As most of us here on day 2 we were glued to our TVs and media outlets. Such was my day here today. I shot the TV for it was what’s in focus from the moment I woke until now. I think today reality set in. The reports, the images, the carnage, and the devastation just north of Tokyo is unbelievable. Not that distant from here the landscape is a wasteland. Nature angrily surged over levees and washed away lives. Japan is not a large country, therefore far away places for us here is nothing like the US.
The distance from where we are in Tokyo to the disaster area would be from Washington D.C. to New York City. Not far at all. During a live report in the afternoon a nuclear power plant exploded. The reactor’s exterior building blew apart, spewing a cloud of white smoke. The officials claim that everything is in control and that not much radiation had leaked. I want to believe this because for me being in control would be no explosion at all. But so far I’ve been incredibly impressed by how well people here have handled this horrific catastrophe. There is no sensational media, there’s no looting, no riots, no blaming, and everyone has become accountable for each other. Through it all, what goes on in my mind today is that no one here or anywhere deserves this. I hope tomorrow finds some good news…
Linh Vien Thai is Amerasian, born in Dalat, South Vietnam, where he continued to lived during the war. He left for the U.S. and is now an American living in Tokyo. He enjoys adventure traveling and doing what’s right to make the world a better place.
