North Korean refugees case from a gender perspective
Mikie Stillman / NIRA Director
May 24, 2002
Nothing is more striking among recent news events than the videotape showing two North Korean women and a little girl being violently taken out by Chinese armed police from the premises of Japan’s Consulate General in Shengyang, China. The young mother is clinging to the gate fence with all her might, screaming desperately against the police. Her two-year old daughter is standing next to her in shock. The picture of her face has the same impact as that of a naked burned Vietnamese girl running away under the napalm bombardment of the US army.
Dramatic news picture from the Vietnam War spread around the world the atrocities of the US army. In the same way, the picture in front of the Japanese Consulate General pictorializes eloquently the merciless Chinese police and the oppressive regime of North Korea. Both China and North Korea are still communist countries. Starkly put, the US fought against communism in Vietnam and virtually lost. Ironically, many Vietnamese disliked the communist regime and after the peace agreement thousands of them escaped to the free world just like today’s North Koreans. Indeed, the burned Vietnamese girl also went to the US to start a new life.
These two pictures, one in Vietnam and the other in China, show not only one ideological contrast between communism and capitalism but also other stark contrasts: men and women as well as adults and children. Generally, those who see these pictures feel full of sympathy towards poor women and powerless children. Chinese armed police officers are men. And the officers of the Japanese Consulate General standing by and watching, who did not seem to grasp the whole situation, are also men. Let’s recall the fact that the two North Korean men (!) of the family seeking asylum successfully escaped into the premises of the Consulate General, leaving behind their pregnant wife holding a little child on her back and aged mother. One wonders why the girl’s father who must be stronger and can run faster did not carry her at the time of escape. In hindsight I feel rather relieved that these men were also later taken out from the consulate compound to join their family. Close family ties would be tragically cut if the men succeeded in gaining asylum but at the cost of leaving the women and girl behind. In that case many around the world would have blamed these men.
Now let’s turn to another high-profile gender situation in Japan. Four nurses, all women, concocted a conspiracy thanks to their medical knowledge, and allegedly killed one or perhaps two of their husbands in order to collect on the life insurance. There are many other horrific criminal cases and surprising verdicts which suggest women are not always considered as a weaker sex in contemporary Japan. A wife who fatally hit her adulterous and debt-burdened husband was sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment. On the other hand, a step-father who abused and killed a five-year old boy received a 6-year sentence. He did not feed his son enough and continued subjected him to merciless physical violence for more than 2 years. Under the criminal code, these two sentences must have had solid legal grounds. But for ordinary people, the court cases seem to judge that killing a middle-aged husband who deserved some blame and was certainly able to defend himself is a less serious crime than killing a little boy who had absolutely no means or knowledge to defend himself in front of the cruel step-father. Has the Japanese husband become such a weak creature who needs to be protected from his cruel and powerful wife?
Many middle-aged Japanese men who are fired due to the stubborn recession have committed suicide or pretend to be employed. Those who conclude that this phenomenon is something unique in Japan should see a British movie “Full Monty”. Here, we find the character of a British white-color ex-manager who pretends to go to the office every morning even after he lost his job as he could not find the courage to confess that fact to his wife.
We could not say simplistically that men are strong and women are weak in whichever country. However, it seems a universal truth that women and children are the most effective in attracting sympathy from all around the world. One might even suspect that the group who tried to help the asylum of the said North Korean family and organized a professional cameramen to film the incident might even have anticipated that two women and a girl slow in running, risked being caught by the Chinese police guarding the consulate gate. It is well known that a movie director who might be struggling to create a new idea about his film often relies on an easy recourse to trigger sympathy: e.g having a child character suffer from a difficult illness or a cute animal as a hero. Such a movie is invariably successful without exception. Cynically we might wonder that in today’s dramatized international politics, it could become all to possible to arrange a “documentary film” that has women and children as its suffering heroines.
Now these five North Koreans could safely escape to a third country from China. This video must remind Western people who thought that the cold war was over that in East Asia still in this 21st century many people are trying to cross the “Berlin Wall” to freedom from tyranny.
