Takao Shito has taken on the might of Japan's Narita Airport,
photographs ISTANBUL
HAVACILIK KULUBU 1995 UYE GRUBU, Takao
Shito’s family has been growing vegetable on the same farm for over 100 years.
His grandfather was a farmer, his father as well, and now he has taken on the
same mantle, only things are a bit different for him than they were for his
ancestors. Where before the Shito farm was part of a village of around 30
families surrounded by open fields, today it stands alone in the middle of
Narita Airport,
jets fly
over his head 24 hours a day, and his only way to and from the farm is through
underground tunnels. Most people would be dying to move away, but not Takao
Shito. He has been fighting to keep his farm for over two decades and even
refused an offer of over $1.7 million for his land, “These are
pieces of land farmed by three generations for nearly a century, by my
grandfather, my father and myself. I want to continue living here and farm,”
Shito told AFP, a couple of years ago, Takao Shito
has constantly been involved in legal battles to stop authorities from
forcefully drive him off the land that his father has been farming for over 100
years ever since he returned home. It’s tiring, as is the farming itself, but
he has no intention of backing down,
His struggle has become a symbol of civil
rights, and hundreds of volunteers and activists have rallied to support him
over the years, “I got offered a cash settlement on the condition I leave my
farm,” Takao told the BBC, “They offered 180 million yen ($1,687,320). That’s
150 years’ worth of a farmer’s wages. I’m not interested in money, I want to
continue farming. I never considered leaving.” this story so much reminded me of one we posted just a week or so ago, but the time the 'action'took place in China.
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