A Voice to the Voiceless

A two-and-a-half-hour flight from Tokyo, surrounded by coral reefs, are the subtropical islands of Okinawa.

Due to their strategic location, they're also home to US forces.

Facilities in Okinawa make up about 70% of the total Japanese land used by the American military.

Including their families, over 47,000 US military personnel live in Okinawa.

The majority of them are Marines who are stationed here for only one or two years, undergoing rigorous training to prepare them for combat.

Come the weekend, American servicemen unwind in the areas surrounding the bases, often accompanied by local women.

Companionship can turn into intimacy.

And in some cases, the men leave the women behind, even if a child resulted from their relationship.

How could he lie to me like that?

Refusing to leave those women helpless and extending a rescuing hand is one attorney - Annette Eddie-Callagain.

Making use of her experience as a former military lawyer for the US forces, she's been seeking out the men after their return to America,

requesting them to pay child support.

And the voiceless is those ladies who have been saying over and over again, you know, 'We are single mothers; we need help... and nobody listens.'

I'm here giving a voice to the voiceless.

Here's the story of Annette, the attorney who fights so that the women's voices don't go unheard.

In summer 2022, Annette Eddie-Callagain was visiting Okinawa.

Although she had closed up her office here - her base of operations for twenty-eight years - and had returned to the US,

she came back to bring closure to a particular case.

What? I've been gone?

- Uh huh.
- Two months.

Two months.
It's been two months.

Two months. How long can you stay?

- Two weeks.
- She's here two weeks.

OK, bye-bye!

Two years ago, she was asked to do some research.

It all began with a letter.

A woman wanted Annette to find her mother's family in Okinawa.

Kim Karstens, from Arizona.

At the age of twenty-four, she learned that her biological parents were an Okinawan woman and a US military man,

and that she'd been put up for adoption soon after birth.

Among the few records Kim had been able to obtain was a Japanese family registration.

At last, she learned her mother's name - Yarabu Mitsu.

Sadly, she had already passed away.

Also, no name was indicated for her father.

Hoping to find out more about her parents, she approached Annette for help.

After some research, Annette learned that Mitsu had worked in Teruya, part of Okinawa City.

Teruya is located near the center of Okinawa's main island.

Nearby is the Kadena Air Base, the United States' largest Air Force base in the far east with around fifteen thousand stationed personnel.

Right next to the base is an entertainment district catering to the American military.

The area used to be a farming village with fields and rice paddies.

After World War II, the US military requisitioned large portions of territory to build bases.

Deprived of the land that had been their home, the locals made a living running restaurants and other businesses targeted at Americans.

What happened to Mitsu in this town?

Annette heads to Teruya.

Yarabu Mitsu was born on Ishigaki Island in 1944.

Her father succumbed to illness when she was one year old.

Living in poverty, she managed to complete middle school.

Dreaming of a better life, she ran away from home and moved to Okinawa's main island.

While working at a bar in Teruya, she became close to an American serviceman and got pregnant with Kim.

In her prior research, Annette made a shocking discovery.

In 1963, one year after giving birth to Kim, Mitsu was fatally struck with a concrete block by a regular at the bar, also a US military man.

Her body was found in a sugar cane field.

She was only nineteen years old.

This Teruya marketplace has lost the liveliness of its heyday.

But when Kim's mother worked here, it was bustling with American servicemen.

Shiroma Yukitaka has been running a shop here for over fifty years.

So, you have a pretty good memory of what the area was like back then.

Of course, of course.

Here, there were many businesses
servicing African-Americans...

such as tailors, restaurants and bars.

Near here was a jukebox with
people dancing around it.

There were many Afro-Americans here.

From the 1950s through to the 70s, many US service men and women were sent to Okinawa during the Korean War, then later the war in Vietnam.

The racial discrimination that took place in America also found its way here.

Separate entertainment districts for whites and blacks were formed, and Teruya was where African-Americans gathered, with some one hundred shops accommodating them.

