In a time when East Timor is entering a phase of reconstruction, a Japanese photographer has mobilized a team of children here to take pictures of the transition.
Hikaru Nagatake, 41, of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, is distributing 100 disposable cameras to children, asking them to photograph their everyday lives, families, friends and surroundings.
"The eyes of children are innocent. I'm looking forward to see what they find through a viewfinder," she said.
Nagatake, a professional photographer with a career spanning more than 10 years, is planning to introduce the East Timorese children's photos in her "Wonder Eyes" exhibition in Tokyo in October.
As a photographer, she has been primarily traveling in South America. She visited Australia in October 1999 and learned about the devastation of East Timor.
In May, when visiting Dili at the invitation of a friend, she was shocked to see the situation was far worse than she had expected.
In a move to end the near quarter-century of Indonesian rule, East Timorese voted for independence in August 1999.
In the aftermath of the overwhelming vote for independence, however, pro-Jakarta militias unleashed a wave of violence under the aegis of the Indonesian armed forces.
Upon returning to Japan from her trip to Dili, Nagatake decided to record the situation in East Timor -- the devastation and moves toward reconstruction -- through the eyes of children.
Responding to her call for cooperation, a major Japanese film- and camera-maker offered some 100 cameras.
Nagatake may hold an exhibition in East Timor as well.