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Changing Hawaii

By Diane Yukihiro Chang

Monday, November 8, 1999


Saying aloha at the
site of shootings

IT'S the kind of non-descript building on Nimitz Highway that commuting drivers whiz by without a second glance. But last Tuesday the Xerox service center -- located between the airport and downtown Honolulu -- lost its anonymity forever.

A little after 8 a.m. on Nov. 2, Byran K. Uyesugi entered his workplace and allegedly shot to death seven of his fellow employees. The 40-year-old Nuuanu resident, whose arsenal of guns has been confiscated by police, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree and second-degree murder.

But more than seven men died that morning in the one-sided shoot-out.

The families and friends of Christopher "Jason" Balatico, Ford Kanehira, Ronald Kataoka, Ronald Kawamae, Melvin Lee, Peter Mark and John Sakamoto must feel like they died, too.

Also strongly affected were the people of Hawaii. After learning of the shootings, something inside them likewise expired. Call it an innocence, a naive joy that "this could never happen here," or even that intangible thing called aloha. It's definitely missing in action and the void hurts.

It aches so much, in fact, that folks felt compelled to do something, anything, to deal with the grief. One way was to actually visit the crime scene and to pay tribute to the fallen men.

So over the weekend they came, even in the rain, a steady flow of mourners of varying ages, ethnicities and walks of life. They left remembrances of colorful blossoms, gifts and messages of good-bye -- thus turning the once-staid 50-foot-long, three-foot-tall gray wall fronting the Xerox building into an almost festive-looking but still sad island memorial.

There were leis, bouquets of fresh and dried flowers, potted chrysanthemums, giant hibiscus and a sprawling yellow orchid plant. There were tributes that came in sevens -- seven white roses, seven orchid leis, sevenpennies in a row.

Near the front entrance were two bottles of Bud Lite -- one symbolically empty and the other reportedly sipped by a buddy of Balatico, who toasted Jason and left a note saying, "This one's for you."

Another note: "Ford, John, Ron and Peter: We will always remember you. You fixed our machines and we called you often. You were always smiling and laughing. We considered you as part of our office..."

AS private security guards patrolled the Xerox grounds, volunteers from the American Red Cross -- including Kaneohe residents Milton Anderson and Matthew Baker -- were on hand to serve as greeters and grief counselors.

Like at any disaster where people need help, the Red Cross was there for support.

Sometimes visitors seemed chatty and regaled the workers with wonderful recollections of the deceased, or simply shared their distress at the situation. Other times, mourners just looked at the site in silence, prayed and made the sign of the cross, or said something in hushed tones before turning away and blinking back tears.

While it's OK to suffer quietly, don't keep it all pent up inside, urged Anderson and Baker. Write in a journal, jot down a letter, get counseling, talk to others, but don't let emotions smolder until they ignite into a uncontrollable inferno.

According to his brother and father, Uyesugi did not mention that anything was troubling him before setting off to work last Tuesday. Now the wall surrounding his former office is an impromptu shrine to those who will never come to work again.






Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
dchang@starbulletin.com, or by fax at 523-7863.




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