Atrium - Universitetet i Bergen

Comment-
On March 11th, I woke up and checked
the Internet, and realized that
something serious had happened. A
huge earthquake had occurred in the
northeastern Pacific Ocean in Japan.
Since earthquakes are not a rare natural
disaster in Japan, it did not surprise me
much. However, after a while the news
showed horrible damages to the land,
and the number of victims grew higher
and higher. When I saw a picture of a
place where there used to be a town
– but had been reduced to rubble
because of the tsunami – I felt as if
I was looking at a photo from a war
zone. At this time, I could not believe
it. To be here in Norway, very far away
from Japan, I could not stop checking
the news online: I checked almost
every hour. In addition, since it was
difficult to know what was actually
happening to daily life in Japan, I
kept trying to contact my family and
friends. Had I not done so, I would
have been unable to calm down. I had
never experienced a natural disaster of
such dimensions. But now, the news
broadcasted horrible damages that I
could never have imagined.
Feeling helpless
What made me frustrated was a sense
of helplessness. People were suffering
both psychologically and physically,
Thoughts about the
earthquake
Big news of disaster in Japan suddenly hit me in Norway. What could I do
from losing their houses, cars and
even family or friends, from lacking
food, water, blankets, oil, and clothes.
I, on the other hand, could buy food
and blankets whenever I wanted,
drink water from the tap in my room
whenever I pleased. But, obviously, I
could not easily deliver those things
to those that needed them, even if I
wanted to. It is said
that sending items like
these would only make
a disaster area more
complicated, as the
people who distribute
those goods have to
check and assort the
items according to
size for clothes and expiration date
for foods. I could only watch the news
and pray that the disaster would not
get worse.
Bergen for Japan
Only a few days after the earthquake,
however, I found out that I could do
something for Japan, even though I
was in a foreign country. Japanese
students studying abroad all over the
world started to organize groups called
«For Japan». The groups would support
Japan’s rehabilitation from the earthquake,
mainly by translating documents
to various languages, such as
What made me
frustrated was a sense
of helplessness.
Text and photo: Aya Katsuki
glitter_commune0915@ybb.ne.jp
tips for what people should do to protect
thems elves before an earthquake
or aftershock occurs, and by holding
fundraising activities. After learning
about these groups, Japanese students
in Bergen formed the group «Bergen
for Japan», its main activities being
placing and managing donation boxes
and holding fundraising activities. The
money collected
will be sent to the
Japanese Red Cross
Society through the
Japanese Embassy
in Norway. It is
obvious that large
amounts of money
will be needed for
medical relief work, disaster relief and
various recovery activities in the long
run. Thus, Bergen for Japan hopes that
many people will support Japan.
From Norway
One thing that I found interesting
when I contacted my friends in Japan,
was that most of them asked me if
the earthquake was also on the news
in Norway. They did not know that
it was actually top news in Norway
and that people continually asked
me if my family and friends were ok.
Japanese people do know that Norway
is far away from Japan, but it is hard
to know to what extent people in
faraway countries would react to the
news. Therefore, I am sure that people
will be happy to know that people in
other countries are caring and trying to
help Japan. Those supporting can help
people both practically and by showing
empathy and support. Though, in fact,
I am already feeling
so much kindness
from people in
Norway these days.
There were many
who cared about my
family and friends in
Japan right after the
earthquake. Besides
that, the newspaper
interviewed us and posted an article
about Japanese students in Bergen and
University held meetings for Japanese
students and Japan.
First fundraising activity
The major event was our first fundraising
activity in the city center. There
were lots of people out enjoying the
beautiful weather during the weekend.
Though we were holding handmade
donation boxes and posters, there were
only about 10 Japanese students who
were standing there trying to collect
money. When we just stood there, it
was hard for people to see what we
were doing. So we yelled for support in
Japanese, English and Norwegian. None
of us had done this kind of thing in a
foreign country before, so we were both
nervous and embarrassed. But after
we started to use our voices, people
gradually came up to us to donate or
to talk. Various people, such as small
children, teenagers and elderly people
stopped by and donated money.
We gave a folded paper crane to
everyone who donated. In Japan, people
fold cranes, especially 1000 cranes, and
send to patients with wishes of recovery
from disease and longevity. One of the
reasons behind this custom is an idiom
that says that «Cranes live for 1000
years, turtles live for 10.000 years.» The
general idea is that when someone is
sick or has passed away, people worry
or think about them so much. But
people cannot do anything, so at least
they want to convey their feelings to
them. Thus, people fold paper cranes to
show that they are thinking about them.
What made us able to enjoy this activity
was people’s
smile when they
got a folded paper
crane. Especially,
children looked
so happy when
they got it and
that made us also
smile. It was a nice
experience to communicate
with local people, who we do
not usually talk to. With people’s attention
and cooperation, we could work
hard. By March 26th, we had collected
I am already feeling so
much kindness from
people in Norway
these days.
about 17,000 NOK. We hope we can
continue this activity with cooperation
and kindness of people in Norway.
Bergen for Japan
Japanese students worked with fund raising for the Japanese Red Cross. From the left: Xin
Wen, Yasuaki Yamano, Asuka Takeda, Masaaki Takahashi.