Africa | My Eyes Tokyo

Voice of the Day Vol.1 – Zimbabwean Embassy

April 19 2016

Interviewed by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com The new interview series called “Voice of the Day” started! It celebrates each national day in the world through the interview. The first episode is brought to you from Zimbabwe, which celebrates the independence of the country from the United Kingdom on April 18. In commemoration of the day, we asked the Embassy of Zimbabwe for an interview and received answers from the Ambassador of the Republic of Zimbabwe. 日本語 Q1. Where is your embassy located in Tokyo? The Embassy of Zimbabwe is located at 9-10 Shirokanedai 5-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo. *Map

Orphans need people who would love them, care for them like their moms would do.

December 10 2013

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com K.M (She’s been in Japan since October 2011) She is studying at a Japanese university, and she is an orphan. She made a speech at a charity party which was held by PLAS (Positive Living through AIDS Orphan Support), a Japanese NGO who gives aid to AIDS orphans, and told us her story; how she grew up in her country after she lost her dad and how she came to Japan. It was a short speech, but we were really moved. So we wanted to hear her stories more. How

There is no person who is unworthy. All humans are valuable.

November 02 2012

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Ruiko Monda Representative of AIDS Orphan Support NGO Do you know about “AIDS orphan“? We had little idea of that, but we learned that its definition is “a child under 18 who lost his/her parent(s) to AIDS”. Today we introduce you to Ruiko Monda, a woman like a caring sister for them. According to her organization called “AIDS Orphan Support NGO PLAS (Positive Living through AIDS orphan Support)”, many AIDS orphans are adopted by their grandparents. But they cannot work due to old age, so some of them are forced to

I need to accommodate myself to Japanese culture in order to be here.

August 02 2012

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: info@myeyestokyo.com Houda Sellami Tunisian cuisine instructor (She’s been in Japan since June 2010) Today we introduce you to a cooking instructor from Tunisia, a North African country along the Mediterranean Sea. Houda Sellami, a very calm, very motherly and gentle-mannered woman. I didn’t believe that she came from a country where the Jasmine Revolution took place in 2010. I told her that and she laughed; “I called my family when it occurred. They told me that they were OK and I didn’t need to worry that much. Media always exaggerate things”.

It‘s extremely enjoyable for me to tell Japanese people about my country’s culture.

June 09 2012

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Rose Ohashi Ethiopian cooking instructor (She’s been in Japan since May 1998) My Eyes Tokyo brings you interviews with teachers from “Niki’s Kitchen“. It’s a cooking school in which foreigners teach their homeland dishes to Japanese people. The memorable 10th interviewee is Rose Ohashi, an iron chef from Ethiopia. She’s been here in Japan for 14 years so speaks Japanese very fluently. She smiles warmly and jokes like “When I was asked where I’m from, I answered that I came from Tobu-Nerima (Where her house is located)!”. Rose is such a

I love cooking and teaching. Teaching, making jokes, and having fun together – those all are necessary in my class.

November 27 2011

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi & Tomomi Tada Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Hassan El Masry (Egypt) Arabic cuisine chef/instructor (He’s been in Japan since 2009) The 9th interviewee of ”MET × Niki’s Kitchen” is Hassan El Masry, a man from Egypt. He has been successful as an Arabic cuisine chef for 33 years all over the world. Arabic cuisine might be a little unfamiliar to Japan because of its location. Probably you are interested in his class and cuisine in Niki’s kitchen. Surprisingly he used to be a belly dancer in Egypt! What we found through his cooking class

The visually impaired can study and get jobs here. Those are impossible things to do in Sudan.

July 20 2010

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Mohamed Bashir (Sudan) Mutual fund employee （He’s been in Japan since 2000） Interviewees whom we’ve talked to so far told us about their life in Tokyo or Japan through their eyes. But today we introduce you to a man who can have nothing meet his eyes. His name is Mohamed Bashir from Sudan, a country in northeastern Africa. He smiles wonderfully at us but he lost his sight at age 11. He’s not been able to see anything since then. But Bashir looks very happy! While we heard his story,

There are people who will kill you for only US$100.

April 10 2010

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Robert Koch (South Africa) Audio products manufacturer （He’s been in Japan since 2006） My Eyes Tokyo had its first interview with a South African guy, Robert Koch, a craftsman who makes high end audio products in Tokyo. South Africa is the host country for the FIFA World Cup 2010, which will be held from June 11 to July 11, 2010. So the country is drawing attention from all over the world. But on the other hand, there are concerns about its security. Also South Africa used to adopt a system

Japan is safe, but there is no peace.

October 11 2008

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Winchester Nii Tete (Ghana) African Percussionist (He’s been in Japan since ’04) We would like to introduce you to another super percussionist from Ghana. We’ve met Winchester Nii Tete when we went to Yuri Kageyama‘s poetry reading live performance. Nii Tete was playing percussion while she recited her poems. We just felt “WOW!!” as soon as we listened to his sound. We were really overwhelmed and riveted by that. We felt that his play was quintessential “art”. So we got interested in him. Rome was not built in a day – Nii

I needed to bottle up my emotions in order to get one step ahead. Otherwise a foreigner couldn’t have run a noodle shop here.

August 12 2008

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Belouazani Lakhdar (Algeria) Shopkeeper of a buckwheat noodle shop (He’s been in Japan since ’88) Belouazani Lakhdar is an Algerian buckwheat (soba) noodle chef. He’s been making soba noodles for 16 years in the area called Musashi-kosugi, a town which has been changing dramatically. It’s striking that his shop, Kabura-an, is located in a local shopping area that’s kind of closed, not opened to foreigners. How has a foreigner been taking pride in working as a soba chef in a closed community? How has he integrated in the local society? *Interview

Interviews with Tokyo People Achieving Dreams