Wednesday, October 25, 2006

A Young Man at Rice Field and Abduction Victims

The other day I went to the rice field to see how it was. Cropping has been done and now drying was going on.

Then I happened to see a young man resting at the irrigation ditch. He looked contented very much; I asked to take a picture. He said he liked rice fields and this place was his favorite jogging course.

We had some chat. After this he was going to attend a meeting to support Mr. and Mrs. Yokota. He liked photography and he wanted to present the picture of beautiful blue sky he had taken before. But he wondered whether he should present it. So, I advised to do it if he hesitated. I wonder how he did.....

Mr. and Mrs. Yokota are the parents of Megumi Yokota, an abduction victim of North Korea. They have been fighting as a leader for having abduction victims back. The abductions by North Korea are unforgivable state crimes. I hope all the victims will be taken back to Japan without further delay.

Photo Exhibition by Shigeru Yokota, which was held at many places throughout Japan to appeal to people, is now accessible on the Internet. We will be able to feel to some extent a 30-year suffering of the family separated by abduction. URL is:

http://asagaonokai.jp/eg/vre/index.html


(After jogging)

(Drying Rice)

(Taking a Rest at Neighboring Field)

1 comment:

Barba said...

Summary in Japanese (日本語要約)

【田んぼの青年と拉致被害者】

先日、田んぼに様子を見に行った。稲刈りが終わって、干していた。
そのとき、たまたま、灌漑用水のところで休んでいる一人の青年に出会った。とても気持ちよさそうだったので、写真を撮らせてもらった。田んぼが好きで、ここは彼のお気に入りのジョギングコースだって

ちょっとおしゃべりをした。この後、彼は、横田夫妻を支援する会合に行くことになっていた。彼は写真が好きで、自分の撮ったすてきな青空の写真を夫妻に贈りたいが、贈るかどうか迷っていた。アドバイスをした、躊躇しているのなら、実行しなさい、と。彼は、どうしたかな・・・

横田夫妻は、北朝鮮による拉致被害者横田めぐみさんのご両親。拉致被害者を取り戻すために、先頭に立って戦い続けてきた。北朝鮮による拉致は、許すべからざる国家犯罪。被害者の方々が一日も早く日本に取り戻されることを願う。

横田滋写真展、これは、世間に訴えるために日本各地で開催されたが、現在は、インターネットでアクセスできる。拉致によって引き裂かれた家族の30年の苦しみが少しは感じられるでしょう。