Okinawa. In the meantime, the Okinawan gang had changed its name to simply Kyokuryu-kai and had become more like a true yakuza group. They had learned from their enemy! In 1990 a splinter group appeared and called itself Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai. Today the two Okinawan yakuza groups number a bit over 200 each and seem to be coexisting peacefully. They have become much more like the true yakuza from naichi, the main islands. There have even been cases of yubiotobasu, pinky finger cutting, a practice that was alien to Okinawans before.
How times change. Prior to reversion to Japan, there were no yakuza or the annoying, noisy bosozoku teenage gangs. But today, it seems, that once peaceful Okinawa, having become part of Japan, has adopted the worst of the mainland Japan!
Monday, December 22, 2014
Yakuza "Wannabees"
Just about every society in the world has had and still has street gangs. In America, street gangs used to be teenage gangs. These gangs were involved in mostly petty crimes and by the time the gang members reached adulthood, they either outgrew their juvenile delinquency and became law abiding citizens or continued with their criminal life and ended up in prison. Some became members of established mobs such as the Italian mob in New York, Chicago, etc., or the Irish mob in Boston. However, the street gang scene began to change with the appearance of Crips and other black street gangs and Hispanic street gangs. These "ethnic" gangs would start their membership with kids as young as pre-teens, and extended to adulthood, their entire life! In short, the new street gangs of post early 1960s became a way of life for some blacks and Hispanics. This is basically what we are faced with today, the violent street gangs that include kids as well as middle aged men and women, and on the other side, we have the established mobs run by the "families," the Italian, and Irish mobs and the newly arrived Russian and other ethnic mobs, including the yakuza of Japan! Ethnic street gangs were always around, but they were never quite as extensive as they are today, nor were they involved as heavily in drug trafficking!
In Japan the street gangs were always in existence and some of them were always yakuza "wannabees." Fortunately, Japan does not have ethnic street gangs that enroll their members for life! In the 1950s the typical Japanese street gang member dressed in "pegged" pants and sported ducktail type hairstyle and were called gurentai, which literally means "tough guy group." The gurentai came from lower socio economic level, kids who were school drop outs, etc. Some of these kids aspired to become yakuza and indeed later joined one of the groups in the area. Others, like street gang members in America, outgrew their need to be tough guys and became law abiding citizens. Becoming a gurentai did not require a lifetime commitment! In the late 1950s and early 1960s, some of these gurentai gangs in Tokyo were called "mambo boys." Mambo boys, aside from their flashy clothing, liked to wear distinctive ankle high shoes, sort of fancy chukka boots! They hung around bars and mostly were involved in petty crime.
As Japanese economy improved, many young men began to ride around on motorcycles and motorcycle clubs began to pop up all over Japan. Most were simply a group of young men who liked to ride motorcycles, but there were some that were gangs, violent criminal gangs. In the 1980s, a new type of motorcycle gang appeared. These were mostly very young, middle class teenagers, who rode around on noisy motorcycles making a nuisance of themselves. They were called bosozoku, which literally means "roaring kids." The bosozoku kept growing in popularity among teenagers, and today, they are a major problem. Some of the bosozoku gangs are very violent and attack motorists as well as others in their path. It is unlikely that many bosozoku become yakuza. Most are simply teenagers that are out of control, lack of parental control!
All these street gang members are not to be confused with the yakuza. They may be yakuza wannabees, but they are not yakuza, they are just street gangs, gurentai or bosozoku. Today there are even Crips in Japan! However, it is highly unlikely that they are operating as freely as they are here in America! More than likely they are simply former service members who were Crips back home who decided to live in Japan. No doubt they are involved in criminal activities, but they are not a major problem as they are here. The same thing can be said of Hell's Angels, there is a Japanese chapter! But like the Crips, their activities are somewhat curtailed compared to what they do here in America.
Okinawa never had a history of organized criminal enterprises. Even street gangs really did not come about until much later, like after reversion to Japan! Prior to that, there may have been small gangs of teenagers that Americans called "stealie boys" who specialized in break-ins into houses outside of military housing areas. Some Americans who lived in private rentals may have experienced "stealie boys" activities, but generally speaking, street gangs on Okinawa were very tame compared to Japanese gangs. The bosozoku made its appearance on Okinawa about a decade after mainland Japan. The Okinawan kids mostly ride around on small motorbikes, scooters, and even mopeds. It is interesting to note the difference, which clearly is an indication of economic difference of Okinawans vs the people on the mainland. Whereas the bosozoku in Tokyo area are even known to cruise around in hot rod cars, the Okinawan kids are riding mopeds and scooters!
The gurentai and mambo boys really never existed on Okinawa. The so called criminal gangs that operated in Naha and Koza were composed of adults, not teenagers. Some of them tried to emulate the gurentai and mambo boys in Tokyo and Osaka area, but mostly they were just homegrown thugs. These very same criminal gangs began to evolve and in time became Okinawan yakuza. But this didn't happen until much later, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Prior to that time, they were simply gangsters who dealt in black market, prostitution, drugs, protection racket, gambling, and whatever else that they could to earn money. The Japanese yakuza had some ties to Okinawa through business interests. They had acquired some perfectly legal businesses on Okinawa, using fronts or straw owners. Such was apparently the case with the Pizza House as well as several other businesses. However, today, the Japanese yakuza has been replaced by the Okinawan yakuza.
In the next blog I will discuss the emergence of the Okinawan yakuza and the Yakuza Wars that took place on Okinawa.
In Japan the street gangs were always in existence and some of them were always yakuza "wannabees." Fortunately, Japan does not have ethnic street gangs that enroll their members for life! In the 1950s the typical Japanese street gang member dressed in "pegged" pants and sported ducktail type hairstyle and were called gurentai, which literally means "tough guy group." The gurentai came from lower socio economic level, kids who were school drop outs, etc. Some of these kids aspired to become yakuza and indeed later joined one of the groups in the area. Others, like street gang members in America, outgrew their need to be tough guys and became law abiding citizens. Becoming a gurentai did not require a lifetime commitment! In the late 1950s and early 1960s, some of these gurentai gangs in Tokyo were called "mambo boys." Mambo boys, aside from their flashy clothing, liked to wear distinctive ankle high shoes, sort of fancy chukka boots! They hung around bars and mostly were involved in petty crime.
As Japanese economy improved, many young men began to ride around on motorcycles and motorcycle clubs began to pop up all over Japan. Most were simply a group of young men who liked to ride motorcycles, but there were some that were gangs, violent criminal gangs. In the 1980s, a new type of motorcycle gang appeared. These were mostly very young, middle class teenagers, who rode around on noisy motorcycles making a nuisance of themselves. They were called bosozoku, which literally means "roaring kids." The bosozoku kept growing in popularity among teenagers, and today, they are a major problem. Some of the bosozoku gangs are very violent and attack motorists as well as others in their path. It is unlikely that many bosozoku become yakuza. Most are simply teenagers that are out of control, lack of parental control!
