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Can you hear the voices from the disaster area?
[Yeah. There's something I want you to hear today, right now, a message. You out there struggling and trying to live on. You're not alone.]
[Reggae show in the tsunami region]
My name is Yuca, Y-U-C-A. I was born in Miyagi.
Today I want you all to enjoy this. I just want you all to have fun.
And by the time you leave, I hope I see a whole bunch of smiling faces.
Every effort, no matter how small, someone out there needs it.
Nothing is in vain. So if it brings you courage, I will sing.
[Get up, sing, make some noise and dance, here in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, today.
Forget about your troubles for now. Let's have some fun, Ofunato!]
Why did you hold this event?
>> Kenta: You know, there's a difference in the interests between people from the coast and inland.
And among people from farther inland, there's a feeling that holding an event like this on the coast right now... not that 'it's bad', but 'is it really okay for us to come'? 'Would it be wrong to come?'
Actually living on the coast, among those affected by the tsunami there are many with a positive outlook.
And honestly the majority of people have nothing else to lose, so it's like someone needs to start.
We would hate if it never happened because no one went ahead and started it, so in the beginning we had this plan... and then the performers came along... and that's how it is.
>> Century: This guy right here, he wanted to, he wanted to do something. This guy... he lost quite a bit in the disaster. His mother, wife, child, you tell them.
>> Seiki: Also my father-in-law. They were all washed away. Two are still missing, and the other two were found as bodies.
So... well, if someone like me doesn't do it, if someone totally unaffected did it, well, they'd be laughed at, like 'this isn't the time for that'.
If the gang didn't all help out with this I couldn't have done it, I couldn't have done anything on my own. I just asked around and it came together. It's like everyone helped out. I just needed to ask.
What's the purpose of today's show?
>> Century: Planting trees? >> Seiki: Planting trees. >> Century: We're trying to clean the ocean.
>> Seiki: There's a tree planting booth over there. If we make the mountains beautiful, then pure water will flow from those mountains to the ocean, revitalizing it. When the ocean recovers, then the ocean economy will revert, and so will the town's economy. So we're doing a fundraiser there to plant trees in the mountains.
Planting hardwoods is, um, we want the youth to understand this a little. If we can get them to see this just a little bit, we think we can make a better town, and that's the meaning behind it.
>> Hiroko: Have you had this idea for a while?
>> Century: Not really-- >> Seiki: Well we didn't really think to do it, but now... we have to clear the mountains and move the town up into them.
So, if we don't plant before we clear, there won't be any trees growing. It's easy to build a town but it's terribly difficult to raise trees, it's difficult and time-consuming.
We want them to understand this and maybe then we could all achieve a balance with nature in a new way. If we had, maybe so many people wouldn't have had to die.
You know, you can't beat nature. So if you can't beat it, you have to think how best to find harmony with it. That's what I think.
We wanted everyone to realize this, so first of all we're having this event. We got all the young people together and we'll try to get the point across. Even if they don't get it at first maybe the message will sink in as we continue on.
Suffering in high spirits
>> Century: We're fine. >> Seiki: The disaster area is just fine. >> Century: Against what you'd think. >> Seiki: We're surprisingly fine. We're not all that depressed. It's just what the news shows. We're doing great out here.
>> Century: But. There are lots of people suffering. >> Seiki: Um, suffering, suffering and being hopeless, they're two different things. We're fine but we're struggling. >> Century: Yeah, that's right.
>> Seiki: We're fine, but suffering. >> Century: There's really people suffering out there. Like people without homes. And dying. And missing people, like in his case.
Real feelings
>> Kenta: What we need right now is first to give long-term aid, and ourselves, I lost my dad, so there's my mom and the three of us brothers, and I'm the oldest. I feel more strongly than ever that I have to support my mother.
And of course family ties. As the power outage went on for two or three weeks, lining up our beds and all sleeping in the same room...
it comes down to family ties. Well, the same goes for neighbors too. Like bringing food to each other, sharing what rice they had. That sort of thing, which maybe we had kind of forgotten, we were able to remember them again. We could do those things for each other.
As far as support, please don't give up halfway through, and keep in mind the long-term outlook. Any kind of support.
