Letter to Japan

Dear YOU from the Land of the Rising Sun

YOU, from Land of the Rising Sun, which trembled, then was flooded

Tsunami comes to Minamisoma

and contaminated

Fukushima Reactor Nr.3 is the biggest problem, because Uran and highly poisonous Plutonium is used. Most likely the pressure vessel is damaged.

you did away with so many stereotypes, you arouse empathy, compassion and deeply felt admiration because under completely paralyzing circumstances, you refused to let go.

Barefoot I run up that hill

Silently weeping over left overs of life stuffed into plastic bags, overpowered by the terrible silence hanging over the destroyed villages along the Pacific, you refused to let go.

Six days into into the disaster

After the Tsunami left Minamisoma...

amid the ruins

 

Iwate Prefecture

Nightmare on Minamisoma

and the horror of private life

– ambition and individual achievement reduced to a pile of unidentifiable garbage

– you show dignity and astonishing personal responsibility in the face of the worst disaster.

You don’t bang your head against the the Grating Door of the Unknown, complaining endlessly at the Wailing Wall of Fate. You refuse to get dragged down in the debris

of your once calm and beautiful beaches.

You offer help to those who are back from the inferno– you have a hard time to ask help for yourself.

You, the Master of Earthquakes, you give the impression as though you were responsible for the Earthquake and the Tsunami.

You are impressive: Orderly lines, no shopping panic in front of empty supermarkets

Empty shelves...

you have understanding when trains don’t run. You show restraint but nevertheless  you command improvisation, you have resourcefullness in reserve.

You are a noble nation. You pick up the shovels and start again. YOU DON’T GIVE UP.

My heart is aching

Gozilla