Once they knew they would be sent to the front, the men would spend what could very well be their last night alive in Teruya.

To drown their anxiety, they turned to alcohol and the company of women.

Meanwhile, those very same women worked hard to eke out a living in whatever way they could amid the lingering postwar poverty.

Kim's mom was trying to make ends meet as best she could.

The struggle of women is real.

It's a real struggle.

We still are fighting those struggles today!

The silent cries of the women struggling desperately to find happiness.

It has been the driving force behind Annette's fight to help them for twenty-eight years.

She first learned about these issues in 1990.

That was during her time as a military lawyer on Kadena Air Base.

Young mothers who'd been left behind by US servicemen came to her for help with obtaining child support.

However, many of the men had either been reassigned or discharged and were back in the US.

They were beyond her authority as a military lawyer for the US Forces in Japan.

And so, that weighed heavy on me and heavy on my mind.

Giving a voice to the voiceless.

And the voiceless is those ladies who have been saying over and over again, you know, 'We are single mothers; we need help... and nobody listens.'

Somebody has got to address this. Who would it be?

Later, even after she left Okinawa, the thought of those helpless women and their innocent children wouldn't leave her mind.

Both Annette herself and her mother raised their children alone.

The plight of the Okinawan women struck a personal chord.

I know, with these ladies, you know, it was going to be extremely hard.

And then it started to look more and more like I'm the one.

In 1995, Annette retired from the military and returned to Okinawa.

She set up an office from which she started working to help the women as an attorney.

A continuous flow of young mothers seeking support came pouring in.

Forced to live next to the US military for decades, the people of Okinawa harbor complicated sentiments.

The women who frequent American servicemen are looked down on by many locals who call them by the slur of "amejo."

The Okinawans' reluctant dependance on US bases combined with their aversion.

Resentment festered and has pushed these women to the fringe of society.

An international social assistance organization helped such women.

Over a span of forty years from its foundation in 1958, the center received some twelve thousand requests for assistance.

Takioka Naomi was a case worker at the center.

The harsh criticism the organization received will forever be engraved in her mind.

Some said those mothers should be
ashamed for wanting help...

from the Japanese government after
they 'had a good time' with Americans.

The children were caught up in the mixed feelings held by society.

With hope to give them a chance at a happier life, the organization set up a system for them to be adopted by US military families.

After much thought, many mothers made the painful decision of entrusting their child to the organization.

'My child will never be happy in this society.' That's what a woman said...

when she met me at a restaurant,
not showing that she'd brought her baby.

She'd hidden her infant in a bag
that she handed to me under the table.

When the center closed its doors after forty years in operation, they had secured 502 adoptions.

Many women came to Annette's law office, which had just opened its doors.

Among them was a mother who knocked on her door in 1996.

After discharge, her husband went back to the US for a job interview.

He left his wife and children alone, and never returned.

The woman came to Annette to ask her for help in requesting child support.

Yes, that was the worst attitude from this guy: 'Oh, you're in Japan, there's nothing that could happen to me!'

He said that!

My hands are tied! Now, what can I do?

So, we found a way!

Annette thought of the Child Support Enforcement Program in place throughout the US.

Under the system, the government can forcefully deduct funds from an uncooperative father's income, freeze his bank account or seize his assets.

As long as the woman's husband lived in the US, the program could ensure he did not flee from his responsibility.

Annette prepared and submitted a request to the government of Illinois, where the man lived.

Two years later, child support was finally granted.

This first successful case for Annette was a crucial breakthrough in her future efforts to obtain support for Okinawan mothers.

She then approached the Okinawa Prefectural Government, suggesting the method could help local women.

However, she explains the prefecture was reluctant to use taxpayers' money to support the children of American servicemen.

And, it was very frustrating, you know, to just keep... like I'm going up against brick walls.

And so, that's why I had to step out and say, 'You know, it's gonna be beyond what I can get done in Okinawa.' You know, I have to include, you know, the... US government.

Adversity further ignited her determination that she was the one who could help the women, but many obstacles awaited.

