Haven't written anything for a long time.
My last trip in summer to the soma area was really good. I fixed a lot of bikes and donated about 20000¥ worse of water.
Most of my pictures got deleted by the police after entering the 20k zone.
Let's see, I'll plan to do an free English courses for people in shelter or temp homes, this winter holiday. So if anyone has English textbooks and is willing to donate those please mail me!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
A letter from a hinanjo resident in miyagi
I never thought at my age, that I would be in this spot. But this is where I am at 74, in the taiikukan (体育館 gymnasium) of a middle school in Miyagi Prefecture, now known as a hinanjo (避難所 evacuation center) for people who lost their homes to the earthquake and tsunami that hit the region on March 11. I lived in a little house that I shared with my son, his wife and my two grandchildren. Arigataikotoni (ありがたいことに thankfully), this house was spared but it's been drenched in a meter of sea water. My son travels every day from the hinanjo to pump out the mud and clean up the mess. The grandchildren have relocated to my daughter's house in another prefecture, and it's hard to say when we can live together as a family again.
I'm not complaining. It's a miracle that none of my family are missing. But let me say this: life in a hinanjo is like living an slow death. It's not just the discomfort and stress of sleeping among 200 other people in a gymnasium. In the mornings, we elderly are awake at 4 a.m. but jitai suru (辞退する refrain from) using any amenities until 8 a.m. We want the working people to get their turn first. And at night, we try to go to bed as soon as possible, so others can do the same. Still, the darkness is overwhelming and the yoruno jikan (よるの時間 night hours) are so long. It's hard to get to sleep when people are constantly coughing and sobbing, and coming and going by one's pillow. In the mornings we're left feeling drained.
But far worse is the feeling that I'm a burden, and have nothing whatever to do. At home, there was always some chore to be done. Now I can hardly hear myself think and the hinanjo meals that consist mainly of cold convenience-store foodstuffs aren't exactly beneficial to my seishin (精神 spirit) or my shoukaki-kei (消化器系 digestive system).
Oh no, there I go again. My son is always telling me that I'm a kuchiurusai obaasan (口うるさいおばあさん an old woman who's always complaining and scolding) but that's what happens when a person reaches 70 — which in Japan used to be described as "koki." It's comprised of the kanji characters "ko" of kodai (古代 ancient) and "ki" of kisho (希少 rarity) — put the two together and what you get is a concept that means very rare since ancient times. When you consider that the average lifespan for the Japanese at the beginning of the 20th century was 45 years, living to 70 is indeed a rarity. Can't he recognize that, and treat me with respect?
That's what's missing from this hinanjo life: respect. I don't mean that people aren't nice, because they are. They're shinsetsu (親切 kind) and atatakai (暖かい warm) and so concerned. Most of the people working here are borantia (ボランティア volunteers) and the doctors here have come all the way from Kobe, because they dealt with quake victims before, during the Hanshin disaster 16 years ago. I'm of the kōreisha (高齢者 elderly) group so they take our temperature daily, give us medication when it's available and see to it that we go to the bathroom. Apparently, the doctors pay us special attention because they must prevent deaths in the hinanjo. It just doesn't look good for a survivor to die — not for the volunteers who are working so hard, for the government who are at their wits' end trying to mend the huge rupture in the fabric of this country's system, and the national image.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing or indicting. But treating us like fossils in an incubation box (albeit a cold one) isn't what respect is about. The kōreisha of Japan are not the helpless, burdensome bunch of toshiyori (年寄り oldies) that everyone seems to think. What saddens us most is the feeling that we are meiwaku wo kaketeiru (迷惑をかけている imposing on others), and being deprived of the opportunity to work and contribute. Some of us may need care, but many kōreisha have a huge reserve of knowledge and experience to draw on, namely those awful years during World War II. I've said it before and I'll say it again: sensochū no kotowo omoeba nandemonai (戦争中のことを思えば何でもない when I think of what it was like during the war, this is nothing.) It's a sentiment shared by everyone over 70, I think. And the whole world should know that the Imperial Family — yes! — have shut off the main electrical system in the palace and are now living by candlelight, and the Emperor has said the exact same thing.