All these street gang members are not to be confused with the yakuza. They may be yakuza wannabees, but they are not yakuza, they are just street gangs, gurentai or bosozoku. Today there are even Crips in Japan! However, it is highly unlikely that they are operating as freely as they are here in America! More than likely they are simply former service members who were Crips back home who decided to live in Japan. No doubt they are involved in criminal activities, but they are not a major problem as they are here. The same thing can be said of Hell's Angels, there is a Japanese chapter! But like the Crips, their activities are somewhat curtailed compared to what they do here in America.
Okinawa never had a history of organized criminal enterprises. Even street gangs really did not come about until much later, like after reversion to Japan! Prior to that, there may have been small gangs of teenagers that Americans called "stealie boys" who specialized in break-ins into houses outside of military housing areas. Some Americans who lived in private rentals may have experienced "stealie boys" activities, but generally speaking, street gangs on Okinawa were very tame compared to Japanese gangs. The bosozoku made its appearance on Okinawa about a decade after mainland Japan. The Okinawan kids mostly ride around on small motorbikes, scooters, and even mopeds. It is interesting to note the difference, which clearly is an indication of economic difference of Okinawans vs the people on the mainland. Whereas the bosozoku in Tokyo area are even known to cruise around in hot rod cars, the Okinawan kids are riding mopeds and scooters!
The gurentai and mambo boys really never existed on Okinawa. The so called criminal gangs that operated in Naha and Koza were composed of adults, not teenagers. Some of them tried to emulate the gurentai and mambo boys in Tokyo and Osaka area, but mostly they were just homegrown thugs. These very same criminal gangs began to evolve and in time became Okinawan yakuza. But this didn't happen until much later, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Prior to that time, they were simply gangsters who dealt in black market, prostitution, drugs, protection racket, gambling, and whatever else that they could to earn money. The Japanese yakuza had some ties to Okinawa through business interests. They had acquired some perfectly legal businesses on Okinawa, using fronts or straw owners. Such was apparently the case with the Pizza House as well as several other businesses. However, today, the Japanese yakuza has been replaced by the Okinawan yakuza.
In the next blog I will discuss the emergence of the Okinawan yakuza and the Yakuza Wars that took place on Okinawa.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Yakuza
The yakuza are perhaps the oldest surviving criminal organization in the world. There may have been older crime groups, but none have survived into the 21st Century. The yakuza got its start in the early 17th Century, even before the appearance of the Chinese Triads or the Italian Mafia. In the early 1600s in Edo (the old name for Tokyo), two criminal groups sort of merged and became the yakuza organization. The two groups were the tekiya, peddlers of stolen goods and shoddy merchandise, and travelling, itinerant gamblers known as bakuto. In the pecking order of the Japanese society, they were scraping the bottom, true bottom feeders! In fact, the bakuto (gamblers) were considered even lower than tekiya who were more or less in the same level as tradesmen. In Japanese society, the daimyo (the lords, the aristocrats) were at the top, followed by the samurai, the warriors who protected them, then the scholars and the artisans (skilled craftsmen), farmers were next (very important since they provided food!), and the tradesmen were at the bottom. The gamblers, bakuto, were a little below that! The name itself yakuza, is derived from numbers 8(ya)-9(ku)-3(za), a losing hand in the Japanese game of oicho-kabu, a form of blackjack!
With the merging of the two groups tekiya and bakuto, the new yakuza gained more influence and power. Unlike their predecessors, they were organized, had at least a semblance of structure, the head was oyabun and kobun (adopted child) were the soldiers. As time went on, the organization became more complex and different levels were established. The yakuza began to adopt many of the ways of the samurai. They realized that without structure and discipline, they would be nothing more than large groups of bakuto and tekiya, nothing special. With new stricter rules, their own code of conduct, they became a more powerful force in the Japanese society. Tattooing of body became one form of identification, separation from normal society. This was a practice that was carried over from bakuto, the gamblers who used to tattoo their bodies. Yakuza members would cover their bodies with elaborate tattoos. It is somewhat ironic that today the practice of covering ones body with tattoos has become so popular when you consider that even in our society, tattooing was a form of identification of gang members in prisons in the past!
It is said that as Japan became a peaceful nation under the Tokugawa Shogun, no more civil wars, the need for samurai declined and fewer and fewer daimyo employed samurai. Unemployed samurai known as ronin would roam about the countryside looking for work. Some of these ronin naturally turned to life of crime and their influence with the yakuza is quite apparent. The yakuza adopted many of the ways of the warriors, the bushido. Naturally, it was somewhat of a corrupted version, just as the militarists corrupted the bushido back in the 1930s.
Thus the yakuza survived, moving into the modern era, adapting to the times and always using the cover of respectable business front. Although they were not as powerful as they are today, nevertheless, they grew to a sizable strength. Under the Imperial Japanese rule prior to World War Two, it was somewhat difficult for the yakuza to operate, since the police had much more power than they did after the war. Still, they managed to continue to grow.
At the end of World War Two, the devastated Japan was almost completely dependent on aid from the U.S. The occupying U.S. military had all the power. The Japanese police was but a shell of what it was before the war. Black marketeering became rampant and the yakuza was in the thick of it. It was a natural role for the yakuza, dealing in stolen, illicit goods was what the old tekiya specialized in
so the yakuza stepped right into black marketeering. The amount of money that the yakuza made in black market goods is staggering.
Along with black market goods, the yakuza got involved in prostitution and any other illegal activity that came along. In the miserable conditions of ruined post war Japan, the population needed some sort of an outlet, a therapeutic activity to forget their miserable conditions. Pachinko parlors were the answer. Pachinko, a sort of a mindless pin ball game became so popular that pachinko parlors began to pop up everywhere. Naturally, the bakuto, gambler component of the yakuza took over and pachinko parlors, for all practical purposes, were yakuza property. They grew exponentially to Japan's economic growth. When the occupation era ended, the yakuza was already a powerful, well established entity with ownership and interests in a variety of legitimate businesses. Thus, the modern "transnational" yakuza was born.
Many yakuza organizations were either run by or had heavy Korean membership. Koreans in Japan had a very difficult time getting good employment and making headway in life. Many turned to life of crime, even before the war and joined the yakuza. When the yakuza groups began to really grow in post war years, there were Korean groups, especially from Osaka-Kobe area where there was a large Korean population.
