Konichi wa!
Sawatdee! How are you doing today? I appreciate you dropping in...spiralling
down in elegant loops from cyberspace. Mind the coffee pot! Pour yourself a
mugful and snag a virtual muffin or doughnut while you’re over there.
Yesterday, I took you on a helicopter tour of Bangkok. Well, today, my friend,
we’re still in Thailand but a little northwest as we head to
Kanchanaburi...location of the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai.
The above photo shows World War II vets British army Cpt.
Harold Atcherley, 96, and Japanese army engineer Mikio Kinoshita, 94, when they
attended a reception in their honour in central London on Monday. Photo: Leon
Neal / AFP
A Japanese
engineer on the notorious World War II "Death Railway" in Thailand
and a British soldier forced to build the line clasped each other's hands
tightly Monday as they met in reconciliation.
Mikio Kinoshita,
94, and former prisoner of war (PoW) Harold Atcherley, 96, whose Japanese
captors made him work as a slave labourer on the track between Burma –
modern-day Myanmar – and Thailand, sat quietly on a sofa together as they
reflected on their shared experiences.
The two did not
cross paths in the 1940s and despite only being able to converse through a
translator, the warm rapport between the elderly men, both slowed by age but
razor-sharp in mind, was evident at a reception in the Army and Navy
gentleman's club in London.
As the 70th
anniversary of the Japanese surrender ending World War II approaches in August,
the two men hoped their rare meeting would encourage understanding between
those affected by the "Death Railway" – and foster remembrance of the
suffering of those who worked and died building the line.
"This
evening marks the reconciliation between Mikio Kinoshita and myself. It is 73
years ago since he and I worked on the construction of the Burma-Siam
Railway," said Atcherley, who was then a young army captain.
Citing his
former enemy's empathy, he said it was wrong to judge people for the group they
happened to belong to rather than their character.
"We should,
I think, remind ourselves that wars are not made by soldiers but by
governments," he said.
Click the link below to read the full story:
Click the link below to read the full story:
Story: AFP
See ya, eh!
PS: I had the privilege of riding the death railway a few years ago. Quite
an experience on its 70-year old trestles.
0 comments:
Post a Comment