みなさま、こんにちは。
子供たちが日本と世界について英語と日本語両方で表現できるように真のバイリンガルを目指す勉強会を主催してますKayです。
グループレッスンWeek 130では猛暑の中、水の大切さや涼しさ、そして中村哲さんについても、子供達と学びました。
中村哲さんが亡くなって5年以上の年月が経ちましたが、亡くなられた頃、息子と今回授業でも一部視聴した彼の動画、Water, Not Weaponを一緒に見て、感想文を書いてもらいました。ドイツのインターの課題か何かで提出したのだと思います。
多分息子が中１か小6の頃。
その文章がメールを整理していたら出てきて、親バカながら感動したので（高3の今はこんな素直な言葉が出てきませんから）シェアさせてください。
かなり私の考えが反映されているので（素直だったなあ！）もう同意しかありません
私の授業を合計約4年半受講し昨年高２の夏にはIELTS8.0を達成して卒業していきましたが、こんなあたたかいエッセイを書いていた時もあったんだなあ！
最後の中村さんの詩、詩そのもののプロの英訳も素晴らしすぎる
全て原文のまま。
構成に関する日本語のコメントは私がそれぞれのボディの内容を提案、指示したものだと思われます。
Water, Not Weapons.
Introduction:
Last December I saw the news that Dr.Tetsu Nakamura was killed and many people from Afghanistan and all over the world grieving. During the winter break, I decided to watch TV-program called “Water, Not Weapons: The Greening of Afghanistan” produced by NHK, Japanese national broadcast, because I didn’t know who Dr.Tetsu was or what he had done. I was impressed to see Dr.Tetsu taking off his doctor’s white coat and started controlling heavy machinery to build canals. By doing so, he actually saved many more lives than ordinary doctors in white coats do. I would like to share the story of Dr. Tetsu who continued to fight against drought while the war emerged.
BP1 Dr. Tetsuがどうして井戸をほることにしたのかとアメリカの攻撃について
At first, Dr.Tetsu Nakamura was a doctor in Japan, and he had a chance to visit Afghanistan to support the shortage of medical practice. After a few visits to Afghanistan, he felt an attachment to the people in Afghanistan and decided to stay there. Dr.Tetsu had many patients who had symptoms of poor sanitation and nutrition. Even washing with water could have cured it, but there was no water. Most of the wells were dried out, and there were many people crowding around the wells which still had water. In 2001, Afghanistan had a historic drought and many people lost their lives of starvation and thirst, and that was when the 9/11 attack happened. America decided to take revenge against Afghanistan. After the Americans attacked, the drought in Afghanistan had become more severe. So Dr.Tetsu stopped working as a doctor and worked on the irrigation canal. He thought that building one canal saves more lives than calling 100 doctors.
BP2 水路を完成させたりモスクをつくってDr.Tetsuがどれだけアフガニスタンの人に喜ばれ、アフガニスタンの人を助けたか
He went to the Kunar River for the water source to make the irrigation canal, although he had almost zero knowledge of civil engineering and irrigation. If he succeeds in this irrigation project, he will save 100,000 people. Many farmers came to help. They were paid 2.5 dollars every day, and that helped them support their families. In 2010, the canal was completed with a length of over 25km. People in refugee camps returned and the people who were working for the canal are now harvesting crops. The dessert turned into a green fertile land. When Dr.Tetsu built a mosque, the people were very happy because they could pray and their religious belief is their source of lives and energy. At that time, Americans thought that mosques had terrorists inside them, but Dr.Tetsu didn’t hesitate to build one. After making the first canal and mosque, Dr.Tetsu made more canals which now support 600,000 people.
BP3 感想
After watching this video, first of all, I was impressed by how generous Dr.Tetsu is. While he was working under many American helicopters flying above, he said that "the sight of the corpses of innocent people gave American soldiers bad dreams and regret to the revenge takers themselves." I was surprised that he wasn’t angry at the American soldiers, instead, he felt sorry for them.
Secondly, I realized the fact that there will be no war if nobody starves by hearing what Afghanistan people said as follows.
”People don’t become thieves or join the army because they want to spend money, but to feed their families. Above all, all they want is peace for their families, and to be free of hunger.
People go off to war because they don’t have food. If everyone doesn’t starve, nobody will go to war, and there will be no war. ”
Thirdly, I was impressed by how important religion is. Dr.Tetsu says that the people were happy when water came, but they were even happier when a mosque was built. In the mosque, kids enjoyed studying there and it was the center of their community.
Conclusion
We are sad about his loss, but his will is going to be passed on to the future. I do not think Dr.Tetsu is accusing anyone, even the one who killed him.
The following poem of his proves that he has no hatred towards anyone.
"American helicopters often pass while we are working
They fly the skies in order to kill, we dig the earth in order to live
They employ impressive machines, while we have the dusty shirts
There are pleasures and joy here on the ground that they will never know
We know the feelings of those who exert when the purged land obtains water
It is our privilege to witness the exuberant dance of life and smiling faces of children
Playing by the river's edge
And this is the foundation of peace.” - Tetsu Nakamura
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最後までお読みくださりありがとうございました。