Life as an Ambassador
Nao Sano served as a FIUTS Ambassador for the recently departed students participating in the Study of the U.S. Institute For Student Leaders in Journalism and New Media (SUSI). A former journalist herself, Nao composed a brief blog post summarizing her experience.
This summer, students from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka were in Seattle for a new program coordinated by FIUTS, the Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders in Journalism and New Media (SUSI). Each student was paired with an ambassador from the University of Washington to act as hosts, mentors, and friends. Today's a post is by Nao Sano, one of this year's ambassadors, sharing a little bit about her experience:
The Seattle Times editor meeting room was filled with the enthusiasm of young journalists from South Asia. “Have you ever had any media censorship?” “How do you maintain the privacy?” Questions about ethical issues from the participants to the four journalists didn’t stop. It impressed me and reminded of the days when I was a journalist.
I started to work for the Japanese daily newspaper in Japan seven years ago. The word that expresses those days as a journalist was busy, busy, busy. I wrote articles even while driving a car. Therefore sometimes I took the wrong road. After writing the daily articles, it was time to meet people who can’t meet during the day. I never returned to my home before 9pm on weekday - I was too into my work.
“To see what happens by your two eyes, to meet people face to face, to hear the real voice by your two ears. Write what you really saw, heard and felt”. I always remembered when I couldn’t write. The elder coworker told me so when I covered criminal for the first time seven years ago. I wrote down the detail and handed it him to let him check before sending to the editor. He suddenly threw it to the garbage because I just followed the police announcement paper without asking them directly. He wanted me to know the truth is not always on the paper. We had to ask “why” and seek information about the background. With digital media growing rapidly, the need to report speedily is more important than ever before. Journalists need more skill to use digital content and analyze data quickly. Nevertheless, those basic and natural skills, I believe asking "why" will always remain central to the job of a journalist.
Labor issues, mental illness and immigrant issues were always my topic outside of the daily news. 30 thousand people. Do you know what this number means? This is the average number of people who have committed suicide in Japan ever year since 1998. Many terrible wars happen all over the world. On the other hand, in Japan, ranked as eighth peaceful country in the world, people kill themselves without leaving any message to their family.
I covered the organization which tried to save people who are suicide risks. I met a 20-year-old man through the organization who could not leave his own house at all for two years and due to constant thoughts about death. “I didn’t know why I couldn’t have gone out from home. I just always felt in the classroom of junior and high school that I couldn’t have behaved like others. It was very vague and uncertain, but little by little depress me and occupied my brain. Just I wanted to be invisible person”. He was suffering. However, he had gotten to change his mind since the organization approached and took care of him. I just wrote his word to let people know there are many supporters and anyone is not alone.
Later I got letter from a woman who has a 30-year-old son who had stayed at home for 7 years without seeing anybody including her. She set up the organization for parents who had children suffering from the depression or mental illness. She told me my articles encouraged her to establish the organization. I never expected an article of mine could have such an effect. My small articles might not have impacted thousands of people, but might have been able to change one person.
2:46pm March 11, 2011. The massive earthquake struck Japan, which claimed more than 15 thousands lives and changed Japan in a moment. I was interviewing the superintendent of schools in his office and I felt shock even more than 600 kilometer far from the epicenter. I covered how tsunami damaged the elementary school in the disaster area. In the school, 74 students, 70% of the student population, were killed by the tsunami. When I went around the school, a man tried to wipe the dirt away from the house. I asked him about the school. He had a daughter and a son. When he found them in the dirt, they were no longer breathing. “I’m sorry I can’t tell my name. I could find my children. However, still there are some people who can’t find their missing children. I feel very sorry for them”. The words I had in mind were useless for him. What could I do for him? How could I save him? While he sank into sorrow, he wanted to care of his neighborhood. I could not ask him for anything else. What I could do is to be by him for a while. What can I do to make the world better to citizens? Not only about the disaster preparedness, we have discussed but nuclear power plants after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster.
I am now thirty years old. Many friends already had gotten married and had kids. Some friends quit jobs and others continue in their careers. I liked my work, but being a journalist working for the daily newspaper in Japan was not easy job for me to make balance with raising a child. It was the time to consider of my future again. I resigned my job and chose to return to be a student in Seattle. I have tried not to stand as a journalist but to participate in some related activities as one of participants since I came to Seattle.
However, the SUSI participants, these fascinating young journalists, showed me many potentials as a journalist. They really wanted to appeal something to the world. To spend time with them changed me. Press freedom- it is the common problem that we, Asian countries, have to confront. The highest country of the press freedom in Asia was Taiwan, which was ranked as 50th in the world. Japan is also 59th. We have to progress. These young journalists might be able to impact the public.
I don’t know yet how I will continue to write. But, I would like to continue to write in my own way in order to spot small voices. I would like to continue challenging with “my new coworkers” of South Asia.
The Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among foreign students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world.
The program in Seattle is coordinated by the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS), a local non-profit organization affiliated with the University of Washington that promotes international friendship and cross-cultural understanding in the region. The Seattle Globalist, a daily publication covering the connections between Seattle and the rest of the globe, is collaborating with FIUTS to deliver courses on topics in journalism and new media.