When I was a child I carried water and lived on hard potatoes and so did everyone else. Watashitachi wo motto katsuyō shite kudasai (私たちをもっと活用してください Utilize us more, please) is what I say. The nationwide slogan now calls for all Japanese to be as one (ひとつになろう、日本 hitotsuni narō, Nippon) but it feels like we oldies are being left out. I speak for many when I say, we want in! Chikarani naritai (力になりたい I want to help) is not just the battle cry of the young.
I'm not complaining. It's a miracle that none of my family are missing. But let me say this: life in a hinanjo is like living an slow death. It's not just the discomfort and stress of sleeping among 200 other people in a gymnasium. In the mornings, we elderly are awake at 4 a.m. but jitai suru (辞退する refrain from) using any amenities until 8 a.m. We want the working people to get their turn first. And at night, we try to go to bed as soon as possible, so others can do the same. Still, the darkness is overwhelming and the yoruno jikan (よるの時間 night hours) are so long. It's hard to get to sleep when people are constantly coughing and sobbing, and coming and going by one's pillow. In the mornings we're left feeling drained.
But far worse is the feeling that I'm a burden, and have nothing whatever to do. At home, there was always some chore to be done. Now I can hardly hear myself think and the hinanjo meals that consist mainly of cold convenience-store foodstuffs aren't exactly beneficial to my seishin (精神 spirit) or my shoukaki-kei (消化器系 digestive system).
Oh no, there I go again. My son is always telling me that I'm a kuchiurusai obaasan (口うるさいおばあさん an old woman who's always complaining and scolding) but that's what happens when a person reaches 70 — which in Japan used to be described as "koki." It's comprised of the kanji characters "ko" of kodai (古代 ancient) and "ki" of kisho (希少 rarity) — put the two together and what you get is a concept that means very rare since ancient times. When you consider that the average lifespan for the Japanese at the beginning of the 20th century was 45 years, living to 70 is indeed a rarity. Can't he recognize that, and treat me with respect?
That's what's missing from this hinanjo life: respect. I don't mean that people aren't nice, because they are. They're shinsetsu (親切 kind) and atatakai (暖かい warm) and so concerned. Most of the people working here are borantia (ボランティア volunteers) and the doctors here have come all the way from Kobe, because they dealt with quake victims before, during the Hanshin disaster 16 years ago. I'm of the kōreisha (高齢者 elderly) group so they take our temperature daily, give us medication when it's available and see to it that we go to the bathroom. Apparently, the doctors pay us special attention because they must prevent deaths in the hinanjo. It just doesn't look good for a survivor to die — not for the volunteers who are working so hard, for the government who are at their wits' end trying to mend the huge rupture in the fabric of this country's system, and the national image.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing or indicting. But treating us like fossils in an incubation box (albeit a cold one) isn't what respect is about. The kōreisha of Japan are not the helpless, burdensome bunch of toshiyori (年寄り oldies) that everyone seems to think. What saddens us most is the feeling that we are meiwaku wo kaketeiru (迷惑をかけている imposing on others), and being deprived of the opportunity to work and contribute. Some of us may need care, but many kōreisha have a huge reserve of knowledge and experience to draw on, namely those awful years during World War II. I've said it before and I'll say it again: sensochū no kotowo omoeba nandemonai (戦争中のことを思えば何でもない when I think of what it was like during the war, this is nothing.) It's a sentiment shared by everyone over 70, I think. And the whole world should know that the Imperial Family — yes! — have shut off the main electrical system in the palace and are now living by candlelight, and the Emperor has said the exact same thing.
