"All I can do now is shed tears of grief."

(ibtimes)

Journalist Akira Ikegami described the incident as "truly shocking." With tears in his voice, Ikegami said, "All I can think of now is his smile." 

Ikegami had been in regular contact with Goto.

"Mr. Goto always said he wanted to report on the suffering of people in conflict-torn regions. He also said someone had to go there," Ikegami said. 

Ikegami said Goto told him that the first victims of war are women and children.

"Mr. Goto always turned gentle eyes toward them," he said. "He was not hostile toward ISIL. It really is unforgivable [for the group] to kill a person dedicated to reporting on the tragic state of affairs [facing people in war-torn areas]." 

Maki Sato, secretary general of the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Japan Iraq Medical Network, also did not conceal her shock and fury. Sato became acquainted with Goto about 10 years ago through activities to support Jordan. 

"I'm so shocked. Mr. Goto was working to promote peace in Syria. I don't understand why he had to be killed," Sato said.

(Chicago Tribune)

"I want to cuddle with the people. That's the best way to express my approach," Goto, 47, said about his work. "By cuddling with them, I can talk with the people. I can hear their views — their pain and their hopes." 

A pony-tailed man with a friendly, carefree laugh, Goto was a veteran freelance reporter, working often with other filmmakers and Japanese TV producers. His comments were sometimes featured on Japanese mainstream media. 

The 2005 book he wrote about the suffering of children in Sierra Leone was titled We Want Peace, Not Diamonds. 

But Goto had always stressed he was not a war reporter. He had insisted he was instead devoted to telling the story of regular people, one step removed from the war zone. 

That took him to refugee camps and orphanages. He told the stories of children suffering violence, hunger and nightmares. 

In a testament to his charm and integrity, people responded with an outpouring of support to try to win his release. 

A Facebook page, set up immediately after the first video released by militants last month, quickly drew tens of thousands of "Likes" and photo postings that showed people, from not just Japan but around the world, holding up hand-written signs that said: "I am Kenji." 

"Kenji lives on — in all our hearts. In our daily work. Every time you smile with those around you, you will be sure to remember that big smile Kenji always gave us," wrote Taku Nishimae, a filmmaker living in New York and the page's creator.

(FirstPost)

One reason for his focus on the innocent in Syria is that he wanted to show that a majority of Muslims are not extremists, thus correcting a mis-impression often presented by other media. The pastor at his church in Japan, Hiroshi Tamura, asked that his killing should not trigger a negative reaction. “It would be the unhappiest thing, if fear comes to dominate people’s minds because of this,” he told the English-language Japan Times. 

As purveyors of truth, journalists are by default often players in those places where people some prefer to bend or avoid the truth. Last year, at least 60 journalists were killed in the line of duty, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Another watchdog group, Reporters Without Borders, stated in a recent report the targeting of journalists is “becoming more and more barbaric and the number of abductions is growing rapidly, with those carrying them out seeking to prevent independent news coverage and deter scrutiny to the outside world.”

As traditional media cut back on the number of reporters in foreign posts, the world must rely more on freelancers like Goto, or even “citizen journalists” who use social media. Protecting them is as necessary as protecting each person’s desire to “live in truth,” as the late Czech human-rights activist Václav Havel put it, and in the need to support a desire for peace among the innocent in a conflict.

(CSMonitor)