My daughter and I watched the movie A Private War about the life of war correspondent Marie Colvin.

A journalist who was murdered in Syria in 2012, Colvin cared deeply about the lives of civilians affected by war and sacrificed her life so that their stories could be told and heard by the world. We were deeply moved by her story.

Mariko Iino is also such a journalist who cares deeply about the lives of refugees and civilians affected by war. As a NHK Japanese public broadcasting corporation’s International Affairs producer, Iino has bravely been covering the lives of refugees for years.

I had the honor of meeting her and getting to know her when she produced the NHK piece on Peace Through Kamishibai with me and members of the International Kamishibai Association of Japan for the first World Peace Kamishibai Day in Tokyo.

I post here her recent “Challenge of Refugee Athletes” reports about the plight of refugee  athletes who are preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.  Please click on the links and read these brave accounts of coping with war related through her skillful and compassionate reporting translated from Japanese into English.

Please share these links and stories, discuss the issue of refugees and immigrants, and may we all be concerned and find compassion for refugees and support co-existence for a peaceful world.

Thank you Mariko-san!

1) The Series: “Challenges of Refugee Athletes” Message from the Producer 

2)  “Refugee Swimmer” lost one leg in Syrian civil war

3) “To Run is To Live”” An Ethiopian Marathon Runner

4) Dream for TOKYO: A Syrian Karate-ka

5) LATEST UPDATE OCTOBER: Swimmer inspires others