Help needed in Miyagi - URGENT

This is urgent from JEARS....

Remember last week, I was saying about animals dying at Hokenjos?

And one dog died because we couldn't get help to him in time.

Today, there is an appeal for more help from those in Sendai or around able to collect the animal from its impending doom.

Via @japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support
((JEARS facebook page))

URGENT: Anyone in Miyagi interested in helping rescue some cats & dogs from Miyagi hokenjo-s? We need helpers who can go to hokenjos, take them out. We'll pick them up and bring to our temporary shelter. P/s tweet @NotWoAnimals or email us to jearscoalition@gmail.com. Thank you!
blog.livedoor.jp/liablog/archives/1524241.html



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Pictures..The JEARS flyer

OK, so, yesterday I had my first success (apart from my work, who who probably drawn by some sort of obligation).

Here is the flyer at the local supermarket....I had the chance to check it today and unlike the pet store, they have actually put it up!!

And as for my day?

Well, Susie arrived! Our little survivor friend from the north!!

By now, she has travelled around more of Japan than most of us! Remember, I had met her in Niigata? Well, she had come from Tohoku before moving there. And then, she was taken to HEART, Tokushima. now, finally she has been delivered to us! Bless her!

Here is her meeting Elbi. We are sure they will get along.

There may be a small adjustment period, but she loves love, just as much as Elbi, so we will be sure to give it and share it!

It is great to be able to be part of the continuing JEARS story.

If you are reading this and know someone able to foster or adopt, please contact someone at jears - foster@jears.org

The JEARS flyer

They accepted my flyer (you know the one to collect donations), at the local supermarket!!!!!

And it only took two members of staff and a phone call to a third!!!

I was so taken aback when the lady came and said it was OK that i was all about ready to take the laminated flyer back from her and out it in my bag!

This is such a good thing for us. Remember I have said earlier that the flyer was nowhere to be seen at the let store where I they accepted it. And remember there have been a couple of pointless rejections. This could be a turning point!

Now, if word can spread...

Also in the good news stakes today, we got a phone call about Susie! They will try to bring her tomorrow from Heart. (Tsunami survivor! I met her at the end of March on my first trip with JEARS, she was in Niigata at the time.)

Things are very exciting indeed!

And this weekend, we will have our food drive for the animals,so let's see how much we can collect!!

Rest assured there will be plenty of pics! Here is another one is Susie in the meantime.





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Location:Kasukabe,Japan

Pulling teeth

So, we went to the pet store yesterday and there is no sign of my donations notice anywhere.

It is so tiring. There is either red tape preventing me from getting the message across or there is the general notion that I am a foreigner with a flyer and that is all.

The post office near our house told me to come back another day when a more senior member could authorise me putting up the notice. It is just frustrating, there is space on the board and it is causing no harm.

More annoyingly so, this is a gesture so small that is helping the country in something so big.

The notice basically explains about JEARS and says that if you want to donate, here is the Sendai address or, if you want to give locally in Saitama, just call me, Lee.

It is not a rude, demanding nor forceful notice at all. I just cannot comprehend why no one will accept it.

One supermarket said a flat 'no'.

I need to adjust the techniques. One friend has suggested approaching vets at their clinics with a phot album and asking for a donation box to be put in their clinic. Sound good, right?

But, I know of just one clinic in this area....

Still, there are some more shops and people I can approach.

Next week is our food drive, where friends will come and visit us and bring something to contribute for the animals.

I even had the mother of two kids, (not even my students, such is the generosity) offer me big bag of food and snacks at school.

I now need to transport the +6kg bag home!

Basically, I want to return to Tohoku in a few weeks. I want to see Namiko San and her dog too and I want to be able to actually contribute more to the endless need for food and supplies.

Right now, I have to mail a girl about cat supplies!

Let the collection begin!!


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Location:Kasukabe,Japan

I'm a volunteer...article

I have put this article online.

While it is great people are helping, there are still places lacking the love, help and respect they need in the north of Japan.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8971590-im-a-volunteer

- So, what did you do this Golden Week?

- Oh, I. Went to Tohoku to volunteer....and insert here the story of a beach clean up, cooking meals at evacuation centres, collecting rubble etc.

Volunteering is the new 'boom' it seems in Japan. And this is great, not just because the north needs all of our help right now, but because it will hopefully teach us all so much more about charities, donations, and the real meaning of helping a needy cause.