Today there are known yakuza organizations all over Japan, in every corner. Tokyo has the largest number of different yakuza groups, but the largest organization is from Osaka, the Yamaguchi-gumi is considered to be the largest and most powerful of all yakuza groups in Japan. There are even two Okinawan yakuza groups! Tokyo, which has more than a dozen different known groups may very well have even more. There are respectable companies like the Ando-gumi, which has long been suspected of yakuza connection but never proven. Others operated quite openly, like the Akasaka-kai. Everyone in Tokyo knows it is a gangster organization.
The yakuza today have truly become transnational. They are spread out all over the globe. In the U.S. they are in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and probably at least half a dozen other cities. They keep a low profile and try not to make themselves noticeable.
In Europe they are in practically every major city such as London, Paris, Rome, etc., and in some Asian cities, like Manila, they are so well established that they actually support certain political parties and put on a respectable front. In Manila, incidentally, they are primarily involved in human trafficking and gun running, collecting and sending young girls to Japan and other locations for prostitution, and sending Filipino made handguns to various places.
Gun running has become a big business for the yakuza. With such strict gun control laws in Japan (no private ownership of handguns) and other countries as well, selling illegal guns has become a big money maker. It used to be that about 75% of handguns that were smuggled were U.S. made, but times have changed, there are more and more Filipino made guns (Philippines makes excellent copies of U.S. handguns) and Chinese guns, which are priced considerably lower and have a shorter distance to travel to reach Japan and other Asian countries. At one time, a Smith & Wesson revolver that cost $400 in the U.S. was sold by the yakuza for $1000 or more. However, lately, with the influx of Filipino and Chinese guns, the prices have dropped dramatically and U.S. made guns do not sell that well. So, gun control advocates take note. If you ban guns, there will always be those who will acquire them illegally and the illegal trade will benefit. Remember what happened with the so-called "noble experiment," the prohibition! Incidentally, the yakuza smuggle and sell handguns not just in Japan, but in any country where there is a ban on handguns! They are truly transnational!
Interestingly, most yakuza groups stay away from drug trafficking. Starting with the largest yakuza organization, the Yamaguchi-gumi, down to the two on Okinawa, drug trafficking is verboten to its members. Anyone involved in drug trafficking is dealt with most severely.....killed. As strange as it may sound, they seem to have their own standards! Considering that their main money makers are human trafficking (prostitution) and gun running, it does seem kind of odd that they feel so strongly about drug dealing!
With the merging of the two groups tekiya and bakuto, the new yakuza gained more influence and power. Unlike their predecessors, they were organized, had at least a semblance of structure, the head was oyabun and kobun (adopted child) were the soldiers. As time went on, the organization became more complex and different levels were established. The yakuza began to adopt many of the ways of the samurai. They realized that without structure and discipline, they would be nothing more than large groups of bakuto and tekiya, nothing special. With new stricter rules, their own code of conduct, they became a more powerful force in the Japanese society. Tattooing of body became one form of identification, separation from normal society. This was a practice that was carried over from bakuto, the gamblers who used to tattoo their bodies. Yakuza members would cover their bodies with elaborate tattoos. It is somewhat ironic that today the practice of covering ones body with tattoos has become so popular when you consider that even in our society, tattooing was a form of identification of gang members in prisons in the past!
It is said that as Japan became a peaceful nation under the Tokugawa Shogun, no more civil wars, the need for samurai declined and fewer and fewer daimyo employed samurai. Unemployed samurai known as ronin would roam about the countryside looking for work. Some of these ronin naturally turned to life of crime and their influence with the yakuza is quite apparent. The yakuza adopted many of the ways of the warriors, the bushido. Naturally, it was somewhat of a corrupted version, just as the militarists corrupted the bushido back in the 1930s.
Thus the yakuza survived, moving into the modern era, adapting to the times and always using the cover of respectable business front. Although they were not as powerful as they are today, nevertheless, they grew to a sizable strength. Under the Imperial Japanese rule prior to World War Two, it was somewhat difficult for the yakuza to operate, since the police had much more power than they did after the war. Still, they managed to continue to grow.
At the end of World War Two, the devastated Japan was almost completely dependent on aid from the U.S. The occupying U.S. military had all the power. The Japanese police was but a shell of what it was before the war. Black marketeering became rampant and the yakuza was in the thick of it. It was a natural role for the yakuza, dealing in stolen, illicit goods was what the old tekiya specialized in
so the yakuza stepped right into black marketeering. The amount of money that the yakuza made in black market goods is staggering.
Along with black market goods, the yakuza got involved in prostitution and any other illegal activity that came along. In the miserable conditions of ruined post war Japan, the population needed some sort of an outlet, a therapeutic activity to forget their miserable conditions. Pachinko parlors were the answer. Pachinko, a sort of a mindless pin ball game became so popular that pachinko parlors began to pop up everywhere. Naturally, the bakuto, gambler component of the yakuza took over and pachinko parlors, for all practical purposes, were yakuza property. They grew exponentially to Japan's economic growth. When the occupation era ended, the yakuza was already a powerful, well established entity with ownership and interests in a variety of legitimate businesses. Thus, the modern "transnational" yakuza was born.
Many yakuza organizations were either run by or had heavy Korean membership. Koreans in Japan had a very difficult time getting good employment and making headway in life. Many turned to life of crime, even before the war and joined the yakuza. When the yakuza groups began to really grow in post war years, there were Korean groups, especially from Osaka-Kobe area where there was a large Korean population.
Today there are known yakuza organizations all over Japan, in every corner. Tokyo has the largest number of different yakuza groups, but the largest organization is from Osaka, the Yamaguchi-gumi is considered to be the largest and most powerful of all yakuza groups in Japan. There are even two Okinawan yakuza groups! Tokyo, which has more than a dozen different known groups may very well have even more. There are respectable companies like the Ando-gumi, which has long been suspected of yakuza connection but never proven. Others operated quite openly, like the Akasaka-kai. Everyone in Tokyo knows it is a gangster organization.
The yakuza today have truly become transnational. They are spread out all over the globe. In the U.S. they are in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and probably at least half a dozen other cities. They keep a low profile and try not to make themselves noticeable.
In Europe they are in practically every major city such as London, Paris, Rome, etc., and in some Asian cities, like Manila, they are so well established that they actually support certain political parties and put on a respectable front. In Manila, incidentally, they are primarily involved in human trafficking and gun running, collecting and sending young girls to Japan and other locations for prostitution, and sending Filipino made handguns to various places.
