All Talk and No Action

This is the best piece I have read on the earthquake in Japan.

I urge you to read it and get a better perspective on all things Japanese.

The piece corroborates my personal opinion on charity to Japan : The nation doesn't require our funds.

Japan is a wealthy country and has the wherewithal to survive such disasters.

What we can and should do is:

Nothing scars a place ravaged by natural/man-made disaster more than a drop in business. When the dust has settled, the Japanese will require support to rev up their economy. 

This is where you can help.

I remember reading a journalist's (don't recollect the name now) account of her travel through Jaipur after the city was rocked by serial blasts in 2008.

Most small time hoteliers, tonga pullers and small artisans lamented the drop in business. 

Most people tend to stay away from calamity struck places and unwittingly hurt the economic and psychological recovery of the people affected.

Gujarat too experienced two of India's worst natural disasters in 1998 and 2001, each of which killed more than 20,000 people and resulted in loss of billions of dollars.

As a matter of twisted fate, both these calamities struck at and affected almost the same places.

Having my maternal relatives residing in Kutch, we in Mumbai, were clued in to the horror stories of destruction and loss. 

Old and young witnessed scenes which scarred their minds. Many people I know have been in therapy since 2001 and are yet to recover. People can often go into trauma for years, sometimes, without realising that they have been in mourning.

[At a personal level, my mom lost her sister in the earthquake and the entire family was in mourning for a very long time. So such disasters, generally touch a raw nerve.]

Coming back to Japan, given their innate stoicism - people may show outside signs of courage and recovery. However, most of them will need support and care to overcome their grief. This is where the international community must contribute.

A husband-wife duo I know has been holding arts and craft workshops for kids across various villages in Leh. Remember Leh?

The couple will continue with the workshops till they feel the kids show signs of emotional recovery. 

I don't think holding such workshops in Japan is feasible [due to language barriers]. But you do get the drift...?

There is much we can do to help Japan. Money comes at the very bottom of the pyramid.

Also, we must help not because tomorrow we might suffer similar fate.

Only because it seems the right thing to do.