Japan, is another name for ‘Survival’. It has been through a very rough road in the past. This country saw its two major cities; Hiroshima and Nagasaki reduce to ashes because of the nuclear explosion during the World War II. It had to fight against an invisible force that seeped in and destroyed the human genetic buildup; which completely devoured the two cities. Several generations had to pay the price for the Japanese army’s reluctance to give up during the World War II. This ugly price was the ill effects of Radiation.
Once the peace treaties exchanged hands; which was on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California. Japan was a calm place again. But there lingered a deep sense of sorrow, despair and sadness. The war left many injured, homeless, and dead. Nevertheless, the spirits of these people were high, they were born to fight and not look back and lament over the past. They built an empire from the ashes of their predecessors. They honoured their martyrs by working hard as ONE. They rose from the grounds and touched the skies overnext decade.
Japan is now one of the leading countries of the 21st century. It has launched a variety of companies in almost every field all over the globe. Casio, Citizen, Fuji Film, Fuji Electric, Hitachi, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nikon, Nisan Motors etc; are few of the many other globally recognized Japanese brands. They showed the world that nothing could dampen their spirits to reach the top; that, they were here to survive.
Japan is one of the countries that experience a lot of earthquakes and hence they have equipped themselves to fight Mother Nature. Their construction is such that absorbs the shockwaves of the earthquakes. Hence over the years, the Japanese have become accustomed in dealing with this unwelcome guest that leaves them a bit shaky. And so 11th of March 2011, was just another busy day for the Japanese people, who left home for work, children were busy at school, others were busy with household chore, grocery shopping, meeting friends and family or just walking by the beach absorbing the natural beauty.
On the outside the day appeared absolutely normal, but underneath the earths surface there was turmoil and unrest. As a result of which the unwelcome guest visited Japan yet again, but since the people had gotten accustomed to these frequent earthquakes everybody carried on with their work. But then it was not one of the regular earthquakes, the intensity increased and the earth shook violently. It was reported that the Tohoko Region, Pacific Offshore earthquake was caused by a 9.0 magnitude undersea earthquake in the afternoon. The people braved the earthquake and waited for the dreadful visitor to go away. But it seemed like Mother Nature had other aggressive plans in its pocket. This earthquake triggered extremely enormous tsunami waves that the world had ever witnessed. These waves were reportedly ten feet high. The sea waves gushed with tremendous force inside the cities like Miyagi, Sendai, Sendai Bay and few other such cities. It might remind us of the curse that plagued the city of Egypt during Prophet Moses’ time. But in that only the first born died, but here the number of people who lost their lives is unaccountable. It appeared to be a scene from one of the movies whose theme was based on; “The End of the World”.
As the waves approached the main civilization, the houses were uprooted from the ground; some were set ablaze, the cars were beaten and banged into each other, the ships that once graced the seas were thrown on the land; the bullets were gulped in the waves. At the end, all of these were swept silently along with the black rubble that the waves gathered on their way. The Sendai airport runway strip was literally submerged in water. From an aerial view these cities looked like a huge burning mass of waste, it was hard to believe that these cities had once housed any kind of civilization in them.
One cannot begin to imagine the horror faced by the Japanese people who witness this catastrophe The survivors, who were able to cheat death, will always bear the scar of this tsunami, as they had almost come face to face with their death. Thousands were left homeless, they had no food, no shelter, no electricity and the weather did little to console them. Amidst all of these miseries, the greatest sorrow was for the people who were slowly finding out that they had lost their loved ones. On the other hand, few were relieved to find their loved one amidst these rubbles. These were the moments that brought tears in the eyes of all the viewers.
Many relief teams started pouring from all over the world. The most humbling moment was when China offered help to Japan, and the latter accepted their aid. It was a memorable moment, as former foes united and worked together in helping the Japanese people in their struggle for survival. It shows that even amidst the tension that was present between these two countries, there was a sense of humanity in them.
While the Japanese people helped each other, providing the needy with food, shelter and the basic necessities, there cropped another major problem. It was something that gave cold shivers to the Japanese administrative system. While the country tried to work together as one, there were serious issues at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The power cut in all over Japan, was gradually restored but there were serious talks of a meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The tsunami waves had wrecked the entire Power Plants. The government did everything in their power to cool the four nuclear power plants, but they were helpless as the destruction caused by tsunami and the earthquake was irreversible. Three of the plants had major explosions, and with each explosion the radiation leak only intensified. The people at Fukushima were asked to evacuate, for the radiation level was just increasing by the hour.
With the homeless people on the streets, increasing scarcity of food, water and shelter, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant destruction just added to their misery. The sea water had mingled in the sweet water rivers and hence there was no drinking water.
In these situations, where the radiation levels rose considerably high, there were few brave men who stayed back at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and took charge. They believed that their sacrifice would save Japan. Messages from the engineers trapped inside the power plant reached their loved ones. Their families could do nothing but helplessly lament on what the future might bring in for them.
When we see so much of destruction, misery, despair of the people. Like silent tears rolling down some children’s faces who lost their parents or siblings, the screaming mothers who lost their sons and daughters in front of them, an elderly couple who helplessly saw her husband being washed away in the waves. A mans agony at seeing the remains of his house which he must have lovingly built with his hard work. Witnessing all of these mixed feelings just makes us aware of the bounties of nature that we casually take for granted. We realise how much we crib about what we don’t have, when these people lost everything that they ever owned.
We must salute their undying spirit to survive. Once again they face a great challenge that nature has thrown unkindly in their way. Once again the fear of radiation attacking their country and the bordering nations have come to haunt them. Let us join hands and help them in their struggle to survive and let us pray together for their quick recovery. And hope that no nation should ever witness such a grave disaster.
