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NMC students clean up Japanese jail
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Posted on May 13 2004
Since February this year, 40 Northern Marianas College students have been trooping to the Old Japanese Jail in central Garapan to clean up the deteriorating but valuable tourist site it. This past weekend, they finally finished the job.
“It’s a tough job but we did together,” said Tony Diaz, one of the NMC students who participated in the cleanup.
About 40 NMC students belonging to Current Issues class of NMC faculty Sam McPhetres presented their project accomplishment Tuesday afternoon.
Diaz said they collected 200 bags of trash—a mix of residential and industrial garbage—from the site. These included empty cans and bottles of beers, industrial batteries, burned oil bottles, industrial banners, and sheet metals.
Their work also involved cutting down some trees that have grown inside the jail cells, trimming down tree branches hanging over the jail, and getting rid of vines that had climbed into the walls.
“It’s deteriorating rapidly. Branches are destroying the walls,” said Diaz.
Students said they recovered interesting finds while doing the cleanup, including a 30-caliber bullet believed to belong to Japanese forces and a dog’s skull.
Another student, Roman Benavente, said the success of the cleanup was due to the teamwork and positive attitude of the group.
“We just hope that this [site] is kept clean and maintained because this is a major tourist site,” Benavente said.
He said they spent their own money for the cleanup but they would be reimbursed by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s cash for trash program. The program pays $200 for any cleanup drive on the island.
Benavente said they chose the site in anticipation of the 60th anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian this year.
The project was carried out in cooperation with the Historic Preservation Office, the Chamber, and Division of Parks and Recreation.