One major hurdle was finance.

Fukami Tomoe is one of the mothers Annette assisted.

When she was twenty-five, Tomoe began a relationship with an US Marine and together they had a child.

However, a year later, the man completed his service and went back to the US.

He became increasingly negligent in his support payments.

You can't put childrearing on hold.

I was with a newborn, and supplies
like milk and diapers cost a lot.

When their daughter was five, they got divorced by his request.

His payments became even more irregular.

The amount due had reached the equivalent of around twelve thousand US dollars.

For single mothers in financial difficulty, paying for a lawyer is a huge sacrifice.

Unwilling to leave those women to their fate, Annette agreed to assist them for free.

And I didn't want that to be a hindrance or a stumbling block preventing them from getting the help that they need simply because they didn't have any money.

Back then, my monthly salary
was about ¥150,000($1,200).

Less than that after tax.

When Annette told me over the phone
she'd help me for free...

it felt like a godsend.

On Tomoe's behalf, Annette submitted the necessary documents to the state of Nevada, and even attended hearings over the phone.

A year later, she succeeded in obtaining child support.

The funds enabled Tomoe to send her daughter June to university.

The two are forever grateful for Annette's help.

June now aspires to become a lawyer herself.

Annette was like...

a warrior I could count on.
She fought by our side.

For ten years, Annette assisted mothers like Tomoe without charge.

During that time, she handled over three hundred cases.

Among US military men are some that deny the child is even theirs.

This woman living in Tokyo hit such a wall.

She met an American serviceman through an online matching service, and the two had a daughter.

One day, the man left for the US to receive medical treatment, promising her they would get married once he returned.

However, the woman later found out he already had a wife and children in America.

How could he lie to me like that?

I consulted Japanese lawyers but they all
told me they couldn't take the case.

I didn't know what to do.

Angry at herself for having trusted the man, she was determined to get child support for her daughter,

and after a year of searching, she found Annette.

However, the state of Texas, where the man lived, requested she provided proof the child was his.

The man insisted he wasn't the father.

Annette quickly flew over to Tokyo, and received saliva samples from both mother and daughter.

She then had the samples go through DNA analysis, and proved the girl was his daughter.

I was thankful she traveled this far.
I finally felt relieved.

Using all the means at her disposition, Annette continued to win child support for those women.

Over twenty-eight years, she's successfully helped more than eight hundred mothers.

New Iberia in the deep southern state of Louisiana is Annette's birthplace and where she currently lives.

The passion that fuels her work to help Okinawan women comes from her own personal history and roots.

Annette loves watching football with her cousins.

The family enjoys a peaceful life.

But living in the more conservative Deep South means they've also had to struggle with discrimination and prejudice.

Annette was born in 1953.

She was the third oldest of ten children.

New Iberia has been a major producer of sugar cane all the way back to before the American Civil War.

Built in 1834, this mansion named Shadows-on-the-Teche was the residence of a sugar cane magnate.

You know, this house is a reminder of past history which directly relates to slavery.

The proprietor owned more than 160 slaves.

Annette says she'll never forget the sight of the small slave living quarters she saw here during a visit as a child.

Though only paving stones remain today, they're a vestige of those somber days.

On the outside, in these slave quarters is where my ancestors lived.

Sparsely prepared quarters.

But on the inside is where the owners of these grounds lived.

And they lived in luxury.

The mansion stirs up feelings about her origins rooted in slavery.

Annette's mother, who raised her children alone, worked hard as a housemaid to make ends meet.

While school was out during summer, as she couldn't afford to hire a babysitter, she would have her children spend the day in the visitor's gallery of the local courthouse.

Well, what was really strange to me: each time we came, you saw the prosecutor, defense attorney, the judge - all white.

The defendant: always, always black.

The doors of the courthouse's restrooms and the water fountains still bore the faint traces of signage that dated back to the time of the segregation.

Even the water fountain: 'Whites Only' and 'Coloreds only.' It does make you feel less than.

