This is in response to Franz Pichler's Feb. 26 letter, "No one to blame but the parents" — about the pending deportation of the Calderon family back to the Philippines. Everyone knows that what the parents of a 13-year-old, Japan-born girl did was illegal. However, the mistake wasn't so big that it should not be pardoned when compared to some of the big crimes of history.
I am living in a city that bore the blunt of war more than any other place in the world. I have gotten many opportunities to listen to the tearful stories of atomic bomb victims who lost their parents at a very early age. It is so sad to hear of their trauma in growing up without parents at their side.
Everyone knows that what happened in Hiroshima was a serious crime against humanity caused by the perpetrators of war, which included Japan. However, common sense and human consideration do not allow anybody to tell the atomic bomb victims that they suffered because their country had fought the war. We always sympathize with the victims regardless of their color, nationality and creed.
Let us not judge or victimize anybody for the past mistakes done by other people, no matter whether they are parents or national leaders. The Calderons' daughter should not be victimized for what her parents did. The suggestion that the Calderon family should work back in their own country to support their children poses a problem. Money sent to the girl from the Philippines would not replace the family's love, care and concern for her. Anyone who has children of the daughter's age will better understand this.