3/11 is nearing. It is with a heavy heart that I remember the morning of 11 March 2011. While I was working in the shop, my Cape Town friend phoned me with a deep concern in his voice about the earthquakes and tsunami. I laughed saying Dont worry! We japanese are used to this sort of things. You wish you could ride the tsunamis, hey? The radio was only reporting a few deaths. But by the end of the day, it was a totally different story. The news of the nuclear disaster broke and many deaths were being identified continuously. Later, it was clear that it was one of the worst disasters in my home country since I was born. A week later,I was on the train to my daughters school in the early evening wondering about my far away country. The familiar blind guitarist came in to the carriage and started singing Amazing Grace in isiXhosa. Tears rolled down my cheeks, finally. A lot of friends here offered to support and I was able to raise over R7000 in 2 weeks through origami and onigiri (rice balls) workshops. The money was then sent to a Japanese NGO called SHARE that was sending medical help to the disaster areas. The organisation is actually helping the HIV/AIDS projects in South Africa also. This year, on 11 March, I will be chanting with a few of my friends in Fish Hoek. There is a long way to go, but we have still not forgotten the people who are struggling daily.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 15:54:32 +0000