Gun running has become a big business for the yakuza. With such strict gun control laws in Japan (no private ownership of handguns) and other countries as well, selling illegal guns has become a big money maker. It used to be that about 75% of handguns that were smuggled were U.S. made, but times have changed, there are more and more Filipino made guns (Philippines makes excellent copies of U.S. handguns) and Chinese guns, which are priced considerably lower and have a shorter distance to travel to reach Japan and other Asian countries. At one time, a Smith & Wesson revolver that cost $400 in the U.S. was sold by the yakuza for $1000 or more. However, lately, with the influx of Filipino and Chinese guns, the prices have dropped dramatically and U.S. made guns do not sell that well. So, gun control advocates take note. If you ban guns, there will always be those who will acquire them illegally and the illegal trade will benefit. Remember what happened with the so-called "noble experiment," the prohibition! Incidentally, the yakuza smuggle and sell handguns not just in Japan, but in any country where there is a ban on handguns! They are truly transnational!
Interestingly, most yakuza groups stay away from drug trafficking. Starting with the largest yakuza organization, the Yamaguchi-gumi, down to the two on Okinawa, drug trafficking is verboten to its members. Anyone involved in drug trafficking is dealt with most severely.....killed. As strange as it may sound, they seem to have their own standards! Considering that their main money makers are human trafficking (prostitution) and gun running, it does seem kind of odd that they feel so strongly about drug dealing!
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Pizza House and the Yakuza
Those of us who spent time on Okinawa as teenagers are familiar with that popular hangout, the "Pizza House" that was located in Oyama on what was then called Highway One. It was a nice place, popular not just with the young crowd, but with many others. The food was decent and the pizzas were very good, at least we thought so! A stuffed Japanese Green Pheasant (kiji) that I had shot as a kid on Honshu ended up guarding the cash register at the counter for many years. Perhaps it is still there, who knows?
What most of us did not know at the time was the connection that the popular Pizza House had with the notorious yakuza, the Japanese criminal organization! Having lived in Tokyo before coming to Okinawa, I was familiar with another popular pizza house that was in Tokyo, "Nicola's Pizza House" in Roppongi (which is still in operation!). Nicola's was very popular with younger Americans, along with another joint near by called the "Hamburger Inn." What struck me when I first tasted the pizza at the Pizza House on Okinawa was that it tasted exactly like the one served at Nicola's in Tokyo. It was as if the very same recipe was used to make pizza's at both places! I didn't think much of it then.
Years later I learned that the Pizza House on Okinawa was started by essentially the same people who ran Nicola's Pizza House in Tokyo. Nicola's Pizza House was opened shortly after the end of World War Two by one of the early Americans to arrive in Tokyo. It was Nicola "Nick" Zapetti, a man with strong Mafia connections that opened the first pizza joint in Tokyo. Zapetti was known to have strong Mafia connections in New York and was even involved in a $800,000 diamond heist at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, for which he spent time in jail and was deported in the early 1950s! Yet, he managed to get back to Japan (no doubt through his "connections") and open the pizza joint! It was extremely popular with the younger crowd and with Tokyo's underworld. Even Kodama Yoshi, the big boss of the Tosei-kai, the largest yakuza gang in Japan at that time, was seen at Nicola's Pizza House! Rikkidozan, a very popular pro wrestler with strong yakuza connections was a good friend of Zapetti's and was also seen often at Nicola's. Although the business was owned by Zapetti, yakuza's hand in it was quite apparent.
Seeing how popular Nicola's Pizza House became with everyone, especially the Americans, it was no doubt a good business decision to find a partner on Okinawa to open a similar place. An Okinawan partner, someone who had a respectable front but had connections with Yoshimi-kogyo, the largest Okinawan yakuza group, was chosen to open the Pizza House. Pizza makers from Tokyo came down to train Okinawans in the art of making pizza and other Italian dishes. Small wonder then, that the pizzas on Okinawa tasted like the ones at Nicola's in Tokyo! The Pizza House on Okinawa became a thriving business and a landmark for many Americans who spent time on that island. When it first opened, there was talk that it was owned by a former G.I. Perhaps there was an American involved, but the yakuza definitely had its hand in it.
Shortly after the reversion back to Japan took place, a huge turf war broke out between the yakuza from Tokyo and Osaka area and the home boys, the Okinawan yakuza. But that's another story. I don't know who owns Nicola's Pizza House in Tokyo today, but I have no doubt that it still has strong connections if not outright ownership by yakuza. As for the Pizza House on Okinawa, if it is still there, it too no doubt still maintains connection with the yakuza, either Okinawan or from naichi, Tokyo or Osaka. It is ironic that my Japanese Green Pheasant, if it is still there, sat guarding the cash register all these years, working for the yakuza! Today, of course, there are other pizza joints on Okinawa, including Domino's Pizza, but there will never be another "Pizza House" like the one in Oyama, at least not one with such shady connections!
What most of us did not know at the time was the connection that the popular Pizza House had with the notorious yakuza, the Japanese criminal organization! Having lived in Tokyo before coming to Okinawa, I was familiar with another popular pizza house that was in Tokyo, "Nicola's Pizza House" in Roppongi (which is still in operation!). Nicola's was very popular with younger Americans, along with another joint near by called the "Hamburger Inn." What struck me when I first tasted the pizza at the Pizza House on Okinawa was that it tasted exactly like the one served at Nicola's in Tokyo. It was as if the very same recipe was used to make pizza's at both places! I didn't think much of it then.
Years later I learned that the Pizza House on Okinawa was started by essentially the same people who ran Nicola's Pizza House in Tokyo. Nicola's Pizza House was opened shortly after the end of World War Two by one of the early Americans to arrive in Tokyo. It was Nicola "Nick" Zapetti, a man with strong Mafia connections that opened the first pizza joint in Tokyo. Zapetti was known to have strong Mafia connections in New York and was even involved in a $800,000 diamond heist at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, for which he spent time in jail and was deported in the early 1950s! Yet, he managed to get back to Japan (no doubt through his "connections") and open the pizza joint! It was extremely popular with the younger crowd and with Tokyo's underworld. Even Kodama Yoshi, the big boss of the Tosei-kai, the largest yakuza gang in Japan at that time, was seen at Nicola's Pizza House! Rikkidozan, a very popular pro wrestler with strong yakuza connections was a good friend of Zapetti's and was also seen often at Nicola's. Although the business was owned by Zapetti, yakuza's hand in it was quite apparent.
Seeing how popular Nicola's Pizza House became with everyone, especially the Americans, it was no doubt a good business decision to find a partner on Okinawa to open a similar place. An Okinawan partner, someone who had a respectable front but had connections with Yoshimi-kogyo, the largest Okinawan yakuza group, was chosen to open the Pizza House. Pizza makers from Tokyo came down to train Okinawans in the art of making pizza and other Italian dishes. Small wonder then, that the pizzas on Okinawa tasted like the ones at Nicola's in Tokyo! The Pizza House on Okinawa became a thriving business and a landmark for many Americans who spent time on that island. When it first opened, there was talk that it was owned by a former G.I. Perhaps there was an American involved, but the yakuza definitely had its hand in it.
