It saved his life

In a restaurant in the West people objected to the presence of some Japanese. A certain man – he was called Laurens van der Post – then strongly objected to this racist behaviour and said to the owner of the restaurant that if the Japanese had to go that he would never visit the restaurant again and he would tell his friends to do the same.

It not only worked, but because of talking to these Japanese visitors he got interested in the Japanese culture and even learned the Japanese language. This saved his life years later.

He became a prisoner in a Japanese camp in Indonesia and because of his speaking Japanese he could survive as a much needed interpreter… In a restaurant in the West people objected to the presence of some Japanese.

A certain man with the name Laurens then strongly objected to this racist behaviour and said to the owner of the restaurant that if the Japanese had to go that he would never visit the restaurant again and he would tell his friends to do the same.

It not only worked, but because of talking to these Japanese visitors he got interested in the Japanese culture and even learned the Japanese language.

This saved his life years later. He became a prisoner in a Japanese camp in Indonesia and because of his speaking Japanese he could survive as a much needed interpreter…