i was talking to Abe-san about things in Ishinomaki. he told me that the progress is very slow and a lot of the hard hit areas are still the same. and i’ve been checking the news on the fukushima nuclear plant ever since 3/11 and it is still leaking radiation into the ocean over 2.5 years later. the only reason i’m checking the news on the plant is because i’m hoping for the day the headlines read “100% safe!” and until then, i still have faith.
i clean up my hard drive once in a while and look back at photos. some bringing back memories like it was just yesterday. mixed emotions flowing like a roller coaster. i come across this one. this was We Are One M1 team during our first mission. we took to the roads knowing absolutely nothing about the radiation, and nothing about what to expect. these are just normal japanese people that pretty risked their health and lives to helping others. our first mission was probably the most important one. we learned so much about where we needed to help most, we learned so much about the fukushima radiation problem, and we learned a lot about ourselves. we learned how to hold back the tears, we learned how to love, we learned how to help, and we learned that we are all the same. once again, i want to thank my We Are One teams that did 7 successful missions from the heart. i’ll love you all forever and i will never forget what you’ve all done!
the roads were still broken, debris everywhere, no electricity, no water, and no help. we found some places that needed the bare necessities like water. we came upon this group of fisheman in oshika hanto. it was one of my jobs to take photos, ask questions, and report to the world what was happening and what wasn’t happening. most of the time, my heart was broken in half listening to their horror stories. i couldn’t understand their language, but i could understand their feelings just by looking into their eyes. it still brings tears to my eyes even today.
kitakami was one of the hardest hit areas. passing by that school that lost so many kids was so hard. but to cross the bridge and see Naomi-san’s We Are One Market standing alone so strong turned my sorrow into happiness.
i took this photo from up the hill when the bigger scale of the We Are One Market was being built. it’s things like this that show hope, strength, and the road to recovery. i haven’t been to tohoku in a while but november is looking like it will happen. i miss the people, i miss my friends, and i miss japan. see you soon!
