The Power of Journalism
Yoshiko Matsushima 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 journalist herself, Yoshiko composed a blog post about 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 Yoshiko Matsushima, one of this year's ambassadors, sharing a little bit about her experience:
I met a girl who became important in my life when I was fourteen years old. I don’t know her name, her age, or her family at all, but I do remember her eyes staring at me. The year was 1996. I went to the Philippines to meet my father who was working in an electric company. While I was riding in a car on a highway, a girl came to the car and knocked on the window. She had some flowers, and asked me to buy them through the window. She wasn’t wearing shoes, even though I could tell it was very hot because of the reflected heat of the sun. She must have been less than ten years old.
I was so shocked at the situation, and I felt indignation against society. Where I was from in Japan, I was accustomed to seeing teenagers in Japan who prostituted themselves to buy big-name brand products such as Chanel or Louis Vuitton. Here though, a girl in the Philippines sold flowers to live or to support her family. I felt social contradiction, and I wanted to ask people, “What do you think about this situation?” I wanted to share this information with a lot of people, so I decided to become a reporter.
When I met the girl, I also questioned myself. What is different between me and her? Am I superior? No! I was just lucky. I was just born in Japan. I just had parents who raised me well. It was my good fortune to be able to go to school and get an education, but what if I had been born in Philippines? What if I had not had parents? What if…?
In my opinion, imagination is the most important thing for journalists. Also, I think that every journalist needs to be able to see a larger view to expand imagination. It is also important to not be caught by one’s sense of values. However, 2 years ago, I realized that I didn’t have a larger view even though I had been working as a journalist for eight years. I was scared to keep working as a journalist.
In 2011, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and the following disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Most of the Japanese population including myself had believed that nuclear power was safe until Fukushima nuclear power plant exploded, but it was not true. What we believed was wrong. I was devastated because most of media had been promoting the government policy of building nuclear power plants for a long time. When I worked as a journalist, I had to trust myself to judge what was news and what was the essence of the news. But after the earthquake, I felt afraid of doing things like that because I didn’t know whether my judgment was right or wrong. I had no idea what I should do as a journalist. I realized then that I needed to expand my view.
After I came to the United States, I learned about diversity. Everyone is different, so communication is necessary in any situation. In the SUSI program, I went to a camp with participants, ambassadors, and FIUTS staffs, and we discussed about communication. What is communication? Why is communication important? It was a great experience for me to listen to other’s opinions. The programs participants are from several countries, and each participant has different character, opinion, and background. Something is not common to someone. For example, it is very common for a mother to sleep with her baby in Japan, but it’s so unusual in the United State. It is a just part of examples, but idea is totally different between two countries.
Again, everybody is different. Therefore communication and also imagination are very important. I recognized the same thing that I felt when I was fourteen. It’s simple, but sometimes it’s not easy. Some people tend to look down on others. In our society there is still discrimination, social oppression, sexism and xenophobia. If you felt something was wrong, you could raise your voice to improve the situation or environment. Please share your information and your opinion with your friends, your family and your comrades. I believe that journalism has a power to change a world and make a better life.
I remember a girl who I met in Philippines. I hope she doesn’t stand on a highway. I hope she lives a happy life. At the end, I want to ask you. Please imagine your neighbors. You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.
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.