Of course, the news coverage on this incident is limited in China where control of mass media is possible, while in Japan where free press reports always this case as the top news since it happened. I hope that the consulate male officers are mentally strong enough to withstand the constant barrage of criticisms. They are harshly accused everyday by the general public for not stopping the violation of the consulate premises by the Chinese authorities and for not helping effectively the asylum seekers. They will certainly be punished under the regulations for public servants.
The writer is a think tank (NIRA) director. She is former University Professor of Public Policy (Osaka University).
Dramatic news picture from the Vietnam War spread around the world the atrocities of the US army. In the same way, the picture in front of the Japanese Consulate General pictorializes eloquently the merciless Chinese police and the oppressive regime of North Korea. Both China and North Korea are still communist countries. Starkly put, the US fought against communism in Vietnam and virtually lost. Ironically, many Vietnamese disliked the communist regime and after the peace agreement thousands of them escaped to the free world just like today’s North Koreans. Indeed, the burned Vietnamese girl also went to the US to start a new life.
These two pictures, one in Vietnam and the other in China, show not only one ideological contrast between communism and capitalism but also other stark contrasts: men and women as well as adults and children. Generally, those who see these pictures feel full of sympathy towards poor women and powerless children. Chinese armed police officers are men. And the officers of the Japanese Consulate General standing by and watching, who did not seem to grasp the whole situation, are also men. Let’s recall the fact that the two North Korean men (!) of the family seeking asylum successfully escaped into the premises of the Consulate General, leaving behind their pregnant wife holding a little child on her back and aged mother. One wonders why the girl’s father who must be stronger and can run faster did not carry her at the time of escape. In hindsight I feel rather relieved that these men were also later taken out from the consulate compound to join their family. Close family ties would be tragically cut if the men succeeded in gaining asylum but at the cost of leaving the women and girl behind. In that case many around the world would have blamed these men.
Now let’s turn to another high-profile gender situation in Japan. Four nurses, all women, concocted a conspiracy thanks to their medical knowledge, and allegedly killed one or perhaps two of their husbands in order to collect on the life insurance. There are many other horrific criminal cases and surprising verdicts which suggest women are not always considered as a weaker sex in contemporary Japan. A wife who fatally hit her adulterous and debt-burdened husband was sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment. On the other hand, a step-father who abused and killed a five-year old boy received a 6-year sentence. He did not feed his son enough and continued subjected him to merciless physical violence for more than 2 years. Under the criminal code, these two sentences must have had solid legal grounds. But for ordinary people, the court cases seem to judge that killing a middle-aged husband who deserved some blame and was certainly able to defend himself is a less serious crime than killing a little boy who had absolutely no means or knowledge to defend himself in front of the cruel step-father. Has the Japanese husband become such a weak creature who needs to be protected from his cruel and powerful wife?
Many middle-aged Japanese men who are fired due to the stubborn recession have committed suicide or pretend to be employed. Those who conclude that this phenomenon is something unique in Japan should see a British movie “Full Monty”. Here, we find the character of a British white-color ex-manager who pretends to go to the office every morning even after he lost his job as he could not find the courage to confess that fact to his wife.
We could not say simplistically that men are strong and women are weak in whichever country. However, it seems a universal truth that women and children are the most effective in attracting sympathy from all around the world. One might even suspect that the group who tried to help the asylum of the said North Korean family and organized a professional cameramen to film the incident might even have anticipated that two women and a girl slow in running, risked being caught by the Chinese police guarding the consulate gate. It is well known that a movie director who might be struggling to create a new idea about his film often relies on an easy recourse to trigger sympathy: e.g having a child character suffer from a difficult illness or a cute animal as a hero. Such a movie is invariably successful without exception. Cynically we might wonder that in today’s dramatized international politics, it could become all to possible to arrange a “documentary film” that has women and children as its suffering heroines.
Now these five North Koreans could safely escape to a third country from China. This video must remind Western people who thought that the cold war was over that in East Asia still in this 21st century many people are trying to cross the “Berlin Wall” to freedom from tyranny.
Of course, the news coverage on this incident is limited in China where control of mass media is possible, while in Japan where free press reports always this case as the top news since it happened. I hope that the consulate male officers are mentally strong enough to withstand the constant barrage of criticisms. They are harshly accused everyday by the general public for not stopping the violation of the consulate premises by the Chinese authorities and for not helping effectively the asylum seekers. They will certainly be punished under the regulations for public servants.