You know, looking at a building where, in my mind I guess, it was...

it indicated to me a restriction, you know, one of those that we grew up with.

Witnessing this irrational side of society filled the then teenage Annette with anger.

One day, in a house owned by a white family for whom her mother worked, she saw something that would open up a new path in her life.

And then I saw books in the home, you know, lots of books, and I started looking at the difference as being rooted in education.

Education. And I said, 'You know what? That might be the way out: it's education.'

With a scholarship she attended university.

Then at age twenty-eight, she graduated law school, and started her career as a lawyer.

Her strong desire to help people who are oppressed and vulnerable had become her mission.

Of course, this is mine.

Here.

Ishigaki is about four hundred kilometers south of Okinawa's main island.

Today, Annette is at the airport, waiting for Kim who asked her to find her mother's family.

Ishigaki is where Kim's mother, Mitsu, was born.

She's going to accompany Kim as she meets her Japanese family for first time.

I am here to meet Kim here to hopefully get closure and also to close the case in my office, because until she was connected to her parents, my work was not done.

Kim!

Welcome to Ishigaki! Oh, my God!

- You're finally here! Welcome home!
- I'm here. Yes!

So, how was your flight?

It was good... emotional.

I know, I know.

My heart is about to bust out my chest.

It's...

Kim has been searching for her mother ever since she learned at the age of twenty-four that she was born to an Okinawan woman and an American serviceman.

This is Shiraho, where Kim's mother Mitsu was raised.

Located along the sea, it's a quaint old town with red tiled roofs.

Yarabu Mitsu's family house is somewhere in these narrow streets.

Let's turn here. OK!

- So, this is the house?
- This is the house.

- Your family house.
- This is it.

Wow!

Finally!

Finally.

Yeah, this is where your mom grew up.

This is where she grew up.

- Hi there!
- Oh look!

Hello! Come in!

Hello!

- Hello!
- "Konnichiwa!"

Welcome!

I'm so glad to meet you!

Greeting Kim are her cousins.

And this is Mitsu's sister-in-law, Hatsu.

She's been looking over the Yarabu household for more than fifty years.

Let's offer incense to Grandma.

She explains that their grandmother Yoshi had desperately been looking for Kim after Mitsu was murdered.

However, the rule at the time was that information on the adopting family should not be revealed.

And so, Yoshi was never able to find out where Kim had gone.

Yoshi, this is Mitsu's daughter.
She came all the way from America.

She traveled so far.

Yoshi, Mitsu's daughter
came to see you!

You OK?

I'm grateful and blessed to be here.

There was a time in my life I never thought I'd find anybody.

And you began, and it took you sixty years.

- To come all the way around.
- That's right.

I can see we're family.
We have very similar faces.

Her eyes especially.

The following day.

Hatsu tells Kim what she's heard regarding her adoption.

After she gave birth, Mitsu probably
asked her mother for help.

Mitsu felt she couldn't raise Kim,
so Yoshi had her adopted.

Hatsu says that, when Yoshi heard her teenage daughter Mitsu had given birth, she hurried to be by her side.

However, Mitsu felt unable to raise the child of an American military man alone.

So, Yoshi decided to put Kim up for adoption.

I'm sorry for what her decision
put you through.

That evening, Hatsu invited relatives of the Yarabu family for a party.

Until recently, she hadn't told any of them what had happened to Mitsu.

I had no idea Mitsu had a child.
I heard it for the first time recently.

I don't know what kind of life Mitsu had,
or how she died.

Back then, talking about
incidents like that was taboo.

People didn't talk openly about
incidents related to American soldiers.

Now you know there are many people here
who share the same blood as you.

Remember that we're here for you.

You've worked so hard to find us.

Thank you so much.
Cheers!

Finally meeting her Japanese family fills Kim with joy.

Six decades have passed since she was separated from her mother.

Nakagawa City in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Kim visits a cousin who lives here.

She contacted Kim, saying she really wished to see her.

