Only a Camera Lens between Us
When conflicts end,/they leave behind hundreds of thousands of soldiers/to be reintegrated into society/and millions of small arms/to be destroyed.// This work is done by experts/in Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).// Seya Rumiko is one of these experts.// This is her story.//
　　As a child,/Seya was always drawn to the “unknown.”// In her mind,/foreign countries seemed so far away,/and, of course, “unknown” to her.// She got all excited/when she opened her atlas and found Africa.//
　　When Seya was a high school student,/she was shocked to see a photo/of a dying mother and her small child/in a refugee camp for Rwandans.// She asked herself:/“What am I doing here in Japan,/looking at this photo while eating snacks?”// She thought,/“There is only a camera lens between us,/but there is a crucial difference/between my  life in Japan and their  lives.”// She was living in a country/where she could make a difference/if she wanted;/those refugees had no choice/but to accept their plight.//
Visits to Rwanda//
　　As a university student,/Seya began to read about conflicts in the world,/talked with specialists,/and saved money from part-time jobs/to visit Rwanda.// In 1997,/when she was a junior,/her dream came true.// She visited Rwanda,/hoping that she might be of some help/to the people there/who had been devastated by severe conflicts/between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi peoples.// During the conflicts,/somewhere between 800,000 and one million people were killed/in about three months,/and two million people/fled to refugee camps.//
　　While staying with a family/which had survived the genocide,/Seya tried to learn about what had happened.// Most people, however,/simply remained silent;/their trauma had not been healed yet,/and they couldn’t bring themselves to reveal their true feelings/to an outsider.// Seya felt/that she was of no use to them.// She realized/she lacked skills, knowledge, and experience,/all of which are absolutely necessary/to help solve the problems of people/like those she met in Rwanda.//