The writer is a think tank (NIRA) director. She is former University Professor of Public Policy (Osaka University).
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
北朝鮮一家亡命事件---映像になった「女、こども」は強い
スティルマン美紀恵 / NIRA（シンクタンク）ディレクター
2002年 5月 24日
中国シェンヤンの日本総領事館構内から、北朝鮮出身の女性二人と女児が中国武装警察官に引きずり出される映像は衝撃的だ。門の柵にしがみつき、泣き叫ぶ母親。その傍らで立ち尽くす二歳の女児の大写し顔写真は、米軍爆撃の砲火の中、真っ裸で泣き叫びながら逃げまどうベトナム人少女を映した写真と同じくらいのインパクトがある。
ベトナムの報道写真は米軍の非道さを世界に伝えた。日本総領事館前の写真は、中国官憲の無慈悲さと北朝鮮という国家の抑圧を雄弁に物語る。中国も北朝鮮も共産主義の国だ。米国はベトナムの共産主義と戦った。ベトナム和平成立後、多くのベトナム人が共産主義を逃れ、今日の北朝鮮の人々同様、「自由への逃亡」を試みた。写真のベトナム人少女も米国に逃れたという。
ふたつの報道写真は、共産主義対自由主義というイデオロギーを超えた、もうひとつの対称を映し出している。男と女。そして大人とこどもだ。写真を見た世界中の人々は、哀れな女、こどもへの同情で胸一杯になる。中国官憲は男性、事態を的確に把握していたとは見受けられない日本総領事館員も男性。そして、亡命を試みた北朝鮮一家の男性二人は、幼児を背負った身重の妻と母親を尻目に、身軽に総領事館の建物内に逃げ込んだ。なんで、力も強く足も速いはずの父親がこどもを背負わないのだ。家族にとっては幸いといってはなんだが、結局男性二人も総領事館内に無断で踏み込んだ中国官憲に連行された。女、こどもを見捨てて男たちだけが亡命に成功しては、家族の絆はたたれる。男たちには同情よりも非難の目が注がれたであろう。
翻って日本。看護婦４人が共謀し、医療知識を駆使して、仲間の別居中の夫を殺害し保険金を騙し取った。女性は弱くはない。浮気をし、借金を重ねる夫を殴り殺した妻には、懲役８年の判決。これに対し、５歳の男児に２年以上も食べ物をろくに与えず、残虐な暴行を加えつづけて死に至らしめた義父には懲役６年。刑法理論上は、根拠のある量刑なのかもしれない。が、素人には、それなりに落ち度もあり、妻に対し自衛手段をもちえた３０歳代の夫より、義父という圧倒的な暴力の前に自らを守るすべも知恵も与えられていない幼児を殺した罪の方が軽い、というのは腑に落ちない。それほど、日本男性は弱い、守るべき対象になってしまったのかもしれない。
不況下の日本で、職を失い自殺に走る中高年男性。これが日本特有の現象と断言する人は、英国映画「フル・モンティ」を思い出して欲しい。失職したことを妻に伝えられず、毎朝出勤するふりをして家を出る英国人の元ホワイトカラー管理職男性が登場する。
現実には、いずれの国でも男性が強く、女性が弱いと単純な一般化はできないのだろう。が、世界の同情を集めるには女、こどもは最高のキャストだ。前述の北朝鮮一家の亡命を助けようとして、通信社による撮影を手配したグループは、はじめから女性とこどもは逃げ足が遅く、総領事館の警護をする中国武装警察につかまることを想定していたのではないかとも思う。作品に行き詰まった映画監督は、病気のこどもやけなげな動物を主役にした映画を創るという。必ず当るそうだ。今日の劇場化した国際政治においても、女、こどもを主役にドキュメンタリー作品を演出することは可能なようだ。
幸い北朝鮮の一家５人は中国から第三国への出国を認められた。この事件の映像のお陰で、冷戦は１０年以上前に終わったと思っている欧米の人々に、東アジアでは２１世紀になってもベルリンの壁を乗り越えようとする人々がいることを肌で感じてもらう効果もあっただろう。
