The 3.11 Bond

同志社国際高等学校３年

斉藤萌

栄Repeated bombing of the local villages; People losing their
beloved family and friends; Brutal killings of women and children.
These are some of the things we learn about war in high school.
We read through our textbooks and study about the atomic bombs.
We learn about the Battle of Okinawa.

I thought I understood thehorrors of war―until last March.
Last March, the whole 11th grade of our school visited Okinawa
as a part of our peace studies.

At first, we were just thrilled by thebountiful nature on the small island.

However, this feeling slowly

changed as we learned about the horrors that took place on theisland; I was, as all of my classmates, shocked by the brutal killings
during the Battle of Okinawa.

We were amazed to hear that many

had jumped off from the very cliff that we were standing on.

We

saw the actual stains from the US flamethrowers on the cave walls.
We all listened in complete silence as our guest speaker cried andshe told us about her experiences in the Himeyuri Corps.

We hadactually felt the inhumane reality of war for the first time in ourlives.
After my four days in Okinawa, I returned to my home in
Kyoto feeling extremely grave.

Then I realized that war was not arelic of the past.

I realized that there were still wars going about allover the world.

Iran, Syria, South Sudan...

It gave me chills toimagine that cruelties, similar to what took place in Okinawa, werebeing carried out in present times.
Realizing that, I kept asking myself the same question: why isthere war?

Why must we kill each other when we are all humanbeings?

March 2011, a massive earthquake and a tremendous tsunami
hit the Tohoku region.

The catastrophic earthquake shocked theworld.

Many people lost their homes, their families, and their wholelives.

In such a situation, most people expected the region to becomea lawless district.

However, that was not the case.

The people ofTohoku helped each other in surviving the catastrophe.
almost no looting or raping within the region.
patiently in line for one small rice ball.

There wasPeople waited

The world marveled at thissight.
Seeing this, countries from all over the world sent rescue teams,food, and supplies.

It is said that about 128 countries and 22

international organizations had supported the Tohoku region.

Astaggering 1,106,200 people volunteered in the first six months fromall over the world.

Videos calling for donations flooded YouTube.

Even Lady Gaga helped by selling “Pray for Japan” wristbands.
I myself tried to help in any way.

I volunteered as a staff fora gathering of the victims that had evacuated the Tohoku area andhad come to Kyoto.

I also created a youtube video calling for

donations and received many comments expressing their concern.
met with many people who wished to help the Tohoku area.

I

These

were not only people from all over the country, but from all over theworld.

The differences between countries, cultures, skin color, andperspectives did not matter.

The whole world united for the peopleof Tohoku through the similarity that we are all human beings.

If the whole world was able to stand up and become as one forthe reconstruction of the Tohoku area, why can it not stand up andbecome one for the abolishment of war?

Why can we not realizethat the victims of war are the same human beings as the victims ofthe Tohoku earthquake?

I watched on TV a rescue team trying tosave a little girl trapped in the debris of the tsunami.

When the girlwas eventually saved, people cheered and thanked the rescue teamfor saving a young life.

Why can people not realize that a young

girl’s life in a war zone is as important as the young girl’s life thatwas rescued in the earthquake?
It did not matter what country who was from or whatperspectives they had in the instance of the Tohoku earthquake.
Many stood up to save as many lives as possible despite theirdifferences.

Some may say that politics and natural disasters arecompletely different themes.

However, as Elie Wiesel, the winner of

the Novel Peace Prize said, “When human lives are endangered...
national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”

The earthquake

and war do not differ in the fact that human lives are in danger.
National borders and sensitivities should become irrelevant in bothcases also.
This bond that was seen through the Tohoku Earthquake canbe applied to any of the many problems that surround the world
today; poverty, emaciation, the induction of refugees, discrimination...

the list goes on. We must learn from the 311 crisis, and acknowledge
how much had been accomplished through the bond that had beencreated across borders.
The bond that the world saw during the 311 crisis is a perfect
example in the way we should behave about any of our problems
that we face today.

It is important to take action, as the people didat the time of the 311 earthquake, whether it be about war, poverty,
or discrimination.

We must not be indifferent.

We must learn toovercome their differences and show the same sympathy and interest
that it showed during the Tohoku earthquake, towards any of theproblems that the world faces today.