Emmanuel Gbevegnon met his wife, Eriko Hidaka, in 1995 in Niger.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2009/nn20091121f3a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='201'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Out of Africa: Emmanuel Gbevegnon and his wife, Eriko, pose for a picture near Tokaichiba Station in Yokohama recently. </B> KAZUAKI NAGATA</FONT></TD> </TR> </TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>Eriko, a native of Yakushima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, was there to help with vaccination activities, using her experience as a nurse. Emmanuel, a native of the city of Cotonou in Benin, a country next to Niger with a population of about 9.3 million, was there on business.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Emmanuel met Eriko at a community event to introduce Japanese culture in Niamey, Niger's capital. About three years on from that encounter, the couple married in Benin and moved to Japan in 1999. </PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Eriko, 45, works as a nurse, while Emmanuel, 47, currently works as a translator, teacher and photojournalist.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Emmanuel is also president of the nongovernmental Africa, America and Asia Reconciliation Group in Japan, which promotes intercultural dialogue and pluralism to develop a culture of peace. The group also aims to spread the role of reconciliation to wars and issues such as slavery and domination around the world.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The pair live in Yokohama and have three sons, aged 3, 6 and 9. </PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH><B>What was your first impression of your partner?</B></PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH><B>Emmanuel: </B>At the community event, she was in a group that was showing a traditional Japanese dance with a fan, which was impressive. After the performance, I realized she was speaking French better than other members, and she could give me more insight into her country. Of course, she was a beautiful lady. We don't even need to mention that! </PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH><B>Eriko: </B>I thought he was funny and –

good faith.

What language do you use to communicate with each other and your children?

Emmanuel: We usually speak French with each other.

Eriko: Our children speak to their father in French and to their mother in Japanese.