マスコミをコントロールすることが可能な中国では事件の報道を控えているという。連日この事件をトップニュースで扱う民主国家日本で、中国官憲に主権を侵され、亡命者を守ろうとしなかったと激しい世論の糾弾にあって処分をまぬかれない日本総領事館の男性館員が、十分精神的に強いことを祈る。
（筆者はNIRA（シンクタンク）ディレクター。前大阪大学教授）
ベトナムの報道写真は米軍の非道さを世界に伝えた。日本総領事館前の写真は、中国官憲の無慈悲さと北朝鮮という国家の抑圧を雄弁に物語る。中国も北朝鮮も共産主義の国だ。米国はベトナムの共産主義と戦った。ベトナム和平成立後、多くのベトナム人が共産主義を逃れ、今日の北朝鮮の人々同様、「自由への逃亡」を試みた。写真のベトナム人少女も米国に逃れたという。
ふたつの報道写真は、共産主義対自由主義というイデオロギーを超えた、もうひとつの対称を映し出している。男と女。そして大人とこどもだ。写真を見た世界中の人々は、哀れな女、こどもへの同情で胸一杯になる。中国官憲は男性、事態を的確に把握していたとは見受けられない日本総領事館員も男性。そして、亡命を試みた北朝鮮一家の男性二人は、幼児を背負った身重の妻と母親を尻目に、身軽に総領事館の建物内に逃げ込んだ。なんで、力も強く足も速いはずの父親がこどもを背負わないのだ。家族にとっては幸いといってはなんだが、結局男性二人も総領事館内に無断で踏み込んだ中国官憲に連行された。女、こどもを見捨てて男たちだけが亡命に成功しては、家族の絆はたたれる。男たちには同情よりも非難の目が注がれたであろう。
翻って日本。看護婦４人が共謀し、医療知識を駆使して、仲間の別居中の夫を殺害し保険金を騙し取った。女性は弱くはない。浮気をし、借金を重ねる夫を殴り殺した妻には、懲役８年の判決。これに対し、５歳の男児に２年以上も食べ物をろくに与えず、残虐な暴行を加えつづけて死に至らしめた義父には懲役６年。刑法理論上は、根拠のある量刑なのかもしれない。が、素人には、それなりに落ち度もあり、妻に対し自衛手段をもちえた３０歳代の夫より、義父という圧倒的な暴力の前に自らを守るすべも知恵も与えられていない幼児を殺した罪の方が軽い、というのは腑に落ちない。それほど、日本男性は弱い、守るべき対象になってしまったのかもしれない。
不況下の日本で、職を失い自殺に走る中高年男性。これが日本特有の現象と断言する人は、英国映画「フル・モンティ」を思い出して欲しい。失職したことを妻に伝えられず、毎朝出勤するふりをして家を出る英国人の元ホワイトカラー管理職男性が登場する。
現実には、いずれの国でも男性が強く、女性が弱いと単純な一般化はできないのだろう。が、世界の同情を集めるには女、こどもは最高のキャストだ。前述の北朝鮮一家の亡命を助けようとして、通信社による撮影を手配したグループは、はじめから女性とこどもは逃げ足が遅く、総領事館の警護をする中国武装警察につかまることを想定していたのではないかとも思う。作品に行き詰まった映画監督は、病気のこどもやけなげな動物を主役にした映画を創るという。必ず当るそうだ。今日の劇場化した国際政治においても、女、こどもを主役にドキュメンタリー作品を演出することは可能なようだ。
幸い北朝鮮の一家５人は中国から第三国への出国を認められた。この事件の映像のお陰で、冷戦は１０年以上前に終わったと思っている欧米の人々に、東アジアでは２１世紀になってもベルリンの壁を乗り越えようとする人々がいることを肌で感じてもらう効果もあっただろう。
マスコミをコントロールすることが可能な中国では事件の報道を控えているという。連日この事件をトップニュースで扱う民主国家日本で、中国官憲に主権を侵され、亡命者を守ろうとしなかったと激しい世論の糾弾にあって処分をまぬかれない日本総領事館の男性館員が、十分精神的に強いことを祈る。
（筆者はNIRA（シンクタンク）ディレクター。前大阪大学教授）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