Having lived in Japan for five years and having worked with various organisations both here and abroad, (mostly helping animals in need), I noticed how different things were here in Japan.

While people here are very helpful and generous overall, it is slightly different when it comes to the bigger picture.

Of course there exists the big organisations like the Japanese Red Cross Society and even international NPOs, like World Hunger Relief, but only these big ones seem to get noticed.

Various countries have fun runs, mini marathons, all sorts of sponsored events, all to raise money for causes. Sadly, none of that really happens here.

I did a sponsored bike ride around the Yamanote line a couple of years ago in order to raise money for an organisation I support in Indonesia. This was shortly after the big earthquakes they had in Sumatra and the organisation had an office damaged and a boat missing too.

When I explained to people what it was I was doing and why, they were happy to help, but for many, it was the first time they had heard of something like this. You give money to someone you may not even know so well so they can send it to who? Crazy stuff.

But, this is what I know. Fundraising events are great for promoting awareness and getting people involved. Since the awful tragedies of March 11, people the world over have rallied around with all sorts of ways to raise money, send donations etc, including within Japan.

It has hit home hard how much some people need that bit of extra help and love that comes from an outside source. What does it matter if you don't know the person to whom you are sending new shoes to? What does it matter that you don't know who will enjoy the food you are sending up? The important factor here is that you are doing it and sending it with love, which is perfect for our friends in the north.

Being able to travel to the north to lend a hand is another grand gesture. So what if Golden Week is short, what is a day or two here or there? So many people are giving up their time and money to help.

This is amazing. The giving spirit that Japan is already well know for is now being shared to the wider community. People aren't so withdrawn anymore, we are all open to giving and receiving much more freely than before.

I don't doubt that this will continue. The want to share, to help, to give is boundless. We just need to be aware that all the people affected by March 11 are being helped.

The big organisations are sending all the volunteers to the areas you may hear about in the news, but Tohoku is big. So big in fact, that not everyone is getting the help they need.

Apparently, there were 300 000 volunteers in Tohoku this Golden Week, yet I was in Shichigahama and we were five. This was an area overlooked by the Government. house are just about intact, but damp. Access to shops is limited as is the water, the gas and provisions are scarce.

So, while it will always be a great thing to help and lend a hand, why not try to look for the small groups in need of assistance. Then your volunteering love will go to people not really sharing this current 'boom'.

Gambarre Tohoku. Let's keep the fighting spirit strong.

May Day

When the door opened to the JEARS apartment, I was greeted by so many faces, it was hard to keep track! There must have been about 9 people there at that time, plus Omori San, who lives upstairs.

It was a crazy encounter; I dumped my bags, got some donations from Yumi, and quickly got changed into some trousers. I packed my rain boots, my waterproofs and was good to go.

Today, I was going with Yumi's gang. I wanted to help them a little, like they helped me and also, Shichigahama is an area I am fond of as we used to go there often for so many beach BBQs.

Shichigahama still doesn't have water, local shops have limited supplies and you cannot even pee in a local convenience store, now that is saying something as usually, a convenience store sorts you out for everything.

So, why are we here? The whole of Tohoku has suffered from the events of March 11th, and so many people have suffered in so many ways. We see on the news endless tales of destruction and loss and it is to these areas only where the majority of money, food and volunteers go.

Shichigahama is a set of bays and the shape of these bays meant that some of the destruction was lessened. Small islands out to sea or inlets held of the tsunami just a little and this meant that the damage was not as severe as in some other coastal towns.

So, in Shichigahama, there are still many houses missing, flattened or ruined by the wave, but there are still many standing. And, it is for this reason the people are put aside by the Japanese Government. I suppose the logic is that they have a house, so they are OK.

This is far from true. Water is still limited if any at all, food supplies are lacking as shops cannot get deliveries still. Those with cars can access shops further away, but they must still be careful, as gas is limited too.

Yumi had heard the story of people in Shichigahama and knew she had to do something to help.

First stop was Fumiko's house.

Fumiko used to live down below by the water a long time ago. She sold her house and moved uphill. Of her former house, all that remains is the second floor. The house itself, or what is left, has been thrown over towards other buildings. Fumiko must be feeling glad for her decision to move, but, rather than dwell upon selfish mullings, she, has taken to helping all her local neighbours. She is a very jovial lady, full of energy, spirit and a lot of laughter!

