For one and a half year, Japan became my second country, though I haven't been there, through the valuable Japanese friends I have found as a Secretariat of ACCESS (Aspiring Citizen's for Community Empowerment, Inc.) or in Japanese, アクセス。The NGO has taught me that to solve the problem of poverty is not only through development of the Third World Countries but changing the international relations of the world because for example, the problem of the Philippines is connected with its relations to Japan. The NGO has taught me the essence of "thinking globally but act locally" through instilling in me the values of "internationalism" and developing me into a "global citizen". Being a global citizen, I view the world as my home and the people of other nationalities as equals, like brothers and sisters.
[Me with SSDN-youth organization leaders Noriel & Joan
and Hii-kun, FIT (ACCESS supporting team for Smoky Mountain) member]
and Hii-kun, FIT (ACCESS supporting team for Smoky Mountain) member]
This is the reason behind my anxiety while watching how the tsunami washed aways home, behind my sadness knowing that around 20,000 Japanese has died and behind my concern on the current welfare of the Japanese people. At that day, I was supposed to be working on the report for JICA, but I had difficulty writing the report due to anxiety and wonder if my Japanese friends are alright. I've realized all the good Japanese people I met are far from me because of distance but are too close to my heart and the hearts of Filipinos whom they met and work with while they were in Philippines. Human nature of worrying for a family member or a friend, is wonderful because it brings out another human nature - cooperation.
[Leaving was never easy. Saying goodbye to Nayukichi, Taketo and Aokichi at the airport]
The disaster brought by the tsunami, earthquake and the recent nuclear plant crisis has put Japan into a depressing situation. However, it is wonderful to see the human nature of helping each other at times of crisis. Help from the United Nations and other countries such as USA and even the Philippines, as well as individuals from all over the world poured in Japan. As it seemed, the sibling-hood of the world has developed fast. It maybe caused by capitalist globalization or by the world wide web (internet) but I'd like to think it was because of the NGOs, NPOs and the United Nations doing development work in all over the world. The world has really become small. However, I hope it leads to harmony and not war or oppression.
[Japan tsunami 2011 - This picture is not mine. I'm grateful for the person who took the picture and posted it here. Click!]
I've also thought and felt before that Japan is a very far country from my own country. As I watch Japanese friends leave Philippines from the airport, it would always feel like they'll be leaving for another planet - a world very different from mine and a world we have shared in the Philippines for a few days. Japan is only an hour advance from the Philippines, but with regards to technology, Japan is centuries advanced from Philippines. But last Friday (March 10, 2011), at the height of the tsunami, I felt that Japan and Philippines is very close. A few hours after the tsunami in Japan, the Philippines had panic because of the announced possibility of tsunami too in the Philippines. In the calculations of geologists and marine scientists, it's only a difference of 2 hours before the tsunami reaches the Philippines, after hitting Japan. A few minutes after worrying about Japanese friends, I shifted into worrying about fellow Filipinos especially, people from my hometown (Bicol region). The 2 countries are very close, after all!
Therefore, we are not very much far and not very much different from each other. We are all human beings and being the same human beings, enlightens us to non-discrimination, respect of other' s culture and internationalism.
[Exchanges with Cocco-chan (FIT and GET member of ACCESS) and Jesse {ACCESS' Filipino volunteer)]
After all the reporting of facts, I was glad to see people in Twitter exchanging phone numbers, websites as communication centered on how to help Japan, pray for Japan, be strong Japan. In just a few hours, somebody has made a system in Facebook for finding out if your Japanese friends are alright by just answering "I'm here!". People who have closely worked with NGOs such as Oxfam, Red Cross, World Vision as well as the United Nations bombarded the netizens with plea and information on how to channel support and donations to these institutions. At the height of all these business of peoples, I was only in Twitter and Facebook, trying to communicate and check if my Japanese friends are alright and retweeting posts of others. In the end, I felt bad that what I could do was just to tell words of encouragement and inspiration of staying strong and "just keep swimming" to Japanese friends. I really wished and hoped that I could have done more than words.
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