Online journal #41-special issue /the will and the responsibility
It is recommended to read the precaution which is posted on April 16. If you, the reader, did not finish reading it, please read it once.
The readers who have been looking forward to reading it, please make sure whether you can be tolerate and calm down your mind.
---General Instruction---
In this entry, I will write under the sub-topic, the will and the responsibility, focusing on the side of the people who were actually caught and their family. I will leave out or write a little my opinions about the action of Japanese government for convenience. It is possible to write about it if I am requested. Particularly in this case ,simply I can agree with the government's choice because Japan would be fully despised and laughed at by foreign countries if the government decided to say yes toward the kidnappers.
--- this entry starts below ---
At the first sight of the Japanese hostages in Iraq, I had no other idea than "What are they trying to do in too dangerous an area for civilians without any protection for themselves to work hard on something?" I feel as if some people were screaming "They went there to help people in trouble! You can't understand such a simple fact?" Yes, I can get their aims. One went to help street children in Iraq, two went there to survey the effects of depleted uranium, and the other to shoot photography to sell to a newspaper company. It is truly the real facts by my expression, somehow or other. Also, I understand their brave action, and will not insult that point. I will accept only their bravery but I dare see the trouble just as a matter of self-responsibility. It is right to say to protect the citizens is the duty of the government, but my attitude is the government does not have to protect such citizens who go their way according to their will but against the governmental instruction.
Whatever tries to persuade me, in my opinion exclusively about this hostage case, bravery should never lead a reason for supporting the withdrawal of Japan Self Defense Forces and it does not make me applaud the hostages for their action. I will strongly insist that they should take the responsibility for their action and being caught for a while because they headed for the fire, Iraq, in spite of the governmental instruction that asked Japanese citizens to put off going there until the security is established and leave there as soon as possible if you are there. This instruction does not have a legal power to restrict people, but it is the same as the law from the viewpoint of the information given by the government. So, they can not necessarily be in the position that enables them to give a complaint to the government because the government did not actively help them. The fact will never change that they went against the governmental instruction though the instruction is not a legal restraint.
The next point is the sense of risk within the minds of themselves and their families. Here is the most appropriate phrase I would like to ask them. It is nothing other than "Were you sure about the huge risk to be in Iraq like a fire?" Again, I feel like someone starts yelling at me "Of course! They were sure but they tried to dedicate themselves for Iraqi people in trouble!!" Yes, I see this statement just as a right opinion. Then, what? The present situation in Iraq is never the same as the time under the control of Saddam Hussein. The stability there is worse than hell. Even armed soldiers are being killed here and there they can fire their rifles toward the enemies who try to kill them. They are trained for the missions in dangerous areas. On the other hand, the abducted people are not specially trained. The only thing they shared is bravery to get into the fire even though they are not asked. Everyday we can see the terrible stability in Iraq simply by keeping a TV on. The mass media tells "The stability in Iraq is getting worse and worse." a thousand times a day. It is harder to escape from the information storm of Iraq. It is strikingly natural to have a question "Why dare they go there now? What made them choose this time?" I see they would have given up going there if they had had enough sense of risk. It is also doubtful if their families were aware of the risk of them to work in the fire. The families' unbelievably emotional reaction can not help but make me doubt it. It is desirable for those who are going to see off the people who are trying to go to dangerous regions recognize the possibility that something terrible may happen there. This recognition of risk must be required to determine to do something highly risky, though it did not come into effect as the precaution in this case. On the contrary, all of three and their families who have something to do with the hostage do not seem to have even a piece of the sense of risk. It is really nonsense for anyone who try to do something of high risk.
The third point is what can be done within the level of the individual in a combat area. There are several major NGOs in the world such as AMDA, Medecins sans frontiers (Doctors without boarders), etc. These organizations are working based on their excellent knowledge as medical experts, the deep and careful investigation about what is going on in the area they try to work in, what the people need there, etc. In addition to their efforts like that, they have a lot of skilled staffs to prepare for the doctors who will work for people in need in their organization. They can achieve high-level tasks because of their skills as a group, different from someone. I saw an interview with the chief person of AMDA several days ago. I remember he said "There is something we can not achieve if we have only a good will." I completely agree to this idea. What the individual can do is very limited unless he or she is a member of a big organization to an extent. "A good will" is not always right and it does not always become a reason or an excuse for what a person do to escape from the responsibility and the bashing such as this time.
By the way, though I feel it worthless to think carefully and write about this hostage case, the three people were doubtful if they were correctly and carefully prepared for what would happen to them and "the worst cases" in my opinion and that of many other Japanese. The correct and careful preparation is always required when a person try to launch a big project or a risky thing. Even when we plan a trip abroad, we will be carefully planning about the hotel we stay, the means of transportation to get to the place we want to go, and the budget by consulting a travel agency. We gather the information about the stability and the governmental instructions by viewing the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is possible or wise to stop planning a trip when we find the governmental instruction to postpone to going there and to leave there. Just before the actual departure, we will make sure if there is any goods we forget to bring with. If the security of the destination is not fully maintained, we may write a short letter considering when something bad happens to us. I can come up with these steps when I will plan to a private trip and I will be absolutely much more careful when I am setting a plan to go to unstable regions in the world.
All of the hostages are different in their "occupations." One is a volunteer, two is a free lance photo journalist, and the other is an activist with interest in depleted uranium. Their reasons to go into a fire sound really brave and full of "good will." Their real backgrounds have been revealed since their families started talking in public. I also saw that information and found there are several factors which can provoke a huge disgust in the mind of the Japanese and make non-Japanese people suspicious about them. It takes me a big space to write about "the factors" but
an article has come up from Singapore. The contents of this article have enough power to make the ordinary Japanese feel sick about the three and Syukan Shincho and Syukan Bunshun have published the article about the three people earlier than the Singapore's newspaper. They say three members are a teenager who was raised by communist family, a woman who used to be addicted to drug and a free lance photo journalist who is an ex-soldier and wanted to sell his name by getting scoops. I am convinced that these facts in these articles that may be trivial and worthless to non-Japanese people are making the Japanese feel ill and suspicious and even let them bash the three and their families.
Throughout what I am writing in this strangely long entry, I want to say there are too many points that are doubtful and hard to believe about this hostage case and I have no choice but keep myself from supporting the hostages and their families. At the same time, I understand why people have been bashing them since they were caught and their families started speaking loudly because I also felt ill about them when I saw they were speaking to the press. Even now the suspicion and doubt among people including me is growing. It will continue to be impossible for three "brave" people to tell what actually happened to the three or was caused by kidnappers and even three hostages. There are many people who are demanding them to tell the truth in public, because two of them said "The discussion about self-responsibility does not apply to us because we went to Iraq because of our belief and will." They did not have to make the bashing against them strong again, but they did. I do not think the belief and will is never a reason for escaping from taking the responsibility. Their logic is out of function.
Lately, the typical characteristic of the Japanese is coming into effect. The fuss of the hostage case is getting less sarcastic because the Japanese tends to get sarcastic and lose the emotion very soon and keep the bad impressions we get under our consciousness. In other words, we will not be able to forget old fuss completely. I do not criticize the Japanese here, but it is no doubt this characteristic is having "a certain influence" on the social lives of the three hostages and their families. I may be keep watching with slight motivation but I do not feel like because I feel it is waste of time and energy to wait for the truth that does not seem to come up.
