A moving account by 2 foreign photgrapher volunteers in Tohoku, Japan

[Bonobo]

http://www.tokyophotographers.com/2011/03/37-frames-great-tohoku-earthquake-tsunami-2011-japan-the-black-mouth-1.html

One small snippet below, but the whole account is so moving with so many photos. Please take the time to read and feel.
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The survivors remain calm and composed mainly, but the trauma seeps through on every level. While talking with a local congressman on how we can help and establish some introductions with international institutions wishing to actively engage in rebuilding the schools, at first glance it seemed he was looking through us, clearly somewhere else, thinking of a more pressing issue, enveloped in waves and grief, then he simply broke down and fell at our feet in thanks and gratitude. We got down too, and helped him up. We then had a smile all together when he mentioned how beautiful we were – yes, clearly he was completely in shock for after a few days of NO showers we were anything but. Believe me.

Trace was overwhelmingly and understandably concerned about the issue of orphans. Many children who survived on the upper floors of schools had the agonizing wait of their parents coming to get them. Many who never did. It’s been weighing on our minds just how many children will go into the system, if immediate family and relatives cannot be located – numbers still chaotic in the twisted jungle of rubble and confusion. But order is coming about little by little. And naturally on a local level communities will want to deal with it internally and privately. But still no one seems to have concrete answers yet. Trace is determined to keep an eye on it and find people to talk to about it more, and access more concrete info as it becomes available.

From the school we then wandered through the streets, trying to capture what our eyes were seeing but never fully sure that it was. While Trace and Katsu were talking with an animal refuge group I discovered some evacuees had formed a bucket line from the now un-swimmable school pool to inside the building. With one small pan the leader scooped water from the pool into 3 buckets and one by one they were passed down the line. I later found the water was for the Japanese-style toilets. It was miserable and time-consuming. Balancing on split timber, once perhaps walls of a nearby home, in a basic attempt to maintain some hygiene and humanity the 3 buckets continued up and down that tragic line. That was until the snow came down and it was gladly knock off time for the day.

[Bonobo]

1. Perhaps I did a poor job describing this but it is worth a read. Kick.

[BlueCollar]

2. I just finished reading and am in tears

If ever an article and pictures can take one through the range of human emotion,tears of sorrow and joy...this is one of those articles.

Thankyou for posting.

Kick and Recommend

:kick:

[Bonobo]

3. Those lovely people... I cried many times too. This in particular:

For now Kiko and Chiyo will remain in their broken and perhaps unsafe home. Certainly worried about yet another concern – now robbers and looting – a rumour going around town. People are all struggling to survive by any means. Kiko said that the night is dark, scary and long. Only candles and silence. Fires in the street people warming their hands, these proud people now looking like a homeless community, spawned overnight.

Then it was time for Kiko to freshen up. Before she excused herself (and we will both never quite get over this), she offered us some umeboshi and drinks. Seriously. That sent me over the edge. We said that it was our pleasure to check in on her and the immediate needs of her “chome”, and that no, we didn’t need any refreshments. But she insisted that we needed to take care of ourselves. We looked around her small room and saw very, very limited supplies of both food and water. We politely declined and she understood. Her touching kindness, concern for others, simply too much to bear.

We soon followed Chiyo back downstairs where she carefully and almost maternally tucked my pants into my gummies and she took us around what was left of her demolished home. Upon leaving we asked “Is there anything you need?” “Oh, no. I don’t need anything, I don’t want to trouble you”, she said. “It’s no trouble at all, truly is there something we can help with?” “No, really we are fine”, she said again. On the third try she tentatively inquired if there were any extra trash bags? Sure, we could try and find some for her. “And how about socks?” Yes, we could try. “And would there be any long underwear, inner shirts to protect from the cold and", in whispered tones…"some ladies underwear?” Leave it with us, we said. We will do our very best. So we left Chiyo. She walked us to the front and said goodbye as we met, tending to her hot coals, smiling and waving. But of course not really there.

[peace13]

4. Thank you for this. It is worth the trip to the link to see the beautiful story.

Peace, Kim

[PA Democrat]

5. Thank you for posting. This is extremely moving and a tribute to the human spirit.

"If there’s one thing that we took away from this experience, it’s that just the act of reaching out, holding a trembling hand, a smile in the street, an ear to listen – that emotional aid has been almost as important as the physical relief. Every person we met on the streets of Ishinomaki had lost someone, was consumed with grief. So tiny extensions mean so much. Kindness. Time. Human contact."

[Saphire]

6. Thanks. How in the world will they ever clean up that kind of destruction?

[LiberalAndProud]

7. Brave, tragic, beautiful humanity.

Lovely, Bonobo. Thank you for this.



Holding you and yours in my thoughts. Be well.

[Chris_Texas]

8. kick

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. The writer "gets" what is often not discussed or perhaps even noticed in trauma survivors:

the "fugue state", what she calls the "trance". It is very important to understand how common that is. A form of shock.
Short term memory, ability to hear clearly, is so difficult.
The author of this piece was very much aware of the shock. Most impressive.
Excellent article and pics.
K&R, with gratitude.

[intaglio]

10. Uplifting and terrifying n/t

[Aerows]

11. That gave me Katrina flashbacks

Katrina was bad, but this was worse. We had some of the same things, like boats through buildings and destroyed homes, but honestly, I don't remember it being as bad as this.

I know how much effort it takes to clean up after a major disaster, and what it is like to do without water and electricity for extended periods of time. It's anything but fun, and it takes a while to get over it. After the "thankful to be a live" and "grateful it wasn't worse" period passes, it's tough.

[Bonobo]

12. Kicking to allow everyone the chance to see this wonderful account. nt

[hunter]

13. Thank you for posting this.

...

[Catherina]

14. Silent rec for this staggering tragedy

The news showed a little boy the other day, looking everywhere for his parents. He was holding a sign saying he'd come back to a certain spot every night until he found them. My mind can't even wrap itself around the magnitude of this tragedy, of all the pain and sadness.

[hunter]

15. back to top

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[Art_from_Ark]

16. Happy to recommend

:kick:

[hunter]

17. kick

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[LiberalAndProud]

18. For those who missed this

:kick:

[BlueCollar]

19. kicking again...because some things need to be...n/t

[Snoutport]

20. Heartbreaking story but important to read.

We forget here that it is cold and snowing on these poor survivors. My family made a donation to MercyCorp. We hope it helps.