Shortly after the reversion back to Japan took place, a huge turf war broke out between the yakuza from Tokyo and Osaka area and the home boys, the Okinawan yakuza. But that's another story. I don't know who owns Nicola's Pizza House in Tokyo today, but I have no doubt that it still has strong connections if not outright ownership by yakuza. As for the Pizza House on Okinawa, if it is still there, it too no doubt still maintains connection with the yakuza, either Okinawan or from naichi, Tokyo or Osaka. It is ironic that my Japanese Green Pheasant, if it is still there, sat guarding the cash register all these years, working for the yakuza! Today, of course, there are other pizza joints on Okinawa, including Domino's Pizza, but there will never be another "Pizza House" like the one in Oyama, at least not one with such shady connections!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Northeast Asia aka Far East Miscellany
China, Korea, and Japan are referred to as being in Northeast Asia. In government speak this region is simply called East Asia, but in the old days it was generally called the Far East. However, to avoid sounding too much behind times, I will refer to the region by the current name of Northeast Asia.
In many respects, Northeast Asia, more specifically China, was the center of all things, beginning of most cultural and scientific developments for that part of the world. There is, of course, South Asia, which refers mainly to the Indian sub continent, and Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia was influenced very much by Northeast Asian (Chinese) culture, whereas the South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other surrounding countries were mainly subjected to Indian culture. But even a country such as Burma, sorry, Myanmar today, as close as it is to India, has been influenced more by China.
Chinese culture is amazing. It is ancient, older than any other surviving culture in the world! I am always somewhat surprised whenever I run across information (usually dispensed by the media, not by academics), about something giving credit for a particular invention or development to some western/European origin, totally ignoring the Chinese contribution that precedes it by centuries! It is understandable. We live in a western culture and quite naturally are drawn to its sources, not something that essentially came out of an "unknown" source. Nevertheless, there are things that are generally understood and accepted by everyone as having been originated in Northeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan.
There are many things that originated in Northeast Asia that are world's firsts! The world's first known book of poetry, Chuchi, also called by the name of its lead poem Li Sao, was written in China around 300 BC. It is an amazing book that despite its ancient origin, reads as if it was written today! Of course there were probably early poems written in other cultures in other languages before Chinese, perhaps, but Chuchi/Li Sao was the first book of collected poems in the world. In fact, literature is something that has had a very early beginning in that part of the world.
China produced some great poets going back to the time when Chuchi/Li Sao was compiled. One of the greatest poets and essayist of classical China was a woman, Li Ching Chao. What is remarkable is that during that time, women were not taught how to read and write. It was considered wasteful to teach women to be literate! Li Ching Chao insisted on learning to read and write and became a great poet. She was always considered one of the best poets of ancient China, but in recent years scholars have elevated her status to being the best of all classical Chinese poets! Li Ching Chao lived from 1081 until about 1155. The exact time of her death is still debated! She was a great and an amazing romantic poet. If you are to read any of her poems, you would think that you are reading love poems of some young woman today! So, you could say that Li Ching Chao was the world's first great woman poet!
Although it is sometimes debated (since everyone appears to have a different definition of what constitutes a novel!), Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji is considered to be the world's first novel. The Tale of Genji, a sprawling (over 54 chapters) work about Heian court intrigues and romances was written by a Lady in Waiting for the Empress at the Heian court (modern Kyoto). Some claim that Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki), who lived from 978 to 1025, did not write the whole book, that her daughter finished it. Whatever the case, it is a remarkable piece of work that is given credit for being the world's first novel. What is even more remarkable is that it was written by a woman in 10th Century Japan when women in general, like in China, were not taught how to read and write! So, here we have the world's first novel, written centuries before Don Quixote (1605-1615) appeared as the first novel in the west, written by a woman, a double first - world's first novel and world's first woman novelist! Bear in mind that I am referring to a novel, not just a book. There were books written years, indeed centuries before The Tale of Genji, or Don Quixote in the west, but these two are considered to be the first novels in their respective regions.
Korea did not develop a great woman poet or novelist until much later. However, Korea too contributed very much to the development of literature in that part of the world. I know that our history books tell us that Gutenberg invented the first movable printing press in the world in 1439. However, there is proof that Gutenberg's invention was preceded by several hundred years in Korea when a movable metal printing press was made using copper and or brass blocks. Actually if "movable" printing press is used as criteria, as early as 7th Century Koreans had developed a movable printing press using wooden blocks during the Three Kingdom Period.
So, the Northeast Asian region has contributed heavily to the world of literature!
Finally, as the last tidbit, the last miscellany, the Korean script or written system, hangul, is considered by many to be the most scientific written system in the world. Edwin O. Reischauer, the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and a respected Asia Scholar called hangul, "The most perfect phonetic system devised." The original name of this written system which was developed in 1443 was called Hunmin-Chung-um. However, in the modern times it took on the name of hangul in South Korea and chosungul in North Korea.
You might ask, why the same written system would have two different names in the same language. Well, for the same reason that South Korea calls itself Tae Han and North Korea calls itself Chosun. North Korea took its name from the last great Korean Dynasty, the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1897) while South Korea took its name from the very last Korea that existed before Japan annexed/colonized it in 1910. After the end of Chosun Dynasty in 1897 and until 1910, Korea was known as Tae Han Je Kug, The Tae Han (Korean) Empire. The South Korean flag, Tae Gug Kee is a slightly modified version of the original Tae Han Je Kug flag. So, South Korea has continued the legacy of Koreas of the past.
However, to confuse matters even more, the rest of the world calls Korea by a name that is taken from the Koryo Dynasty (935-1392) which preceded the Chosun Dynasty! To further complicate matters, South Koreans call themselves hanguk saram, North Koreans call themselves chosun saram, and Russian Koreans living in former Soviet Union, and the large population of ethnic Koreans in Manchuria call themselves koryo saram! Go figure! Of course you can't blame the Russian Koreans for not wanting to identify themselves with North Koreans!
At any rate, I thought I would throw in that last tidbit about why the different names for different Koreas and Koreans because I had been asked that question numerous times before.
In many respects, Northeast Asia, more specifically China, was the center of all things, beginning of most cultural and scientific developments for that part of the world. There is, of course, South Asia, which refers mainly to the Indian sub continent, and Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia was influenced very much by Northeast Asian (Chinese) culture, whereas the South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other surrounding countries were mainly subjected to Indian culture. But even a country such as Burma, sorry, Myanmar today, as close as it is to India, has been influenced more by China.
Chinese culture is amazing. It is ancient, older than any other surviving culture in the world! I am always somewhat surprised whenever I run across information (usually dispensed by the media, not by academics), about something giving credit for a particular invention or development to some western/European origin, totally ignoring the Chinese contribution that precedes it by centuries! It is understandable. We live in a western culture and quite naturally are drawn to its sources, not something that essentially came out of an "unknown" source. Nevertheless, there are things that are generally understood and accepted by everyone as having been originated in Northeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan.
