Tears, smiles mark Jenkinses' reunion
Tears, smiles mark Jenkinses' reunion
Chisato Hara and Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta
After an 21-month separation, Hitomi Soga, 45, a Japanese
national, was reunited here on Friday with her American husband
and their two daughters, whom she had left behind in Pyongyang.
The reunion was made possible through the combined efforts of
the Japanese, North Korean and Indonesian governments.
Soga was kidnapped in 1978 by North Korean agents at the age
of 19 from Sado Island, Japan, and met Robert Jenkins, now 64,
who allegedly deserted the U.S. army in 1965. They married in
1980.
Jenkins and daughters Mika, 21, and Belinda, 18, arrived at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday on a chartered All
Nippon Airways plane.
They were accompanied by three North Korean official escorts
and a number of Japanese foreign ministry officials, as well as a
doctor.
Soga met her family at the airport, where husband and wife
embraced and kissed tearfully, joined by their daughters as they
descended the ramp just beyond, and whispered quietly among each
other under the media spotlight.
The bus carrying the Jenkins-Soga family braved rush-hour
traffic for 2.5 hours under police escort until they arrived at
7:21 p.m. at the five-star Intercontinental Midplaza Hotel,
Central Jakarta.
The previously quiet tension in the lobby broke as the leading
police car drew up. A thin-framed Jenkins entered, smiled and
waved graciously to the crowd of reporters -- including dozens of
Japanese TV and print media -- and Japanese onlookers who had
gathered at the hotel, and the lobby filled with applause.
Belinda, in a white blouse and dark skirt, hugged and kissed a
little girl who presented her with a bouquet.
Asked how he felt, Jenkins replied, "I am happy", but declined
comment when asked it felt to be in the "outside world".
How long the family will stay in Jakarta and their future
remains unclear, but a Japanese official said, "as long as is
necessary".
After their brief appearance in the lobby, the family was led
upstairs to an undisclosed suite, accompanied by Japanese
Ambassador to Indonesia Yutaka Iimura and Special Advisor to the
Cabinet Nakayama Kyoko.
It is clear the Japanese stance is humanitarian, with
officials making an obvious effort at protecting the privacy of
the family, showing diplomatic restraint at the first question
breaching the bounds of propriety, privacy or politics.
"I am sure the family will be experiencing a lot of shock --
cultural shock notwithstanding -- and we are trying to respect
the family's privacy ... including not raising any topics of
discussion that may be potentially disturbing," a foreign
ministry official who accompanied Jenkins and his daughters from
Pyongyang said, requesting anonymity.
He was responding to a question about the U.S.' maintaining
that Jenkins was, to quote Colin Powell, "of course, a deserter".
The official said the three appeared nervous at the start of
their flight, but as the aircraft took off, the girls crowded
around their one window and stared out at the sky.
"Perhaps it was their first time on a plane," he said.
It is apparent that every effort, no matter how small, was
made to ensure their comfort, including the on-board video
selection -- Tom and Jerry and Disney's Brother Bear at Soga's
request -- and special multicultural meals of Japanese and
Western fare, and kimchi.
In regards Jenkins' health, the official mentioned that he
looked "about the same as a year and nine months ago", but that
he had undergone a recent operation and his health had generally
suffered as a result of the prolonged separation.
As for the question of the Jenkinses' dog, which was reported
to have died in Japanese media, Jenkins said it was Blackie who
had died of old age, but that he had gotten another dog -- a
female -- for the girls to alleviate the absence of Soga. The dog
is being looked after in Pyongyang for the meantime.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Embassy official in Jakarta said there was
no official statement on the Jenkins-Soga case from Washington.