We started to set down the donations (yumi had to takkyubin some of the boxes of clothes up as there simply was not enough room in the van!).

Meanwhile, Fumiko San was the first ( of many! ) to get her hair cut.

The donations were sorted out both inside and outside the house. The van was also reloaded for a wee journey down below. Some neighbours came and collected some goodies.

We drove down to the coast and saw Fumiko's old house, along with more destruction.

The harbour had bad damage and one area

was being used as a central

dumping ground for garbage. Amongst the wood and the dirt, there was a small children's toy, a stark reminder of who may be among the victims.

Along the coast, some houses were fine, some houses missing, and some marked with signs that read, 'limited entry' or 'unsafe'.

You would not expect people to be living in such buildings, but they were, somehow, and getting on with it as best they could.

Donations were accepted graciously although in a fiercely proud nation, it can be hard to offer things, even at times like this.

We even delivered to a small gas station that was open, but surrounded by destruction.

Impressive, but sad, but life goes on and the clean up must continue.

Back at the house, we sorted through more donations and reloaded the van.

Haircuts were still going on in full swing, mostly obachans, older ladies whose mobility is limited. Everyone was grateful for the support and had a little chat with us. We even got an invite for coffee at a neighbour's house, but we had to keep going.

Next stop was Yougai, down by another bay. The fishing bay had a couple of boats overturned and on top of each other.

We went right to the end of the bay to a house at the end. From the drive, you can see the beginning of Matsushima Bay,

a bay famed for it's beautiful islands and ranked one of the top three sits in Japan. Apparently, the islands broke the tsunami wave a little and were not destroyed at all. Yokatta!

I could see the tourist boats going to and from the islands, business as usual, it seems. it is Golden Week after all.

We delivered more food donations and divided them up so each neighbour could receive a bag. I walked with Rena to one house nearby. She was an old lady, very cute. Her house was not in good shape and had the 'limited entry' sticker on it. She showed us a massive crack in the driveway as she laid down her bags by her kotatsu.

I suddenly felt very empty inside. How could this lady be alone? And living in a house that was not safe? She smiled and invited us for coffee, but we had to get back to help at the main house.

We loaded the van with garbage to take to the tip. The tip was a big open space with a massive collection of frisbee, televisions, computers, not to mention rubble, all collected since March 11. There was a bad smell too.

Over by the fridges, there was a collection of toys with the Japanese flag blowing in the wind next to them. Yet another horrid reminder of the young and helpless victims.

We made a couple of trips here, offloading many things that had been damaged in the outhouse, television, shelving unit, many toys, electrical goods etc.

The hut itself had been thrown to another area of the garden completely. It was now back where it belonged but it was still wet inside. Tomorrow's was to clean and dry out everything in the outhouse and the shed.

At the end of the day, we were welcomed into Fumiko's house for snacks and juice. We all chatted and shared stories. One lady had family in Ishinomaki and her father was living in a shelter there. He wants to kill himself because life is so slow to progress. He has nothing and just lives day by day in the centre with nothing to do. She, is plagued with worry, especially as he won't leave the area as it is hometown.

Yumi gave out some remedies for the ladies of the neighbourhood (she is a herbalist by trade) and hopefully, they will feel less stress very soon.

I was also introduced to a lady whose dog had been very sick since the earthquake. She has a pomeranian and he is hardly eating and also vomiting. All the vets in the area that she knows have had their clinics destroyed or lost in the tsunami. I had to act now to help her.I promised I could return either the next day or the one after with a solution, a vet or some meds, something, anything to help.

A few calls later and I knew who to contact. I would mail the vet later, a Sasaki Sensei who has been helping immensely since the disasters. We would get this dog better quickly!

We quickly popped into the neighbour for coffee, where her hospitality was just wonderful. One coffee and two green teas later (it would have been rude to refuse) along with a chocolate bar ( the generosity is astounding - remember, we are there to give them food!), my gamman and stretch was slowly fading. I would need the toilet very soon! We were all the same.

It had been almost eight hours of running around and work and not going to the loo. We had a portable toilet, kind or and if we really wanted to we could have used this...!!!

We drove off, leaving Maria still cutting hair, ( I think she helped almost thirty people by the end of the day!!). I had to get back to my base to see what was happening.

We eventually found a conbeeny with a toilet (!)

and treated ourselves to a post-pee coffee!

Much needed and well deserved!!