There are many things that originated in Northeast Asia that are world's firsts! The world's first known book of poetry, Chuchi, also called by the name of its lead poem Li Sao, was written in China around 300 BC. It is an amazing book that despite its ancient origin, reads as if it was written today! Of course there were probably early poems written in other cultures in other languages before Chinese, perhaps, but Chuchi/Li Sao was the first book of collected poems in the world. In fact, literature is something that has had a very early beginning in that part of the world.
China produced some great poets going back to the time when Chuchi/Li Sao was compiled. One of the greatest poets and essayist of classical China was a woman, Li Ching Chao. What is remarkable is that during that time, women were not taught how to read and write. It was considered wasteful to teach women to be literate! Li Ching Chao insisted on learning to read and write and became a great poet. She was always considered one of the best poets of ancient China, but in recent years scholars have elevated her status to being the best of all classical Chinese poets! Li Ching Chao lived from 1081 until about 1155. The exact time of her death is still debated! She was a great and an amazing romantic poet. If you are to read any of her poems, you would think that you are reading love poems of some young woman today! So, you could say that Li Ching Chao was the world's first great woman poet!
Although it is sometimes debated (since everyone appears to have a different definition of what constitutes a novel!), Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji is considered to be the world's first novel. The Tale of Genji, a sprawling (over 54 chapters) work about Heian court intrigues and romances was written by a Lady in Waiting for the Empress at the Heian court (modern Kyoto). Some claim that Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki), who lived from 978 to 1025, did not write the whole book, that her daughter finished it. Whatever the case, it is a remarkable piece of work that is given credit for being the world's first novel. What is even more remarkable is that it was written by a woman in 10th Century Japan when women in general, like in China, were not taught how to read and write! So, here we have the world's first novel, written centuries before Don Quixote (1605-1615) appeared as the first novel in the west, written by a woman, a double first - world's first novel and world's first woman novelist! Bear in mind that I am referring to a novel, not just a book. There were books written years, indeed centuries before The Tale of Genji, or Don Quixote in the west, but these two are considered to be the first novels in their respective regions.
Korea did not develop a great woman poet or novelist until much later. However, Korea too contributed very much to the development of literature in that part of the world. I know that our history books tell us that Gutenberg invented the first movable printing press in the world in 1439. However, there is proof that Gutenberg's invention was preceded by several hundred years in Korea when a movable metal printing press was made using copper and or brass blocks. Actually if "movable" printing press is used as criteria, as early as 7th Century Koreans had developed a movable printing press using wooden blocks during the Three Kingdom Period.
So, the Northeast Asian region has contributed heavily to the world of literature!
Finally, as the last tidbit, the last miscellany, the Korean script or written system, hangul, is considered by many to be the most scientific written system in the world. Edwin O. Reischauer, the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and a respected Asia Scholar called hangul, "The most perfect phonetic system devised." The original name of this written system which was developed in 1443 was called Hunmin-Chung-um. However, in the modern times it took on the name of hangul in South Korea and chosungul in North Korea.
You might ask, why the same written system would have two different names in the same language. Well, for the same reason that South Korea calls itself Tae Han and North Korea calls itself Chosun. North Korea took its name from the last great Korean Dynasty, the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1897) while South Korea took its name from the very last Korea that existed before Japan annexed/colonized it in 1910. After the end of Chosun Dynasty in 1897 and until 1910, Korea was known as Tae Han Je Kug, The Tae Han (Korean) Empire. The South Korean flag, Tae Gug Kee is a slightly modified version of the original Tae Han Je Kug flag. So, South Korea has continued the legacy of Koreas of the past.
However, to confuse matters even more, the rest of the world calls Korea by a name that is taken from the Koryo Dynasty (935-1392) which preceded the Chosun Dynasty! To further complicate matters, South Koreans call themselves hanguk saram, North Koreans call themselves chosun saram, and Russian Koreans living in former Soviet Union, and the large population of ethnic Koreans in Manchuria call themselves koryo saram! Go figure! Of course you can't blame the Russian Koreans for not wanting to identify themselves with North Koreans!
At any rate, I thought I would throw in that last tidbit about why the different names for different Koreas and Koreans because I had been asked that question numerous times before.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
American Women Married to Muslims Living Abroad
Domestic violence is not exclusive to any particular country or culture, it is found everywhere. In case of American women married to foreign men and living abroad, it is more widespread in some countries and cultures than in others, at times markedly so. Aside from those cases where the American woman is simply married to a rotten individual who mistreats her, there are countries and cultures where it seems mistreatment of wives is more prevalent and in some cases, accepted. The American embassies and consulates around the world are probably faced with domestic problem cases more than anything else when it comes to expat Americans.
The most common complaint appears to be that the husband "changed" once they arrived in his home country and is now abusing the wife. The majority of these marriages take place back in America, and usually when both parties are attending school. As the saying goes, "love is blind," and the American women never suspect that their wonderful, exotic, boy friend/husband could pull a complete personality change once they leave America and arrive in his country. This appears to occur most commonly with men from Islamic countries, but not exclusive to them. Many from western European countries seem to undergo these changes as well. But by and large, the biggest change seems to occur with men of Muslim faith who upon arrival in their country revert to their so-called "traditional" ways, where women are treated as chattel, nothing more than a piece of property that he can do with what he pleases. Of course not all Muslim husbands are like that, but unfortunately, a large number do change and make life miserable for their American wives.
Part of the problem appears to be societal pressure. Once the man arrives in his home country, he is expected to behave and carry on like all traditional men in that society. The family also plays a key role. If the family happens to be of humble background, uneducated, it makes it that much more difficult for the American wife to be accepted. You can't blame the family members. If they are unsophisticated, unfamiliar with western ways and are traditional Muslims, chances are they are not going to accept the new daughter-in-law with open arms. She will have to accept their way, dress in Muslim fashion, cover her head at all times and be subservient to men. To an average middle class
American woman, this is a shocking revelation. She may have been aware that such societies exist but never dreamed that she would have to live in it, abide by its laws! To compound the situation, if the husband decides to truly revert to traditional Muslim ways, he may even decide to take on more wives, after all, by law he is allowed three! Physical violence, wife beating, is almost a standard practice!
The American woman is caught in a trap. She comes to the U. S. embassy or the consulate seeking help, but there is very little that the mission can do. If she wishes to return to the U.S., then perhaps she can be repatriated. But, she must secure her husband's written permission to leave the country, otherwise she won't be allowed to leave! The children, if there are any, are all automatically citizens of that country and "property" of the husband. They too cannot leave the country without specific written permission from the husband. This is the standard practice of all Muslim nations. Perhaps there are some that are more progressive and are not quite so set in Islamic laws, but for the most part, that is the standard practice of Muslim countries.
