Japanese reporter shot dead in front of her husband on their first day reporting in Syria
45 replies, posted
[QUOTE](CNN) -- Mika Yamamoto's first day in Syria would also be her last.
A veteran war reporter, Yamamoto had accepted an assignment to cover the increasing violence in the country last month, as she had in the past in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans.
Kazutaka Sato was her partner both in and out of work -- they both worked for Japan Press, an independent television news provider. He was just meters from her when she was shot.
Sato had covered many war zones with Yamamoto and describes her passion for journalism.
[B]"I think it was her firm belief that you can stop a war with journalism ... she would also turn her attention to children. I believe she wanted to tell the world how they are hurt, dead and bruised in their hearts."[/B]
Sato says he is not coping well with her loss and the only way he can find peace is to learn exactly what happened to his common-law wife.
He says they were in the besieged city of Aleppo with the rebel Free Syrian Army when he saw 10 to 15 men walking towards them. "At first I thought it was the Free Syrian Army, and we were on the same side so I held up my camera and started shooting. It was then that it happened."
Sato describes seeing one man in an olive green helmet, which made him think they were from the Syrian Army, but there was no way to be certain. As he turned and ran, he heard gunshots, followed by an automatic weapon firing. "I thought I was going to be hit and that's when I was separated from Mika," he says.
For the next hour he tried to find her, believing she was fine. "At no point did I think that she had died," he says.
[B]"I asked a rebel fighter where Mika was. He told me, 'She's at the hospital, go and see for yourself.' At that point I pretty much imagined what had happened to her... On the first floor of the hospital, in the lobby to the left on a stretcher, I saw a body wrapped in a sheet. And I knew then it was Mika."[/B]
[B]Sato believes Mika was targeted because she was a foreign journalist. He says one of the armed men had shouted, "There they are, the Japanese," but it is difficult to determine exactly what was said from the video that captured her final moments.[/B]
Sato watches that footage -- filmed by Yamamoto when she was hit by the bullet -- for the first time. "In the video she's alive," he says in a quiet voice. "I don't know how I'm going to deal with this, I can hear her voice."
He has asked the Syrian government through the embassy in Tokyo to look into her death but says he holds little hope for an answer.
"I need to know what happened to her," he says. "Mika was the best part of my professional and personal life. She was my right hand, my left hand, my everything. I have no idea what to do now she's no longer here."[/quote]
Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/05/world/meast/syria-japan-journalist-slain/index.html?hpt=imi_c2[/url]
Wow, this is complete bullshit. Very sad.
She changed the world by being a spokesperson for reporters with bullets in them
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Not cool." - Jaanus))[/highlight]
What the fuck middle east
seriously
Awww, that must suck really bad.
I bet he has these "if only it was me and not her" thoughts.
With this story and the "Instant of Death" photos, it's a sober reminder that there are people out dying in Syria with lives, loves and families, and though it's easy to ignore it in our day-to-day lives we can't simply let conflicts like these simply play out on their own
My friend in Japan, even to this, would say, [B][I]"We go hard!"[/I][/B]
It's tragic.
[B]R.I.P.[/B]
These are the unfortunate things that can happen to war journalists. My grandfather's journalist friend stepped got blown to death during the Korean war, could be my grandfather instead of him.
[QUOTE=Swebonny;37625291]These are the unfortunate things that can happen to war journalists. My grandfather's journalist friend stepped got blown to death during the Korean war, could be my grandfather instead of him.[/QUOTE]
People who insult war journalists do not deserve their genitalia
You have to be incredibly brave to try and tell the world what is happening in a place where death and despair is as common as the blood on the streets
Stepping into a warzone unarmed for any reason takes fucking balls.
Has anyone noted at all the fact that in the article the Syrian security forces opened fire on a civilian reporter purposefully, and murdered her?
Or maybe it was rebels. This is still kinda a war crime.
[editline]11th September 2012[/editline]
The point Is, journalist deaths are usually accidental or from traps/mines.
This woman was shot and killed by automatic weaponry with intent.
What does knocking journalists achieve for the side doing the knocking? Doesn't it just amplify the message? I mean it's not as if everything the journalist does simply disappears when they're killed...
[QUOTE=just-a-boy;37632928]What does knocking journalists achieve for the side doing the knocking? Doesn't it just amplify the message? I mean it's not as if everything the journalist does simply disappears when they're killed...[/QUOTE]
afaik journalists aren't targeted. They're usually pretty close to combatant forces, so it's pretty easy for them to get shot.
explosives don't discriminate.
