Last year I went to Ishinomaki 石巻, one of the cities that was hit hardest by the Tsunami auf March 2

Last year I went to Ishinomaki 石巻, one of the cities that was hit hardest by the Tsunami auf March 2011. Though, or maybe because most of the debris has been carried away the scenery is still very depressing. The port area was devestated and we were told the story of two school buses. One brought the students directly to higher ground, the teachers of the second bus decided it would be best to bring them to their parents. From the second bus, only two adults survived, one of them later committed suicide out of remorse.

Although almost everyone in this city has some kind of tragic story to tell, people are carrying on. We visited a local NPO who tried to improve the situation through a special care-sharing service and a group of old women who creatively use old kimono fabric donated from all over Japan to create new goods. In short: we met lots of people who suffered, but who are still full of life, not thinking about giving up.

I think as long as people like that live there, the area will surely recover. At least I hope so, because they are great people.