20150311 珍惜平安息無明 Remembering the 311 Earthquake in Japan
Four years ago todays, a major earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. This massive disaster shocked people around the world and brought severe devastation to Japan. That day, I stood at our reception room to watch the news on TV for a long time. Staff at Tzu Chi’s headquarters in Huelien immediately set up a disaster coordination center and contacted our volunteers in Japan.
After the disaster, many of our volunteers gathered at our office in Tokyo. I asked them, “Are you all safe and sound?” They relied: “It was a strong quake, We’ve all scared. But everyone is safe. We’ve called every one of our volunteers and they’re all safe. All public transportation in Tokyo is shut down.” Due to power cuts, train and mass transit services were suspended.
So, many people had to walk home. Hearing that, I told them: “You can open our office to the public invite people inside to have tea, use the restroom, or have light meals.” During that period of time, our office in Tokyo was put to great use, and our volunteers in Japan had done a lot to help the people there. Every day, I’d spend much time having videoconferencing with them.
Learning of what disaster survivors needed we’d start making preparations. At that time, it was very cold in northeastern Japan. In the midst of heavy snow, many people were displaced, and a lot of them were the elderly, women and children. The shelters they lived in were very crowded. And as people fled in a hurry, they didn’t bring anything with them.
Their houses were either destroyed or damaged by the tsunamis, and they didn’t know whether their families were still alive. Seeing such a tragic, massive disaster, our hearts went out to those affected. So, Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan immediately prepared to go Japan. At the same time, we giving emotional support to our volunteers in Japan. We told them not to be scared, but be careful.
We also told them we’d gather more volunteers to help with the relief work. All we hoped was to settle the minds of our volunteers in Japan first. Every time I had videoconferencing with them, I’d see things around them sway from side to side and I’d ask, “Is it shaking again?” They’d relied, “Yes, and it’s strong.” Aftershocks like this lasted for several days.
I really admired our volunteers in Japan--- When they were talking to me and a quake occurred, they remained calm. I asked them, “Aren’t you scared?” They replied, “No, Master told us to remain calm and not be scared.” In the aftermath of the disaster, Tzu Chi volunteers went to the worst-hit areas to cook hot meals for the disaster survivors. It was cold and snowy and many people lived in temporary shelters.
So, our volunteers went to cook hot meals for those affected, such as fried rice noodles, curry rice and miso soup, etc. At the time, we also sent blankets and other supplies to Japan by air. Upon learning that the survivors also needed shawls, our volunteers in our Neihu complex in Taipei immediately cut a blanket into smaller pieces to make shawls.
All the blankets and shawls that the people in Japan needed were made in our Neihu complex. As Tzu Chi volunteers rushed into the disasters areas to provide aid, many people in Japan left the country due to a nuclear meltdown and subsequent release of radioactive contaminants.
When our volunteers from Taiwan and Japan went to the disaster areas, they carried a radiation detector with them to measure radiation levels and make sure it was safe to go. This was how careful they were. Seeing a many people were leaving Japan, a group of Tzu Chi volunteers went to help. It’s been four years since the disaster occurred in 2011, but some places have yet to fully recover.
Right now, many people are still living in temporary shelters. This reminds me of the major earthquake that hit Taiwan in 1999. Back then, we quickly built temporary houses for the quake survivors so they didn’t have to live in tents. With the houses we built, they could live there for three years while continuing to work taking time to rebuild their homes.
That’s why they’d recovered very quickly. Back then, we also helped to rebuild 50 schools in central and southern Taiwan and one in Taipei. In total, we’d rebuilt 51 schools in two years, which are safe and sturdy for children to study in. So, children had schools to go to and learn happily and people had temporary houses to live in and take time to rebuild their lives.
This is what Tzu Chi volunteers have done to safeguard Taiwan. Wherever there’s a disaster, Tzu Chi volunteers will serve unconditionally, giving their money and best effort to help. Seeing so many people giving of themselves for the people in Taiwan, we can sense an abundance of love in their hearts.
But what happened in Taiwan lately has worried many Tzu Chi volunteers I’ve kept telling everyone to keep calm and take good care of themselves. We must take good care of our minds and well safeguard this place we live. May everyone be sincere and live with vigilant care.
What we should worry about now is that the water levels of the water levels of many reservoirs in Taiwan have fallen very low. This is what we should worry about now. So, let us pray sincerely from timely and adequate rain and for the rain to fall on areas where the reservoirs are so there’ll be a steady supply of water for people to use. That is the most important thing now.
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