Nihon, Ganbatte Kudasai!
One month has passed after the earthquake and tsunami hit the northeast of Japan. World’s eyes are focused on what is happening in Japan. Maybe Japan is a country prepared to have a deal with earthquake. They build houses and buildings resistant to earthquake, so it did not cause a fatal damage, but not for the Tsunami; it devastated everything. They lost their homes, properties and their loved ones. And now, they are also still having a deal with nuclear radiation hazards from explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power.
One month is not enough to get them back to the normal condition; earthquakes still shook several times. On April 7th there was a 7.4 magnitude earthquake potentially resulting Tsunami; on April 11th, again a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit. I’m trying to imagine about what happened there, I’m trying to imagine their feelings and how I would feel if it happens to me. I really want to be a volunteer for the victims but it’s not as easy as I think. There are many rules and regulations I must complete; it’s difficult. In fact, I’m in Bali, and I cannot do anything to help them. I could only utter prayers for their safety, for those who have lost their family or still searching their families; I hope they survived.
My love for Japan began when I listened to a song by Utada Hikaru titled First Love and then I began to love watching Japanese dramas and became an admirer of the actors. I also love listening to the other Japanese songs; one of my favorite bands is Monkey Majik, who come from Sendai, the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture that was damaged by the earthquake and Tsunami. Two days ago, I was listening to their songs when I read Blaise’s timeline on Twitter; Blaise Plant is one of Monkey Majik members. He keeps updating news about Sendai earthquakes. From his post on 11st April, there was a video link that brought me to the video above.
I felt touched when a man in this video said “Ganbarimasu”, meaning “I will do my best and keep trying”, or when a young boy said “Peace” with face full of smile; he looked so innocent and I didn’t see any sadness after the damage on their faces. Just like the old women said “We can only stay strong, we’re trying so hard”. They are wounded but they don’t give up and desperate. They don’t just wait for help; they help each other. They laugh and they cheer each other. I think if it happened in our country, our reaction would not be the same like what they do. Mentally, they are stronger than us. I do believe that they will recover soon with their spirits. From the deepest of my heart “Nihon, Ganbatte Kudasai!!”.
