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General Category => Grab Bag => Topic started by: LaurieS on May 07, 2011, 03:16:30 PM

Title: People helping others
Post by: LaurieS on May 07, 2011, 03:16:30 PM
My son just spent some time in Sendai, Japan which is the town where the tsunami hit....He was amazed by how polite and understanding the victims of this disaster were.  The first night he spent with a host family who had lost a daughter, of course the family is sill in mourning, as was evident throughout  the house.

I am posting a couple of pictures from those he was able to share with me.. this first one is an aid station that is providing much needed supplies for families who have been living with the bare essentials for two months.  I'd like for all of us to take notice how polite, well behaved and mannerly these desperate families are.  You can hardly see the line trailing off in the distance and the end of the line is outside of the cameras reach.  What I noticed is that the cones are set at the perimeter, yet no one is even close to overstepping that boundary, and those at the front of the line are actually listening to what two aid workers are saying... I'm still ashamed of the actions of our nation in comparison... I'm sorry the world had to see us at our worse with the Katrina victims.

(http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb341/LaurieSS/P5030970.jpg)

This next picture was hard to me to fully grasp... Talk about resilient people.  If my son sends any more that stop me in my tracks I'll be sure to post them here.  I'm going to enjoy Mother's Day knowing that my family has not had to face these kinds of hardships. Even though two of my kids will not be around, nor will one even realize that it's a holiday, I'm going to celebrate the day not by trying to make it 'my' day but by being thankful that we have yet another day.

(http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb341/LaurieSS/P5041062.jpg)
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: luise.volta on May 07, 2011, 03:31:56 PM
Wow...that sure brings it home. Thank you.
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: AnonymousDIL on May 07, 2011, 05:19:36 PM
Laurie, Thanks for the post. You must be very proud of your son.  :) He sure had a great mom!  ;)
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: LaurieS on May 07, 2011, 08:05:13 PM
:)  Had?
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: Rose799 on May 07, 2011, 08:16:02 PM
How long has it been since the tsunami hit?  Thanks for sharing the photos, Laurie...
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: LaurieS on May 07, 2011, 08:33:16 PM
Rose it's been approximately 2 months.. the tsunami hit March 11, 2011

My son said that some of the homes left standing had holes blown out of the sides and all the contents of the lower floors had washed out.  The one he was working on had furniture in it, but everything was covered in mold and mildew, a very dangerous situation for the 'lucky' people who still had a house standing.  He also said that  new habitats were being built in a 48 hour time table.  Searching for sunscreen, they found a Walmart of all things, but the shelves were empty and the people are living with few essentials.  One of the biggest problems they are facing is the fact that so many people have left the area with no intention of ever coming back.. leaving this to become another dying Japanese town that is only filled with the elderly.. this is a common problem in their farming communities.

Here is another picture.. the name on the boat (in English) is Active One

(http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb341/LaurieSS/P5020943.jpg)
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: Rose799 on May 07, 2011, 09:04:16 PM
Your son is getting a lesson of a lifetime.  If anyone was prepared for such a disaster, it would have been the Japanese.  The photos say it all...  Though we don't feel the vast majority, we're still having aftershocks, sometimes daily, from the 7.2 quake last Easter.  It's scary enough to have the earth move beneath your feet.  I can't imagine the anxiety they must be feeling.  It's sad that they can't all be transferred elsewhere. 
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: lancaster lady on May 08, 2011, 01:19:47 AM
it's easy to forget this ever happened once the photos stop appearing on the news .
Not so for the thousands faced with such hardship .I know my feelings of loss of a few personal items are
so pathetic when you see how these people are facing losing everything .
what a strong race of people they are , still humble in the face of such adversity .
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: AnonymousDIL on May 08, 2011, 04:51:56 AM
Quote from: Laurie on May 07, 2011, 08:05:13 PM
:)  Had?

Why on earth did they put the "D" and "S" keys next to each other?
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: pam1 on May 08, 2011, 07:04:56 AM
Wow Laurie, thanks for posting these.  It really brings it home.
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: LaurieS on May 08, 2011, 07:56:44 AM
In case you did not know.. you can click directly on the photo which will make it a little larger.

This son of mine called last night to send happy wishes for today.. he said that being 12+ hours  ahead of us, he is always the first to celebrate a holiday.. and here I did not think that he would remember. He said, "Hi Mom.. Love you...hope you have a great day... Can Dad pay my credit card bill since I'm in a remote place.. thanks... tell Dad I said hi too.. gotta run"  I had everything except the gf in the background saying it's true.. it's true.
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: Rose799 on May 08, 2011, 08:40:21 AM
Quote from: Laurie on May 08, 2011, 07:56:44 AM
I had everything except the gf in the background saying it's true.. it's true.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: Pooh on May 09, 2011, 08:12:33 AM
I have been sympathetic for them since day one, but I will admit, Saturday my Mom and I were talking about our problems here and I looked at her and said, "You know, I now have a whole new perspective for the Japanese.  I know we have issues, but nothing like they do.  I can't imagine dealing with that."

Sometimes you have to look at other's problems to see that yours, although valid, could be much worse.
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: Pen on May 09, 2011, 08:47:48 AM
How true, Pooh. And as the disasters strike all around the world it's easy to move on to focusing on the latest one and forgetting the people who are still struggling. That doesn't leave a lot of time for whining about relatively insignificant problems of my own.
Title: Re: People helping others
Post by: Rose799 on May 09, 2011, 11:04:12 AM
Something more to think about...

http://www.whippetworld.net/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9988