Shun Murasaki, an elderly Japanese man who is now 83 years old, was born in Taiwan, where his father served as a Japanese colonial police officer in Sanguang Village in what is now Taoyuan’s Fusing District. Three years ago he came back to visit the village, where he formed a close bond with Sanguang Elementary School’s Atayal traditional choral group. On several occasions he has invited the students to go to Japan for exchange activities with elementary schools in Japan’s Tokushima Prefecture. To make it possible for the students’ dream to come true, Sanguang school principal Wuu Hong-lin recently came to an understanding with peach farmers on a “work exchange” program, so that the students could earn money to cover their travel expenses through their own labor.
Wuu says that although the students in the choral group would love to visit Japan in response to grandpa Murasaki’s repeated invitations, most of the students’ parents cannot afford the travel costs. He grabbed the chance of the current labor shortage for Sanguang Village’s May peach harvest to seek out fruit farmers and negotiate a work exchange deal whereby the choral group’s 20 students can use their own labor to raise money, with farmers paying them a 10 percent commission on every box of May peaches sold.
Taking advantage of the three-day May 1 Labor Day holiday, the students went to the orchards to help out with pruning and bagging and picking the fruit, which the school is now responsible for marketing. The hope is that by early June the students can sell 100,000 boxes and raise enough money to cover all their travel costs so that they can fulfill their dream of traveling abroad and seeing grandpa Murasaki, whom they have not seen in a long time, in mid-June.
(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者李容萍
在台灣出生、高齡八十三歲的日本村崎春老先生，因日治時期他的父親在現今桃園市復興區三光部落當警察，三年前他回到三光部落走訪，與三光國小泰雅傳統歌謠隊結下不解之緣，多次邀約學生們前往日本與德島縣小學交流；校長伍鴻麟為了讓學生們圓夢，近日與水蜜桃果農達成「換工」默契，要讓學生們用己力掙旅費。
伍鴻麟表示，歌謠隊學生在村崎春爺爺多次邀請下，雖想前往日本參訪，但多數學生家長無法負擔旅費，他趁目前正值三光部落五月桃盛產缺工，於是找上果農合作，商議用換工方式，讓歌謠隊的廿位學生能靠自己力量籌錢，每賣出一盒五月桃，果農就回饋百分之十。
趁五一勞動節三天連假，學生紛紛到果園幫忙剪枝、套袋和採收，再由學校負責行銷，希望六月初能賣出十萬盒，籌得旅費完成六月中旬出國的夢想，並見一見好久不見的村崎春爺爺。
(自由時報記者李容萍)
Every February, the US observes Black History Month, a time dedicated to recognizing the contributions, experiences, and achievements of African Americans. The tradition began in 1926, when historian Carter G. Woodson proposed a national week to promote the teaching of Black history in schools. He deliberately chose the second week of February to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two figures held in high esteem by the Black community for their roles in ending slavery. In 1976, the initiative expanded into a month-long observance, with then US president Gerald Ford urging Americans to acknowledge the accomplishments of
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★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 The fog came before the knock. It covered the street and pressed against the window. Chao Gung-dao lit a small oil lamp, but his makeshift hut stayed dim. Another knock. Chao opened the door. The inspector stepped inside and removed his hat. He did not smile. “You remember me?” the inspector said. Chao resented the question. The inspector looked around the small room. His eyes stopped on a wooden box resting on a low beam above Chao’s head. “What is that?” Chao stayed silent. The inspector pulled the box down and
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