"I want the bang bang to disappear soon" A wish of a 4-year-old boy March 29, 11:50

"I'm banging. I'm scared."



A 4-year-old boy talks about the image of Russia today.



The boys have a Russian dad and a Japanese mom, and Russia has a kind and favorite grandpa and grandma.


"I want you to get rid of bang bang soon. I want to meet grandpa and grandma."



It's been over a month since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.


We asked a Russian partner and a Japanese woman raising two children about her current life with anxieties that she had never imagined before the invasion.



(Tatsuro Imono, Network News Department)

"Bangbang, scary"

We talked to a 36-year-old woman who lives in the metropolitan area.

I am raising a Russian husband and two children who got married seven years ago.



Now, I'm happiest to see my 4-year-old eldest son cradling his 3-month-old second son, who was just born in December last year.



However, even in such a case, it is "Russia" that does not get out of my mind.



When I heard that my eldest son said "Bang Bang, scary" about the image of Russia.

Woman


"It's hard for that image to come out first. It makes me feel like my chest is crushed. I think it was overwritten instead of having fun memories and important family members coming out first. I'm sad when I think about it. I'm sorry. "

Now my eldest son is trying not to show the news so that he doesn't see violent footage as much as possible.



The woman majored in Russian at university and was attracted to Russian literature and culture and also studied abroad.


After her return, she got a job at a manufacturer with an office in Russia and met her current husband while continuing to study her Russian language.

"Since I have been connected to Russia, I wanted my sons to be proud of Japan and Russia, and I wanted them to be a bridge between the two countries. That became a difficult situation. I did. "

"Well, Russia is bad."

"Are you half?"



I'm often asked when I'm playing with my sons in the park.

Until now, I answered "yes" without thinking about anything special, but from a month ago, I started to take a little stance.



This is because I don't know the reaction of the other party when asked "Which country?" And answered "Russia."



I once added, "I don't agree with what Russia is doing," trying to put up a precautionary line, but it turned out to be a heavy atmosphere.



Also, when I went to the nursery school to pick up my eldest son with my second son, another kindergarten child said, "(The second son) has a different face because his father is American."



When I told him that he was Russian, not American, he said, "Oh, Russia is bad."



When I immediately explained, "Russia may be bad, but these children are not bad," the child answered, "That's right."



In the future, I'm worried that my eldest son won't say anything from the people around me.

"I was prepared to see it a little differently, but I never imagined that having a father from Russia would make me feel narrow in my shoulders. Because of us adults, pure children I feel sorry to think that I may be burdened with burdens in the future. "

"Grandpa is cool I want to see you soon"

Even more worrisome is that the sons themselves may dislike Russia.



From the perspective of her husband's parents and children, Grandpa and Grandma live in Sakhalin, the Russian Far East, just north of Hokkaido, not on the European side in Russia.



Since their sons are their first grandchildren, they came to Japan once a month to pet their grandchildren before the spread of the corona infection.



My eldest son became a "grandpa", and when my grandfather came to play, he played "playing a donut shop" and read a picture book in Russian, so he never left. am.

The eldest son


"Grandpa is cool. I want to see you soon."

The Russian food I ate when I visited my grandparents' house seemed to be impressive, and he said, "The rice was delicious. It was fun and I like everything (Russian)."

Women want their sons to understand that "what Russia is doing this time" and "each Russian" are different.



Her husband, who has lived in Japan for 13 years, is angry that many Ukrainians have been killed by the Russian invasion, and she strongly criticizes her as an "impossible outrage."



Also, when I contacted a Russian acquaintance in Russia, he basically said that he was against the war, and although he could not do a public opposition movement, he posted on SNS "May the war end soon". It means that there are also people.

See "people" instead of "countries"

It was when she was a child that she heard about her experience of "Siberian detention" from her grandfather.



After World War II, Japanese people in China were taken by the former Soviet Union in the "Siberian Detention", which killed about 55,000 people after severe cold weather and harsh forced labor, but my grandfather said. He also talked about what the locals were kind to.

"I think my grandfather suffered from the harsh cold and the hard work, but he always said,'People lived in harmony with each other, not the country.' I think I wanted to tell you that I had to see. "

Apart from what happens due to the political relationship between countries, there is a "person-to-person relationship" for each person.

I think what my grandfather tried to convey is important for me and my sons' future.

Woman


"My sons seem to be scared of Russia as a whole with the image of a military invasion that is flowing in the news now, but I actually talk to grandpas, grandmas and Russians who will meet in Saharin. I want you to know that many Russians are kind to me while doing this. "

Looking at the situation in Ukraine that is reported daily, I can't imagine when the day will come when I can come and go with Russia and interact with Russian friends as before the invasion.



Still, women want to do what they can do now, such as telling the Japanese people that some Russians are against or suffering from the war. ..



I hope my two sons will slowly have their own way of thinking about Russia.



In the future, I hope that we will overcome the current situation and one day become a bridge between Japan and Russia from the standpoint of having roots in both Japan and Russia.