UNIVERSITY of California, Irvine doctorate in history candidate Ayuko Takeda and her husband Jafar Takeda arrived on Saipan on Monday to conduct research on the local people’s experiences during World War II and the years that followed.
Ayuko Takeda said she met Scott Russell, the former executive director of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council, through a professor at UCLA. Russell referred her to Saipan resident David Mangarero Sablan who, at the age of 89, still has vivid memories of what he and his family had gone through during and after the war.
“Uncle Dave,” as he is known to everyone on island, is the son of Elias Parong Sablan, a post-war mayor of Saipan who played a significant role in the survival of the local people on island during the war. Uncle Dave was 12 years old at the time.
Uncle Dave introduced the Takeda couple to his fellow Rotarians during the Rotary Club of Saipan luncheon meeting at the Hyatt’s Giovanni’s Restaurant on Tuesday.
“Today it’s such a great honor to be here and we are so happy to be finally here on Saipan after three years of delay due to the pandemic,” Ayuko Takeda told the Rotarians.
She said she is especially interested to learn from the local people their experiences during the war and their lives at Camp Chalan Kanoa.
Ayuko said Uncle Dave is kindly helping her in her research by sharing his own experiences.
“I believe listening to the elders’ experiences is the most important way to learn history especially when it comes to the survival and resilience of the people on Saipan and the Pacific,” Ayuko said.
She also believes that the history of Saipan and the rest of the Mariana Islands is important to understanding the history of her own country, Japan, and the U.S. “because we are all connected in the Pacific Ocean.”
University of California Irvine Doctorate in History candidate Ayuko Takeda, rights, speaks during the Rotary Club of Saipan meeting Tuesday at the Hyatt’s Giovanni’s Restaurant as club president Wendell Posadas looks on.
