The news has shown pictures of a battered town, Ishinomaki (from whence we have spent days waiting to hear news..but it had come and it is good!,).
There was nothing there. By the hills, where there were some shops and, some houses, there was rubble. It has finally sunk home what has happened.
And, what makes it worse, is that we are here. Not being at home is like saying to people abroad that they are right; Japan is in trouble and beyond help.
THIS IS NOT TRUE.
Japan is nowhere near danger. So many countries have been too quick to criticise, to scold and to blame, but actually, never have I seen a country be more prepared and organised and thoughtful in such a tragedy.
The news gave some relatives the chance to send a message to family members lost in the chaos. An 8 year old girl cries ' otosan', while her mother explains how the father got lost in the quake. It is all done in a realistic way that makes you only admire the Japanese spirit even more.
My mother has been at least twenty times as hysterical, yet, had she read the media properly (and not the sun and bullshit.com), she would know that we are fine.
The British embassy even told me we weren't priority when I followed strict instructions to email them I was Ok. They got my information and then told me, quite understandably, that, not being near the epicentre, I was not top of the list. Also, (and you can read a previous post for this), no one in Britain, believes there is a threat.....the experts that is.
We know, here in Japan, that we have access to all medias, so, to hear that we are being fed false media is hard to believe.
For the first time in my life, I trust the government profusely. I cannot begin to praise the work being done for us here, especially by the workers at the plant. I cannot believe that there are such amazing people out there. God bless them, again and again. Words fail me.
I wish we hadn't left, but I know that there was little choice. We were far in the countryside and we don't have a car yet (although the day of the big earthquake we translated my licence and are almost there!).
Had circumstances been different, we would have stayed, but with very few few trains and many many nagging headaches, we left. I miss our home already and already feel like I am not there. There was a quake tonight, similar in strength to last night, but we felt nothing here. That is weird....
On a plus note, ideas have been forming for some decent ways to help. More, as and when they develop.
For now, I beg the media to back off. Japan is taking a battering from Mother Nature, it does not need a battering from the rest of the world. And please, please, please can someone sort out the news reports....BBC and CNN need to sort out their stories...biased...oh yes...selfish...oh yes' sensationalism...oooooooh yes.... That is NOT news. Get it right.
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Location:Nagoya, Japan
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