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Opinion

In memory of Lucie Blackman

By Caroline Pover


ルーシーを忘れない

4年前、一人の英国人女性が、日本で悲惨な殺人事件の犠牲者となった。 その名はルーシー・ブラックマン。 母国よりずっと安全に思える日本で、つい警戒を怠ってしまう外国人は少なくない。 筆者たち女性グループはルーシーをしのんで追悼のベンチを彼女の故郷に寄贈した — 。

I am sure all of you remember the tragic story of Lucie Blackman, a British woman working as a hostess in Roppongi, Tokyo, who disappeared July 1, 2000, and was found dismembered and decapitated in October that year.

When Lucie Blackman died, many members of the Being A Broad network were deeply shocked, as were many people throughout Japan and the U.K. Most of our members are foreign women. I am sure that some of them have worked in the same industry as Lucie had. Even for those who haven't worked as a hostess, Lucie's disappearence was still deeply shocking, and there was the feeling that it could have happened to any of us, regardless of where we worked.

To many foreigners, and especially foreign women, Japan seems so much safer than their home countries. We generally don't find Japanese men very threatening, and everybody seems so helpful and friendly that it is very easy for us to let our guard down. If you are a single woman in Japan, it can be quite easy to put yourself in situations that you probably wouldn't put yourself in back home.

I remember when I was teaching, I had a private male student who asked if I would like to drive to Yokohama with him. If I was in the U.K. I probably would have said no because I didn't know him very well. But I was in Japan, where "everyone" is kind and friendly, so I went. As have many foreign women - with private students, casual acquaintances, and yes, customers from clubs they might work in. In my case nothing happened that made me feel at all uncomfortable or threatened, but maybe I was just lucky.

In the U.K., it is quite common for people to have a bench placed somewhere in memory of a loved one who has passed away. The members of Being A Broad felt so shocked about Lucie's tragic death that they wanted to do something to show their feelings. So we paid for a bench to be placed in the Vine cricket ground in Lucie's hometown of Sevenoaks, U.K., where her friends and family, and especially her mother, could sit and think of Lucie.

The bench was placed there towards the end of last year, and I have a message from Lucie's mother, Jane Steare, that I would like to share with you:

Seeing the bench, with Lucie's name beautifully inscribed on it, was very moving and brought back so many memories of when Lucie was alive. So many people have commented on how they sit on her bench on their way back from walking into Sevenoaks, or how they just go and sit on it and think of her. Please thank everyone who contributed to it and I really am delighted with it."



Shukan ST: March 25, 2005

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