In 1945, while chronicling front-line fighting on Okinawa, Smith suffered facial and hand injuries from a Japanese shell fragment that required years of treatment. The Great War correspondent Ernie Pyle, who was with Smith on Okinawa, predicted that Smith's idealism would either break him or kill him. Pyle's prophecy came true during the Minamata project: after being threatened several times, Smith was attacked by hired thugs who grabbed him by the legs and swung him into a concrete wall. The injuries contributed to Smith's early death in 1978 — hastened by years of alcohol and drug abuse, as well as destitution brought on by his refusal to allow commercial magazines to mess with his images.
I was barely into my teens when Minamata was published, and I can still feel its impact across the years. The image that has stayed with me is the one that came to embody the Minamata tragedy for the entire world: "Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath." It shows a young girl, her body twisted and wrenched by mercury poisoning in the womb, being washed in a stand-up bath. The terrible damage done to the girl's body and the infinite tenderness with which her mother bathes her are captured magnificently by a great journalist whose work helped alert the world to a great crime.
Article comments
1 - Richard Marcus
I bet people still haven't heard about the English River system in Northern Ontario where the same thing occured. In about 1973 it was discovered that the Cree who lived in that par to the world, and the wildlife as well, were bringing forth children with horrible birth defects.
Our culprit was Butten and Reid Paper...The big pulping presses dumped mercury laden sludge in the river for everyone to eat and drink. The governments initial responce of well just make sure you don't eat too much fish or drink too much water.
I think a doctor up north began to notice similarities among his clents and the pictures you talk about. When he filed his reports and the government did nothing he leaked them to the the papers, who ran the picutres and news of the story.
Thanks for a beautiful story, and a timely reminder of what can happen when business leaders are allowed to do as they pleae in terms of the environment.
I had forgotten about the man who took those amazing phots, should try and find out more about him I think.
cheer
Richard
2 - Purple Tigress
It seems that similar things are happening in China.
See this article about cancer villages.