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Bravery: Japanese diplomat refused âto yieldâ
EFL & HonorA Japanese diplomat slain by gunmen in Iraq last weekend wrote a poignant diary entry in which he asked his reluctant countrymen to stand firm in the fight against terror. In November, after visiting the site of a suicide bombing in Nassiriya, Katsuhiko Oku wrote: "What we should learn from this tragedy is to have stronger determination not to yield to terrorists. Terrorist attacks could happen anywhere in the world. The elimination of terrorism is therefore a goal to be sought by all of us." Mr. Oku, who had been serving in Iraq since April, wrote how the death of a Canadian friend in the bombing of the U.N. building in Baghdad in August had spurred him to greater efforts. By chance, amid the rubble of the building, Mr. Oku found the name card of his friend, UNICEF worker Christopher Klein-Beekman. He wrote in his diary: "It was as though the card was telling me: âMy Japanese friend, go straight ahead. Donât hesitate. There are things that must be done.â " Mr. Oku, 45, was fatally shot near Tikrit along with his colleague, Masamori Inoue, 30. They were the first Japanese to be killed since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. God bless him. Posted by: Dragon Fly 2003-12-03 |
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