Back at the JEARS house, the teams were still out. One was in Iwate collecting cats and dogs at the city hall.

The others were in Fukushima.

I was alone for a while, so Fumiko (it's her mother's apartment we renting) popped over. Omori San upstairs had made curry for the volunteers, but they hadn't returned, so I could get double helpings!

I sent mails to the vet and spoke with Fumiko about an Aigo centre nearby. Usually an Aigo centre is a friendly place for the animals. It is the hokenjos where the animals have one week to live if no one collects them, sometimes these animals come form the aigo centre, so we though we would make a plan to go there's tomorrow morning. I also wanted to sort out the sick dog, so I had a plan, i just didn't have transport.

Thank goodness for friends and good people! Fumiko was coming to get me at 9am, from there, the rest would fall into place, I was sure of it.

Yumi has a page on facebook - Follow her and her team's work here -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/DIRECT-HELP-for-victims-and-animals-REJECTED-from-shelters-in-JAPAN/185436641502603

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Location:Shichigahama & Sendai, Miyagi

Golden Week - travelling up north

So, I had never even met my travelling partners before, but Yumi chan and I had sent a few volunteer related emails and somehow I didn't feel out of place asking to hitch a lift with them to Miyagi during the busy Golden Week holiday.

Yumi had her own little group going to help an area of the Miyagi prefecture that seem to have been cast aside by the Japanese Government. Her mission is to deliver food and essentials to these areas in Shichigahama, as no one is providing for them.

They had a van packed full to the brim with so many things, boxes of clothes, croissants, fruits, washing products, you name it, it was there, all the things we take for granted in our weekly shop.

Miraculously, these kind hearted people found the space for my lard arse in the back of the car along with my over packed bags with things for my own organisation.

We were all volunteers. These days, half of Japan are volunteers. It is the new boom. Everyone wants to help in so many ways.

The expressway was busy but we were not held up.

At the stop offs, I was amazed by the volume of cars, buses and people. I have travelled to and from Sendai by road so many times and have never seen it like this. Apparently, there were 300 000 volunteers heading to Tohoku this holiday!!! That is a lot of people!!!

The road, as usual now, was bumpy in Fukushima. The roads have been fixed but some of the damage shall never go away.

Yet, this being Japan, none of this affected us at all. We got to the Izumi Inter turn off at around 4am, so we were able to sleep for a few hours before heading to the JEARS apartment.

The team sleeping in the cramped van
1. YUMI, ring leader and general awesome lady!

2. KENGO, our ever persistent driver and strong helper.
3. RENA, Kengo's wife and another awesome lady!
4. MARIA, a trained hairdresser, coming up to chop, chop, chop
5. LEE, me!

Check out this link for Yumi's work...https://www.facebook.com/pages/DIRECT-HELP-for-victims-and-animals-REJECTED-from-shelters-in-JAPAN/185436641502603

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Location:Tohoku Expressway

The Telegraph article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatlife/8446374/Two-views-of-the-Japan-earthquake-crisis.html

I forgot to mention this.

Now, I am not really one to rant(!) and certainly not one to write to newspapers, but I have been at loggerheads with some friends about certain things and I was, at this time, so irate about a stupid letter The Telegraph had printed. Basically, one guy, living in Saitama, wrote some short story, creative writing piece wannabe that got me so riled.

(you can see it on the link from the paper...my sayonara tears...blah blah...)

Basically, his article was desperately trying to paint a dramatic picture of a scene that, as scary as it may have been, will never be anything in comparison to what the north of Japan has seen and suffered. The fact that the newspaper printed such drivel makes them as bad as him.

It was no longer a case of who was a fly-jin or not, it was a case of who was trying to manipulate the situation for their own benefits...sick people.

Not to mention the fact that he lived in the same prefecture as me. I have been endlessly and sadly, mostly in vain, trying to tell people that things are OK here. Yet one stranger, with no sensitivity comes along and ruins this.

Then this brings me to some of the people I know. People defending this story, people attacking us for simply sharing the story and sighing with sheer exhaustion at yet another over elaborated, stupidly decorated tale of how they hid under the table then left Japan. Ugh.

It was all very hurtful and saddening. Different people have different priorities, that much I can understand, but I would have thought friends to have understood us.

So, I wrote an email, telling them how it was. They edited a few things, such as my sentence saying 'We were lucky' and how it referred to us getting a taxi. For the sensationalism of my little note, they used my words as the title, making it look like I am just as bad as the other guy. Ugh

The focus must stay on the north, not on the eejits who have left, selling, printing, telling their stories of non-woe.

