My mom turns on to the Japanese News Channel (NHK) every morning and every night. For those who do not not know, my mom was in Tokyo the day the earthquake and tsunami happened, however she came back to Singapore safely about 3 days later. But back to what I said about the news, i feel so useless whenever I hear or watch it and sometimes I loose my appetite. I call and email my family members and friends back in Japan every once in 3 days to make sure that everyone is doing safe and ok. However I still feel that it's not enough. Yes, they do need the money, the need fuel, they need food, they need water, they need warmth, they need our prayers and they need our love and shoulder to lean on. Japan has been my second home and it is what makes the other half of me in my blood.
Anyway, I was reading this on a news website about this person
Hideaki Akaiwa
No, he's not dead. But his story made me tear so much that my contacts came out. So here's the story, for most sane people, when a natural disaster coming at you, your brain develops the "fright and flight" nervous system naturally. You see danger coming to you, you run AWAY from it. Not for this man. This guy was at work when the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit his hometown in Ishinomaki, when he realized he could not get through his wife of 20 years, by phone or any communication device. He did not collapse into a foetal like position and cry, he did not freak out in hysteria . No, instead, he grabbed some used scuba gear, swim suit ignoring just about all the advice from professionals who told him to wait for the army to arrive to provide a posse for search and rescue, and then jumped into the raging torrent. Dodging cars, ships, houses and other debris like that may cause serious pain, in the frigidly cold water, undercurrents and torrential riptides, he just swam.
(Obviously not the idealic conditions to go scuba diving)Swimming and swimming, he discovered his wife live on the upper level with only a small amount of breathing room, and sharing his respirator, pulled her out to safety. Now, if he had waited for the army, his wife of 20 years would be dead. He then went back for his mother.
Akaiwa, did not stop from after just saving his wife and mother. Riding around on a bicycle with his legs wrapped in plastic to keep himself dry. His only equipment – a pocketknife, a canteen, a flashlight, a change of clothes, medical supplies and a set of aviator sunglasses – packed into a trusty trio of backpacks, neighbours, friends and people he doesn't even know are unaccounted for. He still swims and rides around searching for survivors out there still.
When interviewed by a reporter, why he risked his life to save his wife, he simply answered "She is very important to me" through his interpreter.
I am still close to tears everytime i read his story. He is by far, one of my favorite warriors in history to date.
Anyway, i know i'm going to spoil the post by posting the next photo, but I'm starting to make this little guy with gloves and my sewing skills to give to my family and friends. Whatever it is, i'm sewing it with all my love and effort. It may not be enough but. This is for them, this is for my dad's home, this is for Japan.
