Pray for Japan

I just watched an amazing documentary titled "Pray for Japan," which interviews folks who lost family members and their homes in the 2011 tsunami. More than 20,000 lives were lost in the earthquake and tsunami. The volunteer effort in the aftermath was nothing short of epic.

The film does a wonderful job showing people of all walks of life who traveled to the devastated parts of Japan to help in the cleanup. Several parts of the film focus on two Pakistani men who make food for the victims of the tsunami. Another focus is a school that wrapped up for the year merely hours before the tsunami hit. Amazingly, every one of the children of the school were accounted for. The principal and the art teacher speak about sifting through the wreckage in hopes of finding anything to salvage. The art teacher finds several pieces of rock used for etching that she hopes her students will use to make art which will in turn survive the next tsunami.

Clips at the beginning of the movie highlight the devastating waves that hit the shoreline and swept away boats, cars and unsuspecting people. One young man who plays in a band spoke of losing his mother, both grandparents and his little brother, who was five years old. His home was utter destruction. His family had piled into their car hoping to escape the storm when they were caught in a traffic jam and then swept out to sea.

Certainly there is heartbreak in this film; however, what resonated most with me was the hopefulness of this people and of the people who traveled from across the globe to help. People in one shelter existed for three days without a drop of water. One gentleman explained how he waited to distribute food until fair portions could be given to everyone. Despite these conditions, people survived.