Ok - Rant over for now. x

((Oh, they wanted a picture of me too...but when I sent them one of the beautiful countryside of where we live in Japan, they were not interested....HHHhhhmppphhhhhh))

Two views of the Japan earthquake crisis

Two expat teachers living in Japan - one British, one American - got in touch with Telegraph Expat to share their stories of the earthquake and its aftermath.

Medical staff in protective gear check radiation levels on a local resident in Koriyama, Japan Photo: Aflo/Rex Features

9:27AM BST 18 Apr 2011

1 Comment

Story One: 'We were so lucky'

Leonora Sophie is a British teacher based in Kasukabe, Saitama. She has lived in Japan for five years, and was at the immigration office in Saitama renewing her visa when the earthquake struck.

I have never experienced anything like it before and I was scared. I was lucky to be with my husband and together, we knew that we had to abandon the visa renewal process (he, too is British) and get back home as quickly as possible to check on our pets.

As we walked, the ground shook more, but thankfully, less vigorously. The trains had all stopped and crowds of people were collecting, hoping that they would be able to get home somehow that evening.

We passed some buildings with cracks at the foundations, shops with their displays on the floor and some window fronts with cracked panes. We were so anxious to get home to see how the animals were, but I was scared to go inside. The day before we had bought shelving that was all downstairs near the dog cage. Miraculously, none of this had fallen over. Our dog was clearly frightened and our hamster didn't come out for two days, but, we, the family were fine. Thank goodness.

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The television, much crockery, and possessions weren't, but we learnt, very quickly, that material possessions mean nothing at a time like this. And that was before we had heard about the tsunami.

As soon as we logged onto the computers and found out the news, I spent at least the next 48 hours pretty much glued to every news source with tired but wide eyes. I used to live in Sendai, my friends were all around Miyagi and Iwate, I didn't know what to think. It took a while for the good news to filter through, but it did. For that, I am so happy. It took a lot longer to found out about friends in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, for the situation there was just the worst.

While our good news filtered in, so many other bad reports did too. As the whole Fukushima saga unravelled, I was more interested in the news that Sendai airport had been fixed enough to let relief fly in. Then, the Tohoku expressway was fixed, which meant more supplies, more aid and also gave families the chance to reunite. And this was all just 13 days after the earthquake, an impressive feat for sure.

By March 14, one friend had decided to leave, but at this stage, things were very much under control. We were closely heeding the advice of the British government and listening to reports from a government nuclear specialist, John Beddington, who has quite clearly explained what would normally be a tricky situation to understand. But, with his help and his phone conversations with the embassy here, we have, at no point, felt at risk.

By March 16, however, we had been hounded with so many phone calls and emails from family and friends abroad, that we decided to leave our house for a while and visit our friends in Nagoya. We were very happy in Saitama and feared nothing, but people we knew were reading all sorts of ridiculous stories that were totally different to the ones we had seen, and had put so much doubt in our minds.

We had a nice time in the south, where we could start organising things to send to those in the north. But suddenly, it seemed that everyone had forgotten about the killer tsunami and the damage it had done and all the focus was on a nuclear fallout.

A lot of foreigners have left Japan to wait till it "blows over" but the reports are the same each day. The power plant is in an awful state, and it will take months to fully clean it all up. So, some of these foreigners have returned to the same situation they left behind a few weeks ago and others have just left.

I appreciate that not everyone calls Japan home, so if they want to just leave, that is their choice. But, to me, Japan is home. It has offered me so much and our life here is great. We both work here and feel a responsibility to our jobs. I have already covered for a co-worker who has left the country, and it makes me wonder how bigger companies are coping. What about the people who have to do the jobs of those who have left as well was their own? And then there are our friends. We are not the only ones going through this. We must be, and are all together, united on this. How can we abandon the ones we care for, the country we care for, the life we have built up? And why would we when we do not feel we are at risk?

We are not stupid, and we are very much aware, that, in if the situation gets worse, we can take the necessary precautions and actions. The British embassy have provided us with potassium iodide in the event of an emergency and we are sure to have travel money should we need. All these things come from preparation. Japan is a country of preparation and practice.

While the stories still lurk in the (foreign) press about Fukushima, I cannot find (m)any of how people really are getting on with things. Houses are being rebuilt, new lives starting again. These are the people we really need to think about.

