I didn't let go of the camera when I was shot September 28, 17:32

"He didn't let go of the camera when he was shot," said a

Burmese man who vividly remembered a Japanese who died in Myanmar 14 years ago. ..

At that time, he said that he was trembling when he tried to convey the reality of his hometown.

I've been wondering why the Japanese kept holding the camera at the risk of his life.

(International Department Reporter Kenji Ekuan)

I didn't let go of the camera

September 27, 2007, 14 years ago.

Myo Myint Sue, 39, a Burmese living in Japan, says she couldn't take her eyes off a video on TV.

What was projected on the screen was an anti-government demonstration that took place in my hometown of Myanmar.

There was a Japanese man shooting a video camera of a demonstrator trying to escape from security forces.

However, the moment the shooting sound was heard, the man's body lifted up and fell.

It was the next moment that surprised me.

The man was trying to keep shooting even if he fell to the ground without letting go of the camera.

Myo Myint Sue

"I will never forget his appearance at this time. For us Myanmar people, he is a hero."

Myo was born and raised under a military dictatorship, but moved to Japan in 2003 to escape a society without freedom.

Why did the Japanese hold the camera at the risk of their lives and try to convey the current situation in their hometown?

Myo has been thinking about it ever since that day.

A journalist who snuggles up thoroughly

The man's name is Kenji Nagai.

Originally from Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, he died at the age of 50 after being shot by security forces.

He was a journalist who traveled abroad to cover conflict areas.

Tsutomu Harigaya (47) was a colleague of Mr. Nagai at APF Communications Company in Tokyo.

Tsutomu Harigaya

"

Mr.

Nagai was a person who really valued the person he was interviewing. I think it was not because he was interviewing, but as a person."

Mr. Nagai, who was with me at the interview site, never let go of the video camera and rarely took a break.

Even after the interview was over, I was thinking about shooting, and even when I returned to work, I checked the footage shot until midnight.

He was a person whose life was all about "to convey."

Mr. Nagai has always been looking at people in "weak positions."

He disliked the word that the press should be "objective" and was very particular about the perspectives of those who were weak and oppressed.

Children throwing stones at tanks in Palestine.

An Iraqi child who was seriously injured by an unexploded ordnance and a crying mother.

Mr. Hariya, who has edited the footage shot by Mr. Nagai, felt that he was always stuck in a certain "viewpoint".

It was Mr. Nagai's gaze, standing on the side of those who were oppressed without weapons and power, and looking directly at the reality reflected behind the lens.

Tears shed for the girl

Mr. Nagai was not only interviewing people living in areas where wars and conflicts are occurring.

One of the themes of the interview was Thai orphans who lost their parents due to AIDS and became infected.

I often went to the orphanage, stayed in the same room as the children, and kept turning the camera all day long.

I was filming the daily lives of orphans who sometimes smile when they are sad.

Perhaps because of his attitude of staying close to him, Mr. Nagai was eventually called "Po Kenji (Kenji's father)" by the orphans.

There is a girl that Mr. Nagai continued to snuggle up to.

Mr. Nagai continued to record the appearance of the girl who developed AIDS and became thinner every day through the camera without turning her eyes away.

However, the girl eventually died without treatment.

Mr. Nagai set up a tripod at the funeral and took a picture of it.

There was a picture of Mr. Nagai crying without being distracted.

I had a white dress in my hand.

I bought it in secret for a girl in her lifetime.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't make it in time,"

Mr. Nagai said to the girl in the sword while shedding tears.

"If I die, deliver the video to Japan"

After covering AIDS orphans in Thailand, Mr. Nagai will also cover the situation in Asia.

In September 2007, in Myanmar under the military government, anti-government demonstrations involving a large number of monks seeking democratization spread throughout the country.

On the other hand, the security forces of the military government started to crack down on the demonstrations, and tensions increased.

Mr. Nagai will enter Myanmar as the first group of news agencies to which he belongs.

My colleague, Mr. Hariya, was scheduled to continue as the second team.

While the visa for coverage was not issued, Mr. Nagai obtained a tourist visa and entered Myanmar.

“The monks are gathering now,”

says Mr. Nagai, who reports on the tense situation in the area.

There was Mr. Nagai, who continued to shoot with a video camera as usual.

Mr. Nagai made contact with a Japanese man living in the area to collect information on the demonstration.

The man advised me, "It's dangerous, so it's better to shoot from the roof of the building," but Mr. Nagai told the man.

"I will go to shoot even if I die. If I die, please send the video to Japan."

Mr. Nagai headed for the road where the anti-government demonstration was being held.

The demonstrators and security forces were glaring at each other, and it was in a state of immediate promptness.

Mr. Nagai stands at the forefront of the demonstrators and photographs the approaching security forces.

Security forces are rushing closer to the demonstrators.

The hotkey you have to get away in a hurry a lot of people

"Ban'!"

