Pray for Japan: A Week On From the Tragedy

A week on from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the North-Eastern shore of Japan, and it is clear that the problems are still not lessening for the East-Asian nation. The scenes of the Tsunami washing away all before it and the stories of so many dead or missing are heart-wrenching to say the very least, and with the crisis at the Fukushima Power Plant still not abating, it seems that it will take a while for Japan to recover from this tragedy.

But the night is darkest before the dawn, and despite such saddening scenes, there are rays of hope that shine through. The unity of the Japanese people in the face of such adversity has garnered global acclaim and respect. The 50 tireless workers in the Fukushima Plant who have volunteered to stay behind are indeed brave souls, and despite anything one can say about how it was the negligence of the plant itself that could have caused this problem, there is no denying the noble sacrifice the 'Fukushima 50' are making to buy invaluable time for their countrymen and avert a nuclear catastrophe.

In Singapore, and in my university, NUS, the student body too has responded in many ways. The Japanese students studying here started collecting funds early this week on their own, and yesterday and today, the Japanese Society started their own fund collections too. The NUS Catholic Students' Society has also pledged all collections for their weekly mass today to the Red Cross' efforts in Japan. In SMU, a t-shirt sale has made its rounds on Facebook, as well as many other pages and groups dedicated to telling people how to contribute to organisations involved in aiding Japan. In the music scene, local singing duo Jack and Rai have also given a link to worldvision on their blog, and have shown their support for Japan.

NUS Japanese Students Raising Funds (Credits: NUS studentry)

The Whisky fraternity too has responded in their own ways, showing their support for the people of Japan. Serge Valentin of Whiskyfun by putting up a link to the Japanese Red Cross on his website, as well as dedicating a week of tastings to Japanese whisky "with all the great and courageous people of Japan in our thoughts". Chris Bunting's Nonjatta blog, which focuses on Japanese whisky, has also put up several links to aid organisations working in Japan, and being actually living in Japan, has been giving continuous updates on the conditions of distilleries in Japan, especially the Miyagiko distillery of Nikka, which is situated in Sendai which was one of the worst hit of the regions. Mark Gillespie who runs the successful podcast 'Whiskycast' has also been providing updates via the Whiskycast Facebook page. It is indeed heartwarming to know that the people in the industry have done their own bit to keep the people of Japan in their thoughts.

We in Singapore naturally are lucky to be free from such disasters, and in many ways we largely cannot profess to know the pain the people in Japan are going through. But what is good is that we have shown in our little ways to be aware of this tragedy, and it is indeed heartwarming to see that people have responded in their own small ways to helping this. I shall be dedicating my next tasting to Japan too, as my own little way of keeping the people of Japan in my thoughts. I have also put up a few links below on how to donate, and the various sites I have listed here:

The Red Cross: Japanese Red Cross, British Red Cross' Tsunami Appeal
World Vision: World Vision Singapore

WhiskyFun: www.whiskyfun.com
Nonjatta: nonjatta.blogspot.com
Whiskycast: Whiskycast Facebook Page
Local Duo Jack and Rai: www.jackandrai.com