There have been numerous cases where the embassy or the consulate helped to "smuggle" out the American woman and sometimes her children as well. This is a pretty risky deal, and if caught, will cause problems with host country. But still, the U.S. missions abroad will take the chance and try and help the American citizen. Sadly, sometimes the woman will have to leave her children behind, and sometimes she manages to bring them along. In any case, it is never easy to get them out.
What is astounding and truly frustrating to the Consular Officers who handle these cases is that quite often, the abused American woman who seeks help and is smuggled out of the country at great risk, returns after a while! There was a case in Cairo in mid 1990s where an abused American woman was repatriated to the U.S. five times at tax payers expense, only to return each time! Her Egyptian husband gave her permission to leave so at least she didn't have to be smuggled out! After the fifth time the embassy refused to repatriate her again, at which point she wrote a nasty letter to her congressman complaining about shabby treatment and lack of help from the embassy!
It seems that American women married to foreign men and living in their country risk facing problems much more so than if they were living in America. This is particularly true if the husband happens to be from an Islamic country. Nowhere else are problems so widespread as in Islamic countries where laws favor the husband so heavily, in fact, laws that give no rights to the wife, especially if she happens to be a foreigner.
Of course, not all Muslim men undergo a dramatic transformation once they return home. Some continue to treat their American wives as they did when they were in America. Unfortunately, a large percentage does change and make life a nightmare for their foreign wives. I am not making an indictment on Islam, for I have seen happily married American women with husbands from Islamic countries. But, it has also been my experience during my time in the Foreign Service, that the most problems encountered with American women married to foreigners, were from those married to men of Islamic countries.
The most common complaint appears to be that the husband "changed" once they arrived in his home country and is now abusing the wife. The majority of these marriages take place back in America, and usually when both parties are attending school. As the saying goes, "love is blind," and the American women never suspect that their wonderful, exotic, boy friend/husband could pull a complete personality change once they leave America and arrive in his country. This appears to occur most commonly with men from Islamic countries, but not exclusive to them. Many from western European countries seem to undergo these changes as well. But by and large, the biggest change seems to occur with men of Muslim faith who upon arrival in their country revert to their so-called "traditional" ways, where women are treated as chattel, nothing more than a piece of property that he can do with what he pleases. Of course not all Muslim husbands are like that, but unfortunately, a large number do change and make life miserable for their American wives.
Part of the problem appears to be societal pressure. Once the man arrives in his home country, he is expected to behave and carry on like all traditional men in that society. The family also plays a key role. If the family happens to be of humble background, uneducated, it makes it that much more difficult for the American wife to be accepted. You can't blame the family members. If they are unsophisticated, unfamiliar with western ways and are traditional Muslims, chances are they are not going to accept the new daughter-in-law with open arms. She will have to accept their way, dress in Muslim fashion, cover her head at all times and be subservient to men. To an average middle class
American woman, this is a shocking revelation. She may have been aware that such societies exist but never dreamed that she would have to live in it, abide by its laws! To compound the situation, if the husband decides to truly revert to traditional Muslim ways, he may even decide to take on more wives, after all, by law he is allowed three! Physical violence, wife beating, is almost a standard practice!
The American woman is caught in a trap. She comes to the U. S. embassy or the consulate seeking help, but there is very little that the mission can do. If she wishes to return to the U.S., then perhaps she can be repatriated. But, she must secure her husband's written permission to leave the country, otherwise she won't be allowed to leave! The children, if there are any, are all automatically citizens of that country and "property" of the husband. They too cannot leave the country without specific written permission from the husband. This is the standard practice of all Muslim nations. Perhaps there are some that are more progressive and are not quite so set in Islamic laws, but for the most part, that is the standard practice of Muslim countries.
There have been numerous cases where the embassy or the consulate helped to "smuggle" out the American woman and sometimes her children as well. This is a pretty risky deal, and if caught, will cause problems with host country. But still, the U.S. missions abroad will take the chance and try and help the American citizen. Sadly, sometimes the woman will have to leave her children behind, and sometimes she manages to bring them along. In any case, it is never easy to get them out.
What is astounding and truly frustrating to the Consular Officers who handle these cases is that quite often, the abused American woman who seeks help and is smuggled out of the country at great risk, returns after a while! There was a case in Cairo in mid 1990s where an abused American woman was repatriated to the U.S. five times at tax payers expense, only to return each time! Her Egyptian husband gave her permission to leave so at least she didn't have to be smuggled out! After the fifth time the embassy refused to repatriate her again, at which point she wrote a nasty letter to her congressman complaining about shabby treatment and lack of help from the embassy!
It seems that American women married to foreign men and living in their country risk facing problems much more so than if they were living in America. This is particularly true if the husband happens to be from an Islamic country. Nowhere else are problems so widespread as in Islamic countries where laws favor the husband so heavily, in fact, laws that give no rights to the wife, especially if she happens to be a foreigner.
Of course, not all Muslim men undergo a dramatic transformation once they return home. Some continue to treat their American wives as they did when they were in America. Unfortunately, a large percentage does change and make life a nightmare for their foreign wives. I am not making an indictment on Islam, for I have seen happily married American women with husbands from Islamic countries. But, it has also been my experience during my time in the Foreign Service, that the most problems encountered with American women married to foreigners, were from those married to men of Islamic countries.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Americans Getting Into Trouble Abroad
Perhaps no other nationality is represented more widely abroad than the U.S. American tourists and expats are found just about in every conceivable corner of the world. Unfortunately, many of these travelling and expat Americans get themselves into trouble and seek help from the nearest U.S. diplomatic missions (embassies or consulates). Some are grateful for the help that they receive and acknowledge this by writing thank you letters to their congressmen or back to the diplomatic mission that helped them. Others, believe it or not, never acknowledge the fact that they received help and even go so far as to accuse the U.S. government of not helping them at all! I guess it takes all kinds.
The most under appreciated element of the U.S. missions abroad is the American Citizen Services (ACS) of the Consular Section, sometimes also known as Special Consular Services (SCS). The officers and staff of the ACS/SCS are the ones that visit jailed Americans, find lawyers for them and attend their trials abroad. They try to help Americans in trouble any way they can. Of course they are limited in what they can do. By law, even if they are qualified lawyers, they cannot provide legal advice. They cannot also do anything that goes against the laws of the host nation. Whatever help they provide, they must do so within the confines of local laws and regulations. Sometimes, these restrictions make it almost impossible for the consular officer to give any real help to the American in trouble. However, most find ways to get around the restrictions and some, in order to help the American in trouble, will go so far as to bend the rules, considerably!