Gunfire was sound.

The next moment, Mr. Nagai's body lifted up and collapsed.

The moment was filmed from a nearby pedestrian bridge and reported worldwide.

The usual appearance of Mr. Nagai

Mr.

Hariya heard the first report,

"

It

seems

that

Mr. Nagai was shot," in

the editing room of the TV station.

When I turned on the TV in a hurry, the video of the moment when a man was shot was shown many times.

"It cannot be Mr. Nagai," said Mr.

Hariya.

However, when I looked away and looked at the projected man, I had to accept that it was Mr. Nagai who was shot.

The man was still holding a video camera in his right hand when he fell to the ground.

Then he turned his camera up and seemed to be trying to shoot a soldier in the army.

It was the very appearance of Mr. Nagai that Mr. Hariya had been watching.

Why Myanmar people trembled

On the other hand, at that time, Ms. Myo, a Burmese who had moved to Japan for four years, also lost her words when she saw Mr. Nagai on TV.

なぜ命をかけてまでも、カメラを握り続けたのか、気になってしかたがありませんでした。

しかし、その後の報道で、長井さんが生前に語っていた、ある言葉を知りました。

「誰も行かないのであれば、誰かが行かなければならない」

この言葉を聞いた時、衝撃を受けたというミョーさん。思い出されたのは、恐怖で声さえあげられず、孤独を感じ続けてきた、故郷での日々でした。

ミョーさんが6歳の頃に起きた反政府デモでは、軍が大勢の市民を虐殺。銃を持った兵士がわがもの顔で町じゅうを歩き、怖くてしかたがありませんでした。

その後「海外には民主主義がある」と親から聞き、憧れを抱くようになりましたが、家の外で政治の話をすることなど、とてもできませんでした。周囲の誰かが、軍に密告する可能性があったからです。

ミョーさんは家で、海外から流れてくるラジオを、ひっそりと聞いていました。近所の人に聞こえないよう、できるだけ音量を下げて。

一度だけ、そんな自由のない社会を変えたくて、反政府デモに参加しようとしたことがあります。しかし、その時も、向かう途中で銃声が聞こえ、怖くて逃げ出してしまいました。

さらに、軍事政権の経済政策の行き詰まりや、欧米各国による経済制裁の影響で、景気が低迷。ミョーさん一家の暮らしは苦しくなり、父親は海外に出稼ぎに行ってしまいます。

賄賂や汚職も横行し、軍と何かしらのつながりがなければ、望む仕事にも就けない。

ミョーさんは、そんなミャンマー社会に希望を見いだすことができませんでした。ミャンマーの国営メディアも、軍事政権によって厳しく統制され、政府に都合のいい情報だけを流していました。

ミョーさんは、自分たちが置かれている苦しい状況が、誰にも伝わらず、国際社会の中で取り残されていると、強く感じるようになっていきました。

だから、銃で撃たれても、目の前の現実にカメラを向けようとした長井さんの姿を見た時には、心が震え、「自分たちは孤独ではないんだ」と思い、涙が溢れてきたと言います。

After Mr. Nagai was shot, his notebooks and other relics were returned to Japan, but only the video camera he was holding until the end did not.

"The camera may contain a video that conveys the horror of the military."

Myo, who wanted to appeal the situation in Myanmar to the international community, even for Mr. Nagai, who died, said that he and his colleagues would join him. We have launched a protest against the Myanmar government to return the camera.

However, the government said, "I can't find a camera."

The shooting did not break the claim of "accidental accident".

After all, the camera was not returned after that, and no one could see the last video taken by Mr. Nagai.

"Never be silent again"

It's been 14 years since then.

In Myanmar, a military coup has triggered another large-scale anti-government demonstration, and pro-democracy forces have developed into a situation calling for uprisings to citizens throughout Myanmar.

According to local human rights groups, more than 1,100 people have died in military crackdowns since the coup d'etat.

After Mr. Nagai's death, military-led politics was over, and at one point it seemed that the light for democratization was shining.

However, there is growing concern that this coup will return to the old Myanmar, where there is no freedom.

Myo, who started a protest in Japan, is almost overwhelmed by the fact that young people seeking freedom are being killed one after another.

Sometimes I remember those days when I was frightened by the army, and I was frightened.

However, Ms. Myo says, "I will never be silent again."

We believe that we must break the chain that has been cracked down for democracy and freedom and has caused many sacrifices.

And one day, I hope to return to my free homeland.

Myo Min Sue

"If we lose here, we will be slaves to the army for the rest of our lives, and the country will never develop. Now we have to win democracy and freedom. Mr. Nagai also I'm sure they are watching over us. "

International Department Reporter

Kenji Ekuan Joined the

station in 2009. After working at the Matsuyama station, Morioka station, and Yokohama station, he is currently affiliated.

In charge of coverage in China.

Wide range of coverage focusing on overseas human rights issues