[QUOTE=Milkdairy;37626634]Has anyone noted at all the fact that in the article the Syrian security forces opened fire on a civilian reporter purposefully, and murdered her?
Or maybe it was rebels. This is still kinda a war crime.
[editline]11th September 2012[/editline]
The point Is, journalist deaths are usually accidental or from traps/mines.
This woman was shot and killed by automatic weaponry with intent.[/QUOTE]
Sadly it's not the first war crime that's been committed in this civil war, and it probably won't be the last.
Shooting journalists is a dick move, they did it on purpose? Fucking hell.
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37632998]afaik journalists aren't targeted. They're usually pretty close to combatant forces, so it's pretty easy for them to get shot.
explosives don't discriminate.[/QUOTE]
only here they were shot on purpose
[QUOTE=Fire Kracker;37633384]only here they were shot on purpose[/QUOTE]
you're going to believe a guy who's recently suffered a great loss? I don't think he's in the mental state to make an unbiased judgement.
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37633419]you're going to believe a guy who's recently suffered a great loss? I don't think he's in the mental state to make an unbiased judgement.[/QUOTE]
What kind of logic is that.
[QUOTE=jaykray;37633774]What kind of logic is that.[/QUOTE]
"Sato [B]believes[/B] Mika was targeted because she was a foreign journalist. He says one of the armed men had shouted, "There they are, the Japanese," but it is difficult to determine exactly what was said from the video that captured her final moments."
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37633835]"Sato [B]believes[/B] Mika was targeted because she was a foreign journalist. He says one of the armed men had shouted, "There they are, the Japanese," but it is difficult to determine exactly what was said from the video that captured her final moments."[/QUOTE]
The fact is that she was deliberately shot whilst posing no physical threat.
[QUOTE=jaykray;37633966]The fact is that she was deliberately shot whilst posing no physical threat.[/QUOTE]
it's a war zone, people are shot all the time whilst posing no physical threat. Why do you think there's been so many civilian casualties.
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37634000]it's a war zone, people are shot all the time whilst posing no physical threat. Why do you think there's been so many civilian casualties.[/QUOTE]
Exactly?
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37634000]it's a war zone, people are shot all the time whilst posing no physical threat. Why do you think there's been so many civilian casualties.[/QUOTE]
It's still a war crime, no matter the intend. What exactly is your point?
[editline]12th September 2012[/editline]
And they WERE targeted. It wasn't an explosion.
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;37634058]It's still a war crime, no matter the intend. What exactly is your point?
[editline]12th September 2012[/editline]
And they WERE targeted. It wasn't an explosion.[/QUOTE]they may not have even recognized her, may have mistaken her for someone else.
[QUOTE=thelurker1234;37634349]they may not have even recognized her, may have mistaken her for someone else.[/QUOTE]
Are you saying they all look the same.
Can they not just check the guy's camera? He mentioned that he had started shooting at the men who then opened fire.
[QUOTE=thelurker1234;37634349]they may not have even recognized her, may have mistaken her for someone else.[/QUOTE]
Doesn't exactly make it any fucking better considering they opened fire on unarmed non-combatants.
Unless you're telling me these men "accidentally" pointed their weapons towards a group of people and "accidental" had those weapons discharge in their hands.
[QUOTE=jaykray;37634367]Are you saying they all look the same.[/QUOTE]
civilians tend to look alike
[editline]11th September 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Kinversulath;37635601]
Doesn't exactly make it any fucking better considering they opened fire on unarmed non-combatants.
[/QUOTE]
we're talking about a human rights nightmare in general here.
I'm not saying that it's good that they died, I'm saying that they probably aren't going after journalists as "high value targets"
"OMG KILL DIS CNN GUY"
in fact it would probably make more sense to kidnap foreign journalists than kill.
[QUOTE=Milkdairy;37626634]Has anyone noted at all the fact that in the article the Syrian security forces opened fire on a civilian reporter purposefully, and murdered her?
Or maybe it was rebels. This is still kinda a war crime.
[editline]11th September 2012[/editline]
The point Is, journalist deaths are usually accidental or from traps/mines.
This woman was shot and killed by automatic weaponry with intent.[/QUOTE]
when your in war, a camera can look a bit like a gun to the guys on the other end of the firefight. just saying. not that i would doubt that the syrian army would kill an innocent reporter.
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;37635619]civilians tend to look alike[/QUOTE]
Oh come on, I think the Japanese probably looked quite different than the native countrymen.
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