Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Do you think you make a difference?

In a few hours I'm leaving with 2 friends and the 3 of us are going up and making deliveries. As I've written before, I feel that I owe it to this place and to the good people in Japan to do something positive. It'll be 2 months in a few weeks and things have steadily improved but there's a long way to go is ahead. What struck me was that a few foreigners that I know had asked me the same question. "Do you think you make a difference by going up there...?" It's an honest question and a perhaps the right one to ask. What gets me however is that I'm confident in saying the ones asking me have done nothing. Other than leaving Japan and returning, talking about it from afar, or telling me how it's good that I did what I did; they've done very little. In the life of each of us when the time to do the right thing comes, the voice you hear does not come from people.  As for that question, my answer to all of you is "Yes." My answer to those few who "asked me in that manner is "Ask yourself the same question..." Well, I just wanted to put those words down as they somehow lingered and bothered me today. I'm not a disaster tourist. If I wanted to thrill seek; trust me I can name a lot of other things I have done and would prefer doing. What I'm doing comes from the heart. Now it's getting late and I'm packed. You never know what to expect so I'm packing well and making sure I'm prepared. Plenty of food, water, MRE(s), and harsh condition gear. You never know if an earthquake may make us stranded up there. Last time I went up a 7.1 magnitude quake hit. So, you never know, you just never know. I'll put the same words down as I did prior to going up. Nothing can go wrong if you do what's right.

3 comments:

  1. Amen cousin, be careful and keep on keepin on !! <0{{{{<

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  2. Disaster tourist": i like that one Lin. I was given a lot of money and so i brought stuff up to a FB friend in Tokyo and went to Fukushima-city and mailed it to the Kawamata-machi Mayor. Though i had a JR open pass i did not feel it was right to tour the disaster zone if i was not able to join a relief party. The next day after returning to Canada i got an order to report. i posted my sketches as a view tourist..this week. I quit college to pay for the tkt to Japan..i am so saddened i left Japan one day before i got the order to join the relief party..but as a single dad i am limited to the min and max time of my trip and purposes. yes alot of English teachers ran like cowards..back to the us of a and commonwealth countries..heroes are the survivors, the relief workers, and i think many thousands of school children of whom gave 5$ to the relief cause..God speed..yes i feel you needed to out the disaster tourist..good job..

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  3. Yes, you are fair and right to reflect as you have done. I would join you if I could.
    I appreciate the sincerity of your heart. If I can help you in any way, please let me know. Otherwise I help through the many other institutional avenues which may or may not be all that helpful but I don't know what else to do, stuck here in NYC.
    Best
    H

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