Nakamura Memorial Garden inaugurated in Nangarhar province

Nangarhar provincial officials officially inaugurated the Nakamura Memorial Garden in Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province on Monday to mark the humanitarian work done by the late Japanese doctor Tetsu Nakamura.

In October 2019, Nakamura was officially granted honorary Afghan citizenship but just two months later, he was gunned down in the city.

The memorial garden, in PD1 of Jalalabad, was paid for by the local municipality and cost 4.9 million afghanis. Seventeen people have been hired to maintain the area, which is 260 meters long.

Nangarhar residents have welcomed the memorial garden while local officials said the municipality will ensure that Nakamura’s unfinished projects will be completed.

Nakamura was a Japanese physician who headed Peace Japan Medical Services (PMS), an aid group known as Peshawar-kai in Japanese.

He was devoted to building canal projects, from the Kunar River in eastern Afghanistan, and was credited with transforming the desert of Gamberi, on the outskirts of Jalalabad, into lush forests and productive wheat farmlands.

He also constructed two hospitals and two mosques.

On 4 December 2019, as Nakamura was heading to work in his aid vehicle in Jalalabad, he was assassinated by gunmen along with his bodyguards and driver.

PMS officials meanwhile said that they are committed to carrying on Nakamura’s work and will launch new projects in the province.