Friday March 11th 2011

When my teacher talked about a 8,9 Richter Scale earthquake on Friday afternoon, I did not react. Perhaps I was tired, perhaps the figure didn't strike me, or simply because I had just read the morning newspaper I thought that it was not that important because otherwise I would have read about it.


Yeah sometimes your mind can be just dum. stupid.


And so all the horror hit me quietly as I surfed the LeMonde home page looking for some info about the rugby game.


The scale of the event. 
What 8,9 really meant.
The tsunami wave. 
The fires that resulted from the earthquake. 
The potential risks that came from it.
The nuclear factories that could go wild.




Nihon.


A country so dear to my heart.


Hit so suddenly.


Hit so hard.




And all of that in a country that was ready for it. The buildings in Tokyo had been designed with the most advanced technology to resist such catastrophy.
And they did. That's the wonder of it.
And seeing how devastated the country is, I hate to even consider what it would have been in another less advanced country.


And I cannot help remember those six months I spent in Tokyo. For me earthquakes had been a fun feature of this country, a little earth moving that woke you up at night and gave you an incredible feeling of the power of nature. A great training like firedrills.
I remember Yashima-san, my boss, looking at me with wonder when I commented on how exciting earthquakes had been for me. Both charming and irresponsible clearly.
a silly little European girl. 


Back then, they all had that dreading feeling, this sword of Democles, that one day the BIG ONE would come, like it had done in the past, with all its destruction.




That day was Friday March 11th 2011.

But this article is not to add more trauma to all of us. Because I have seen that same look on many faces. Plain puzzlement and pain at our human powerlessness faced to the almighty nature.
Never something hit me so hard. This hit me like a steel knife in the stomach. And my friends that were there with me, my little Chadia for instance, she had that same look on her face tonight. 


Perhaps because I have rarely been so happy as in this country. I have never been more enriched than by my encounter with the Japanese people, in Tokyo, Kyoto, Meyajima...
I feel lost, confused and at pain. I feel powerless. I want to run there and help find people.
Yes, a little girl I tell you.


But in those hard times, Shikata ga nai. there is nothing we can do. We have incredible technology but when nature wants to have its way the onyl thing we can act upon is HOW we react. 


I can only be thankful that my friends there have not suffered directly from it and are safe.


And through the sorrow I am experiencing right now, I want to bow to the Japanese people.


For their calm.


For the way they are facing this disaster.


With poise and good common sense.


For their dignity.


For their courage and how they keep their lives going.


The testimonies from my friends back there are just awe-compelling for this.
Toshihiko-san, Keiko-san, Yumiko-san, Hiroyio-san, Awata-san, Junko-san, Arisa-san, Tomoko-san...  It is striking how all of you are determined to keep your head high and moving. It is a beautiful lesson of courage in adversity in my eyes.


please accept from all of us here our warmest thoughts and support.


Kiutsukete kudasai.


This tree of wishes, one of my favourite things in Japan is for you, tomodachitachi.