>> Seiki: I do feel down when I'm alone. When I'm alone, at night... you see a lot of things, right? In your imagination, suffering children, and wives... it's hard, but nothing good comes of just thinking that way. When you think about everything you have to do, there's no time for dwelling on those things.
What gives the tsunami-stricken, strength?
>> Kenta: There's a lot of noise in the media about there being so many onlookers, but I feel I actually want them to come see. I want them to see with their own eyes what the people living through this have accomplished, and bring that to others from here on.
See, if you don't actually go and see it... I do feel I want them to see it with their own eyes, if you can come see, then come see with your own eyes, just don't interfere with where they're working. Honestly you can't understand just watching the footage. There's a lot that isn't shown in the images, too.
You can see for real what they don't show in the images, if you come to the coast. The people living through this, we do think of our job as partly getting people to see it with their own eyes and communicate that to the next generation, whether it be just your own kids.
>> Seiki: More so than material aid, the people here are much happier with the feelings of the artists who helped out. I think they're just very happy that we're being noticed just a little.
When you get stuff, you just eat it and it's over. But like, the memory that they came out here, that we could do this, that some good came out of the bad, you know...
To forget or not to forget
>> Seiki: It's not wrong to forget. There's no problem with changing while you're holding on. I don't think there's anything wrong with letting go. It can't be helped. If everyone forgot, it'd be peace.
We want you to know…
>> Kenta: To those of you doing volunteer aid, I do want you to keep at it. There's lots of people who stop after just once.
We get a lot of calls... people who call once and then we never hear from them again. If you've decided to do it, even if it's something little, please keep at it for a long time.
>> Seiki: I'd like to ask, "Are they really doing all they can?" It's easy to say "let's do what we can", but I want to ask you, are you really doing all you can? I don't think I can do anything more than this.
The disaster region in reality
Children and stress in the disaster region
>> BERO: Ahh, people don't really talk about it but I think it does happen, without a doubt.
>> TOMOHIROCK: I heard something about the school lunches...
>> BERO: Still only milk and a piece of bread…
>> TOMOHIROCK: Yes, and just when you thought so, the schools turned shelters are giving food handouts, the kids can smell the curry rice but can't eat any. That kind of thing is going on...
People moving toward recovery
>> BERO: Mainly the guys in their 30s. We wouldn't be able to work so hard in a few years, so we have to do it now, while we can.
>> NOBU: Show one finger if you can smile even though it's not easy to deal with this. >> SONG: Your smile heals the invisible wound and the world…you are not alone, let's stand together because we are living each day... 62 00:11:43,00 --> 00:11:45,00 What keeps you going?
>> TOMOHIROCK: Like today, visiting different places and meeting old friends, it makes it better. And, holding this event and seeing people and kids come and have fun, well, it just makes me happy.
>> BERO: It gets us fired up, like "we have to stay strong". It's no time to say you're tired.
>> NOBU: And smiles. More than anything else, seeing everyone smiling, especially the kids...
>> BERO: People's faces, the way they take steps, somehow they're different when you have music, you know.
>> NOBU: I guess we're all done crying. >> BERO: We're done? >> NOBU: We're done crying. We just have to smile and move on. Though we did cry quite a bit. There's no point in getting down.
Our connection, our strength
>> TOMOHIROCK: Although we're the tsunami victims, we got a lot of our strength from each other.
>> BERO: It's like when you're giving out food and the people are all sad, then you get depressed too. But as spirits start to rise, it's like, "hey, I'll be back again", right?
From the heart
>> NOBU: For one whole week, we couldn't do anything but cry. And we wandered through mountains of rubble. But we're all strong! We're all here for each other! That's why we're here!
For those of you who are from the disaster hit area, our long journey will continue on. Look to the future, we've got everyone who gathered with us today!
- Ishimaki
- Minami Sanriku
- Kesen-numa
- Rikuzen Takata
- Ofunato
- Otsuchi
It's a long road
We'll walk together, slowly
It's just begun
This long road
Let us walk with you.
We won't give up, until we're done rebuilding.
Translation by Corey Moncure