Hollywood and television industry never get it right. Their portrayal of US diplomats abroad is always as that of stiff, unfeeling, unsympathetic bureaucrats! I have yet to see a movie or a TV show that portrayed the workings of our diplomatic missions or its personnel abroad accurately. Most shows that claim to portray accurately the activities of a diplomatic mission or the State Department are laughable. This includes the current show that is but a thinly disguised portrayal of a glorified version of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State! Unfortunately, the things that she gets personally involved in doing are totally unrealistic. Simply put, the Secretary of State does not do those things, not even Hillary Clinton!
The amount of time and energy, and tax payers' money spent on helping Americans in trouble is staggering. No other diplomatic missions in the world extend the same degree and level of help to their citizens. Yet, the very same people that receive help seem to be the first to jump on the bandwagon to criticize and accuse the U.S. government of not helping them!
In 1978 Hollywood released a movie, Midnight Express, based on a book written in 1971 by Billy Hayes. Basically, the story is about a young American college student who got caught trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey in 1970. He was arrested and imprisoned. According to Billy's book and the movie that followed, after a horrendous experience in a Turkish prison, he managed to escape from prison and make his way back home. The U.S. Consul who visited him in prison and tried to help him was described as an ineffectual bureaucrat from whom Billy received no help. If you were to believe Billy's description in the book or Hollywood's portrayal in the movie, it would not be difficult to learn to hate this State Department bureaucrat who did not help the poor, naïve, young American.
The truth of the matter is that Billy would have never been able to escape from Turkish prison without the help of the U.S. Consul! Yes, he broke the law when he helped to arrange Billy's escape. Billy was guilty, he did try to smuggle hashish, but the Consul felt sorry for him. He thought that Billy was just a naïve kid and shouldn't languish in prison, so he helped him escape.
It wasn't quite as harrowing or dangerous as described in the book or the movie, but nevertheless, it was the U.S. Consul, at the risk of ruining his own career, who arranged the escape. Yet, he was described as a cold fish, an uncaring bureaucrat in the book and the movie. I knew that particular officer very well, and he prefers to keep things the way Hollywood portrayed it! After all, he did break the law in arranging Billy's escape!
It is absolutely mindboggling the kind of trouble people get into! When I was in Athens in the early 1980s, we used to meet once a month with all of the other Consuls from friendly embassies. Athens being a tourist attraction, there were tourists of all nationalities getting into trouble. My colleagues from European embassies were astounded at the degree of help that we provided. About the only help that most of the others offered their citizens was to provide a new passport if they needed one. We, on the other hand, gave small loans (many times out of pocket), paid for their ticket back to U.S. (repatriation loan), put them up in a hotel if they needed a place to stay, etc. We vigorously negotiated with local authorities before cases went to trial to have the charges dismissed if they weren't too serious. Many times we accomplished this and sent the person back to U.S. without having any prison time. My European colleagues accused us of "spoiling" our citizens abroad! But, according to movies, TV shows, and the news media, we don't do enough.
The most under appreciated element of the U.S. missions abroad is the American Citizen Services (ACS) of the Consular Section, sometimes also known as Special Consular Services (SCS). The officers and staff of the ACS/SCS are the ones that visit jailed Americans, find lawyers for them and attend their trials abroad. They try to help Americans in trouble any way they can. Of course they are limited in what they can do. By law, even if they are qualified lawyers, they cannot provide legal advice. They cannot also do anything that goes against the laws of the host nation. Whatever help they provide, they must do so within the confines of local laws and regulations. Sometimes, these restrictions make it almost impossible for the consular officer to give any real help to the American in trouble. However, most find ways to get around the restrictions and some, in order to help the American in trouble, will go so far as to bend the rules, considerably!
Hollywood and television industry never get it right. Their portrayal of US diplomats abroad is always as that of stiff, unfeeling, unsympathetic bureaucrats! I have yet to see a movie or a TV show that portrayed the workings of our diplomatic missions or its personnel abroad accurately. Most shows that claim to portray accurately the activities of a diplomatic mission or the State Department are laughable. This includes the current show that is but a thinly disguised portrayal of a glorified version of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State! Unfortunately, the things that she gets personally involved in doing are totally unrealistic. Simply put, the Secretary of State does not do those things, not even Hillary Clinton!
The amount of time and energy, and tax payers' money spent on helping Americans in trouble is staggering. No other diplomatic missions in the world extend the same degree and level of help to their citizens. Yet, the very same people that receive help seem to be the first to jump on the bandwagon to criticize and accuse the U.S. government of not helping them!
In 1978 Hollywood released a movie, Midnight Express, based on a book written in 1971 by Billy Hayes. Basically, the story is about a young American college student who got caught trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey in 1970. He was arrested and imprisoned. According to Billy's book and the movie that followed, after a horrendous experience in a Turkish prison, he managed to escape from prison and make his way back home. The U.S. Consul who visited him in prison and tried to help him was described as an ineffectual bureaucrat from whom Billy received no help. If you were to believe Billy's description in the book or Hollywood's portrayal in the movie, it would not be difficult to learn to hate this State Department bureaucrat who did not help the poor, naïve, young American.
The truth of the matter is that Billy would have never been able to escape from Turkish prison without the help of the U.S. Consul! Yes, he broke the law when he helped to arrange Billy's escape. Billy was guilty, he did try to smuggle hashish, but the Consul felt sorry for him. He thought that Billy was just a naïve kid and shouldn't languish in prison, so he helped him escape.
It wasn't quite as harrowing or dangerous as described in the book or the movie, but nevertheless, it was the U.S. Consul, at the risk of ruining his own career, who arranged the escape. Yet, he was described as a cold fish, an uncaring bureaucrat in the book and the movie. I knew that particular officer very well, and he prefers to keep things the way Hollywood portrayed it! After all, he did break the law in arranging Billy's escape!
It is absolutely mindboggling the kind of trouble people get into! When I was in Athens in the early 1980s, we used to meet once a month with all of the other Consuls from friendly embassies. Athens being a tourist attraction, there were tourists of all nationalities getting into trouble. My colleagues from European embassies were astounded at the degree of help that we provided. About the only help that most of the others offered their citizens was to provide a new passport if they needed one. We, on the other hand, gave small loans (many times out of pocket), paid for their ticket back to U.S. (repatriation loan), put them up in a hotel if they needed a place to stay, etc. We vigorously negotiated with local authorities before cases went to trial to have the charges dismissed if they weren't too serious. Many times we accomplished this and sent the person back to U.S. without having any prison time. My European colleagues accused us of "spoiling" our citizens abroad! But, according to movies, TV shows, and the news media, we don't do enough.
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