When I was a child I carried water and lived on hard potatoes and so did everyone else. Watashitachi wo motto katsuyō shite kudasai (私たちをもっと活用してください Utilize us more, please) is what I say. The nationwide slogan now calls for all Japanese to be as one (ひとつになろう、日本 hitotsuni narō, Nippon) but it feels like we oldies are being left out. I speak for many when I say, we want in! Chikarani naritai (力になりたい I want to help) is not just the battle cry of the young.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Permission needed!
I need a permission to enter the 20km radius around Fukushima-1. If anyone can help us to get a permission, please mail me!
Unbelivable!
Just found out that some people are still living within that 20km radius around the Fukushima-1 Power Plant!
I want to help them coz I guess that those people are mostly aged people.
So who is going to help me getting in that area, providing gas masks, radiation suits and off cause food and water.
Please help!!!
Basti
I want to help them coz I guess that those people are mostly aged people.
So who is going to help me getting in that area, providing gas masks, radiation suits and off cause food and water.
Please help!!!
Basti
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Next Trip to Tohoku
In my summer vacation I will go and help in SOMA.
I researched for a place not so far away from my parents house in Koriyama.
After talking to some ppl, I decided to go to Soma and fix bikes at the shelters.
I let you know more soon!
I researched for a place not so far away from my parents house in Koriyama.
After talking to some ppl, I decided to go to Soma and fix bikes at the shelters.
I let you know more soon!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Got 1(2) more trip(s) to tohoku set up!
I got 1(2) more volunteer trip(s) to tohoku already set up!
One will be in the same region as last weekend and the other will be in miyagi and fukushima!
The dates are June 31st - August 1st(?) and August 14th - 17th.
I still have some of the donated money from my last trip. So I will put this into good use for these trips.
And if you like to support me, click on the Donate button!
Thank you so much for your support!
Basti
One will be in the same region as last weekend and the other will be in miyagi and fukushima!
The dates are June 31st - August 1st(?) and August 14th - 17th.
I still have some of the donated money from my last trip. So I will put this into good use for these trips.
And if you like to support me, click on the Donate button!
Thank you so much for your support!
Basti
Thursday, June 16, 2011
We do not lose!
This is the sticker I got from a friend of kaz grandma!
Also I got some t-shirts.
I like to say thank you soooo much to Kaz mom, grandma and grandpa for all the support and presents I got!!!
Kamaishi June 12th/13th
I went with a friend, who has family in kamaishi, to kamaishi!
We stayed at his grandparents house.
We left kanto area around 11:00pm on June 11th. We arrived at kamaishi on June 12th at 11:00am.
We strait went to some shelters to offer our bike fixing service!
We fixed bicycles all day at a couple of shelters.
That evening we had sushi with my friends family! Yummy!
Than we went out for a night walk to enjoy the natural sounds at the bottom of the mountains!
June 13th
First we went to kamaishi daikanon( I hope I spelled it right ) to get some lucky charms.
After that we asked the volunteer Center where we could help today.
They sent us to a temple that needs to be cleaned up!
We helped until 3:30pm than everyone went back to the volunteer Center. There we fixed one more bike, and went home.
That night we had yakiniku for dinner. It was so delicious!
At 8:30pm my friend drove me back to the bus station in morioka.
It feels really good to help out here!
I will come back for sure!!!
We stayed at his grandparents house.
We left kanto area around 11:00pm on June 11th. We arrived at kamaishi on June 12th at 11:00am.
We strait went to some shelters to offer our bike fixing service!
We fixed bicycles all day at a couple of shelters.
That evening we had sushi with my friends family! Yummy!
Than we went out for a night walk to enjoy the natural sounds at the bottom of the mountains!
June 13th
First we went to kamaishi daikanon( I hope I spelled it right ) to get some lucky charms.
After that we asked the volunteer Center where we could help today.
They sent us to a temple that needs to be cleaned up!
We helped until 3:30pm than everyone went back to the volunteer Center. There we fixed one more bike, and went home.
That night we had yakiniku for dinner. It was so delicious!
At 8:30pm my friend drove me back to the bus station in morioka.
It feels really good to help out here!
I will come back for sure!!!
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