Japan & Interdependence.

Though I find the title a bit vague and shallow, I opted to put it because it will look good in the layout of my blog: simple. Sometimes, that’s how we are. Because of the complexity of our lives, we miss thinking about the real essence of what we do or the things we have, sometimes, when it looks good or appear good to others, it’s valid.

This morning, since I work in a Japanese company which publishes a Japanese magazine about the Philippines, Philippine Primer Magazine, we had an emergency meeting regarding the “real” situation in Japan and how we can help the Japanese community.

Our plead is to please refrain from retweeting of UNCONFIRMED Information, especially the avenues to help and find missing people, because it’s affecting those who are sincerely willing to help and who are dying to find their missing loved ones. I came to the realization that (our company’s President is right) in the Philippines, when these tragedies happen, we usually have our Church to trust our donations aside from the government and its agencies. But in Japan, the LGUs (Local Government Units) are the ones who do these kinds of activities, thus there are some organizations who are taking initiatives to help and it’s very annoying to know that there are some misleading organizations that are trying to deceive people about their donations.

If this kind of catastrophe happens in the Philippines (Lord, please don’t let it happen), I think it will be worse.

I remember last 2009 when the typhoon Ondoy hit the Philippines (Manila area), I was working in ABSCBN’s News & Current Affairs and saw how bad is the country’s facilities and preparation in such disasters. 

seeing this and hearing their stories melted my heart.

We all know how “unprepared” the Philippines is compared to Japan. During that time, I volunteered in Sagip Kapamilya’s project and answered the calls for all the concerns of people who would like to help or look for their missing family members and I’ve noticed that many Filipinos are very pessimistic and dependent on the government and other people. If want to progress, I think this is one thing that we have to change: mentality.

Japan will definitely recover from this one.  

As compared to what happened in Kobe (which affected 4% of the country’s GDP), the March 11 earthquake just affected 2% of Japan’s GDP because it was in the northeast part of Japan that is rural and the population is small.

Let’s all pray for the safety and recovery of the Japanese people and for our own safety as well.

Media is sensationalized at some point, I had a glimpse of that industry and that’s what I’ve studied for four years. I know that at some point there will be a time that they’ll prefer to give emphasis to the more dramatic. Sometimes, media is just a PR. But it’s a good thing to have these brave reporters because we know “something” but we should be vigilant and keen in discovering the other bits and pieces of the story.  

My boyfriend is in Tokyo now and during breakfast with my Dad while watching TV, we worried a lot about him but maybe, his blog is a breath of fresh air also for all of us who sees things just through the media and hesitant to help. 

I also got this info from him that a Japanese created a Facebook account to cheer up the victims: HOPE

You may also want to read some of Greenpeace thoughts.

Simple steps from ordinary people. I believe we all know how to contribute in our own little ways; we just need to believe that it will make a difference even to a single individual.

It is indeed true that no matter how knowledgeable we are in the world we’re living in or how technical we are with reference to earthly things, there are some things that are out of our control. Don’t wait for the time that disasters will happen in your life for you to realize that relationships matter.

 We don’t need to live alone. After all, all we need is LOVE.

** Just for your info, as of today, here is the information regarding our (Philippines) safety and current situation:

• No tsunami threat in the Philippines for now according to Philvolcs.
• Also, Philippines is safe from radiation: according to the RP government.