Disaster Stories

An article I found (see link below) depicted the stories of two disaster survivors – one man, and an 85-year-old-geisha. Not only did Matsumoto Shigeki lose his home and his entire village, but the tsunami also swept his mother out to sea, and her body was never found. Each day following the disaster Matsumoto would search through the debris in hopes of finding even a piece of her clothing or a shoe, but it seems the powerful force of the tsunami swept all trace of his mother away in just a few moments.

Fujima Chikano, the last geisha in her home town, was forced to leave behind her priceless kimonos, obi, and shamisen, as well as her only apprentice who was also swept away by the tsunami. Fujima taught dancing and shamisen playing, but without her necessary supplies and venue, her talent could be lost to the region forever. In addition to this significant cultural loss, Fujima will suffer significant economic losses as well. Without any insurance, money, or valuables to her name, Fujima must start over again with nothing, and she is at a complete loss as to how to begin piecing her life back together.

Never in my life have I experienced such a devastating event, and honestly I can’t even begin to think how these people can learn to overcome this trauma and return to a normal life. If Matsumoto never finds a trace of his mother, how will he ever be able to live in peace? How can he stop thoughts of his lost mother from haunting him day after day? As for Fujima, with her remaining years dwindling, how will she find the time to completely rebuild her life, and how will she ever overcome her devastating losses? It is said that time heals all wounds, and so perhaps with time, support from close friends and family, and psychological and economic assistance these two survivors can return to a “normal” life, but I feel that their memories and grief will always remain with them no matter what they do. Young people are fortunate that they are so resilient, but while they can more easily move away, create a new life for themselves, and move on, older generations have fewer opportunities to escape their misery, and their lives may always be left in broken pieces. In my opinion, at least for these two people, they will never truly overcome the trauma of this disaster, and their lives will be tainted with a sadness that can only be removed through death or a truly miraculous circumstance.   

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/18/japan-earthquake-stories-disaster-zone

Swamped and Shaken in Japan

Having lived in Hawaii for many years, my mom still reads Hawaiian newspapers online such as the Star Advertiser, and so I decided to look there first for an article on the 3.11 disaster. Given that Hawaii is much closer to Japan than any of the other states in America, I assumed that their coverage of the disaster would be much more sensationalized and would heavily depict the worries of the people regarding the spread of nuclear radiation to the islands. As I searched through the articles related to Japan, however, I found that almost all of the articles were written in a matter-of-fact sort of way with little exaggeration, even on the days directly following the disaster. In one particular article that was written just one day after the event (see link below), the writer clearly expressed the severity of the situation while still giving accurate information, which contrasted many of the sensationalized articles I read from other American sources. Being a person with family members in Japan/a person who was planning to study abroad in Japan shortly after the disaster took place, I feel that I was extremely involved in reading articles online and watching the news, and it was extremely frustrating to be surrounded by so much contradicting and plain ridiculous information. While various American sources depicted Japan as a complete wasteland and spouted unrealistic worries about radiation terrorizing the states, this author of this article seemed calm, collected, and well-informed, which is very refreshing. Perhaps the close vicinity to Japan allowed this newspaper to gain more reliable information or maybe the Hawaiian mentality is just less dramatic, but either way I really wish there were more articles such as this one available to the people during this time of crisis. I understand that fear sells, but if the Star Advertiser can provide accurate articles without losing readers or going bankrupt, then I don’t see why the rest of the world can’t do the same.

“Swamped and Shaken in Japan”

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110312_swamped_and_shaken_in_japan.html