Movie Review: “A Light Of Hope In The Wilderness” By Kenji Yatsu

 

Fig. Nakamura Testu

http://www.peshawar-pms.com/pekai/ryakureki.html

Reproduced with permission from Peshawar Kai

Title translation by the author

This is a documentary movie of Nakamura Tetsu, a Japanese medical doctor who improved the livelihoods of 650,000 people of Afganistan and Pakistan.

Memorable scene:

While Nakamura and his Afghan coworkers were working at the irrigation project site, American military helicopters flew overhead. The contrast was stark.

While still images of Nakamura often give a calm impression, in videos and movies, his sharp gaze and commanding presence are striking. The visual content of this film is powerful enough even without Japanese narration. I believe it is worth watching for audiences who do not speak the Japanese language.

Nakamura Tetsu was a Japanese physician who devoted his life to enhancing the well-being of people in Afghanistan through irrigation projects. He was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, in 1946, just after the conclusion of World War II.

From 1984 onwards, he began providing medical assistance to refugees in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Nonetheless, he firmly believed that

"one irrigation canal would do more good than 100 doctors”

leading him to direct his efforts towards well-digging and canal construction.

In 2003, Nakamura, along with his local non-governmental organization, the Peshawar Association of Afghanistan's Peace (Japan) Medical Service (PMS), initiated an irrigation development project in the Kunar River basin in eastern Afghanistan.

Fig. Peshawar

Source: Google Earth, modification by the author

This project significantly improved the livelihoods of around 650,000 people by 2019 and had restored approximately 23,800 hectares of cultivated land by 2023. The irrigation method he developed, known as the "PMS method," emphasizes local community ownership throughout the entire irrigation process.

 The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has entered into a grant agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to provide grant aid for a project that aims to disseminate the PMS method developed by Nakamura within the Kunar River basin.

In the Peshawar irrigation project, Nakamura encountered a technical challenge related to fast-flowing water, making the construction of an effective weir seem difficult. Despite being a medical doctor, he embarked on the study of civil engineering. He drew inspiration from techniques dating back to the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), which were developed in Yanagawa, Kyushu, Yamamoto's homeland.

Fig. Yamada Seki

Image source: https://asakura-kankou-syoku-nou.com/index.php?D=034310#lg=1&slide=8

Reproduced with permission from Asakura City, modified by the author

 Fig. Yamada Seki in Japan illustrates the concept. When the weir is positioned perpendicularly to the flow, as indicated by the yellow arrow, and the flow is rapid, the weir is prone to overflowing. However, by angling it as indicated by the red arrow, the weir becomes less susceptible to overflow. The green arrow represents a gentler flow, allowing fish to swim upstream. The purple arrow highlights the weir's use for other purposes, including blocking small stones. This technique originated in the Tokugawa period, in Kyushu, which is Yamamoto's hometown. He implemented this method in his irrigation project in Peshawar as shown by the following.

Fig. Kama I Wier showcases the implementation of the weir in Peshawar by the Nakamura scheme.

Reproduced with permission from Peshawar kai

Tragically, Nakamura lost his life in an attack by an armed militant group while en route to an irrigation work site on December 4th, 2019. His legacy endures through his work and the lives he impacted.

The interested reader can visit Peshawar kai at: https://www.peshawar-pms.com/