Searching for animals.

Currently reporting from the road back to Niigata.

It has been a long day of mostly driving. The stamina of the crew is inspiring and I am lucky to be sharing this experience.

Today we managed to leave late after various dramas, so despite my good efforts to get up early, which I did, they hadn't been necessary.

We hit the road, again, and again and again. It was a long road. We drove from the countryside plains of Niigata with it's snowy mountains and endless rice fields, to, courtesy of many long, dark tunnels, the clearer area of Fukushima, where mountains were only visible in yonder distance.

Throughout the day, it was our mission to constantly be on the look out for animals, even if we were just making a pit stop at a conbeeny, we could still use the opportunity to talk with locals and let them know about our work.

A photographer told us how, yesterday, he went into 'the zone' and there are so many dogs and cats just roaming around all by themselves.

((the zone, in case you are not aware is the area within 10 to 30 km of the nuclear plant. Only 10pm is mandatory and the rest, voluntary, but owners of pets left thinking they could return within a few days. Sadly, this is not so.))

We also met a lovely couple who had the most beautiful Labrador. We stopped and had a chat. She told us of a dog she had seen dead just up the road and took our details in case she found any that needed rescuing. It is this word of mouth that works well and it is amazing to see the support for the organisation.

We saw the coastline that had been affected from Soma, Fukushima, where it began, up as far as Yamamoto in south Miyagi. The destruction really is unreal. What we see on the news is awful, yet, seeing it in real life, still does not help comprehend what happened here. We had to swerve to dodge a big boat that had been forced form the bay over to the opposite side of the road. Gradually, the more houses we passed, the bigger the trail of destruction became.

Three weeks on, and people have started to move the debris and pile it up outside their houses. Everything on the first level was a destroyed. I watched as a family removed everything from their fish shop, from dead fish and crabs, to shop fittings and possessions, all saturated and muddy, nothing could be salvaged.

After ten minutes or so, north from Soma, the destruction spread even further inland. Very little remained of what was once a quiet little town on the coast.

Cars were smashed, wrangled and there were many scattered in the distant rice fields, which were still damp and muddy. The first floors of most houses were obliterated and those houses that were still standing with both floors, had windows smashed and curtains blowing in the wind to remind us of a family who once dwelled there, closing them to keep quiet and warm indoors. All that remained of other houses was the second floor alone. The tsunami came and swept away the base of the house leaving just the upper level. This was all that sat in the rice field.

The view was the same the whole road through, destruction, piles of debris, damaged cars, one was wrapped around a lamp post. But, the worst and saddest thing I saw today, was a little pink baby jump suit amongst the pile of debris outside a house where a wall was missing and the bathroom was on show.

As we drove along, we scoured the roads and debris for nay signs of canine of feline life. Of course, there was none. Not here, anyway. The coast was within eyesight and I could see blue calm waters, but before that lay mud, fallen trees and mess, all a sign that the water was, 3 weeks ago, was anything but calm.

We did hear dogs barking and feared that they may have been abandoned. We drove into the house and met the owners coming back from their food shopping trip. We explained to them our purpose. We offered them food, which they accepted graciously as it is scarce on these areas.

We have been o the road for 12 hours and we are not yet home. Maybe we have another hour or two on this windy, wet and, save for one truck ahead, empty road back to Niigata.

Big thanks go to
www.jears.org working with www.kinshipcircle.org (from America). they are working ever so hard to save all these animals and, when possible, reunite them with their owners.



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Location:On the road, Niigata, Fukushima, Miyagi.

3/11

The floor pounds,

Smashing sounds,

One big thud.

Hit the floor hard.

Bruises, shock and pain.

Sirens blare,

People stare.

Disbelief and fear.

One big wave.

Early grave.

Doesn't stop.

Fills the shops,

Forces cars away.

Run, fast run.

Water comes.

Heart beats racing,

Wave still chasing.

Find the highest place.

Crack and crumble.

House is rubble.

Nothing here

But screams and fear.

Lost my wife,

Lost my daughter.

Where is my son?

Pray they are safe,

Pray they are alive.

Pray they knew to run.

Cities gone.

Heartbreak is long.

Never ending pain.

Big shakes rock.

Big waves shock.

Death and despair.

Water won't stop.

Temperature drops.

Cold, alone and scared.

© Leonora Sophie