Shimoji Hatsumi, Mitsu's niece, the daughter of her older sister.

Hatsumi's mother too passed away when she was young.

And so, she was raised by their grandmother, Yoshi, who often expressed her conviction that one day, Mitsu's daughter would come back.

'I know she's alive,' Yoshi used to say.
So, we believed we'd meet Kim one day.

Yoshi had preciously kept something for when the day would come.

Mitsu's kimono - the very last memento of Yoshi's daughter.

It's yours now.

Oh, it's beautiful!

I don't know how to open it!

Hatsumi wanted Kim to know that their grandmother had always been waiting for her return.

I feel like my mother just hugged me.

I feel like she just covered me and blessed me, and told me, 'It's gonna be OK.' The only remaining object left behind by Mitsu.

Kim repeatedly touches the kimono, as if to feel her mother's warmth.

Mitsu. Mitsu.

Kim and Annette's stay in Okinawa is about to come to a close.

Today, they head to Mitsu's grave.

The custom here is that only the first-born son and his wife can be buried in the family grave.

Your mother’s grave.

Perhaps out of compassion for Mitsu, who died at such a young age, the family put a small grave next to theirs.

So, Kim, it's taken you this long to get here and to reconnect in the best way possible under the circumstances with your mother.

I'm grateful.

But at the same time, I feel such a great loss...

Thank you.

My pleasure.

And it was my honor to help you in any way we could.

You did the thing.

You did it!

You know, family is everything.

Yeah, even if you don't know.

Right, exactly.

Mitsu left her family home and island at sixteen, and fought to survive in the town by the US base.

Kim and her Japanese family gathered to offer a prayer to Mitsu.

Annette had long pictured such a moment in her heart.

The incense sticks 'blooming'
means your mother's happy.

- This is beautiful.
- It is.

Perfect weather.

Almost. The wind.

Even, look at the clouds.

All the little pieces, the past sixty years have all come together in one picture, and I think the name of that picture should be 'Family.'

You know, as far as I'm concerned, the case is closed.

You know, Kim is happy.

We're done.

Virginia in the US.

Now returned from her journey to Okinawa, Kim pays a visit to her biological father.

Last year, Kim was finally able to find and meet him.

Why did he leave her mother behind in Okinawa?

She wanted to ask him directly.

From 1960, Robert Ross was stationed in Okinawa for two years.

He's treasured this photo album throughout the years.

That was downtown Koza.

Usually Koza City was where the black men went to have service, I mean liberty.

Oh, Dad...

Mitsu wearing a kimono.

Kim has never seen this photo before.

My mother...

Mitsu and Robert were together for only a few months.

She was beautiful.

When I left Okinawa, she couldn't have been no more than two weeks or three weeks pregnant at the time.

So, I didn't know.

I didn't know what to do.

To me, she was the woman I cared for. I mean, back there and then, yeah.

Words from her father Kim had long been hoping to hear.

The case now closed, Annette is back in New Iberia.

While they were living in Okinawa, her only son, Glynn, was helping and closely watching his mother's work.

And you would see every day, just women coming in, women coming in, women coming in.

And whether it was a new client or an old client, it was the same issue.

And I understood that my mother felt that this was her calling.

You know, she was that voice that these Okinawan women needed in order to get the support.

Annette once considered retiring.

But now that she left Okinawa, she feels she mustn’t let all the work she's done for the women there simply end.

She decided to continue her efforts, this time from her new base of operations in the US.

Kyoko-san!

She's having a meeting with her assistant in Okinawa.

Thank you so much for the work that you're still doing, but we're together, "ganbatte!"

We will continue to help the ladies, right?

We need and Okinawan people need you!

Thank you so much, yes!

I know!

So, until there is someone who could step into my shoes and do for them what I have been doing for them for the past twenty-eight years,

yeah, I would definitely be concerned until that happens.

Today, the people of Okinawa still live with the presence of the US military.

Annette's mission to give a voice to the voiceless is far from over.