Patrick McKenzie (patio11) on Japan Aid: Help for the Well-Prepared

Thousands of residents of Minami Sanriku are homeless. The fact that you, in Tokyo, still have your home, is great for you, but totally irrelevant to those suffering in Minami Sanriku.

I'm very confused by posts which seem to suggest that the Japanese government can completely restore everything that was lost.

Until someone who has actually had their home and loved ones washed away tells me "please stop giving", I am going to continue. To each his own.

"Spend it somewhere else" was exactly what I wrote in my blog post, but when the New York Times says "We can give you three hundred words" then Priority #1 is "Don't Panic" and Priority #Left_On_Cutting_Room_Floor is explaining to people how relief organizations actually operate.

I think it's obvious that hopping on a plane and thinking one will be of any use on the ground is grossly misguided. Yes. Absolutely.

However to dismiss aid saying "we're a rich country, we can handle it" sounds strange. On average, the country is rich, yes. On the ground, each one of the people huddled in shelters is not rich (wealthy). These are people who will not have jobs for some time to come. The government itself is massively in debt (over 200% of GDP).

So, to assume the voice for the whole country, especially the devastated areas, while seated in a comfy 2DK in Tokyo rings a little hollow. A bit like the emperor going on TV _days_ after the event and pretty much just saying, I'm with you, persevere, we're all suffering, look, I'm even forgoing the convenience of electricity for two hours a day (what? what? what does that even mean?)

I'd say give aid organizations which can help in the affected areas. People are going to be displaced for a _long_ time, they will need food, medicines, supplies, etc. This is not going to be over in a month. Money will be needed to help these people survive while they sort their lives out.

In addition, Japan being a country of relatively old people, there are quite a few who have no relatives. Or the relatives live very far away and cannot help.

I know you're proud of Japan. I would hope all foreigners in every country would adopt their new homeland they way you have. Still, I think you should drop the pride a little and understand the gravity of the situation with a little more humility.

  > What they don't need is a patronizing attitude. These people are tough, and
  > they will overcome.

  > Panic is the real problem here, and the rest of the world acting like the entire
  > country has just been leveled by the fist of God is part of the problem.

  > I wouldn't be so frustrated if I didn't have to deal with daily phone calls from
  > people back home asking whether or not I've grown a third head

  > Youth groups, church football leagues, and all the other
  > stuff you have in the US doesn't exist here.

  > So, no, they're not like agnostic christians.

Personally I don't see how being an Agnostic Christian has anything to do with youth groups, church football games, etc. Are you claiming that all (or even most) Agnostic Christians participate actively in a church community? I was using the term to represent people that self-identify as being Christian (or maybe only sorta feel like there must be some god in a generic sense), but don't really participate in the religion. Am I using the term wrong?

  > most people don't identify with specific temples or shrines

I'll admit that my viewpoints may be skewed because Jodo Shinshu 'temples' in the US and Canada were modeled after Christian churches because the Japanese immigrants were trying to fit in, and going to a more traditional temple would have just been another way that they were different. On the other hand, I've met 'ministers' that grew up (and studied) in Japan, and they didn't really say that things were so much different here. So I don't know.

Even though Japan has enough resources, to borrow a phrase from Alan Kay, help is there but it is unevenly distributed.

When Brisbane got flooded earlier this year, there were a lot of friends and strangers who came around and volunteered their time to help my parents clean up. There were also people who volunteered their weekends to clean up street by street. Some people donated buses to ferry volunteers around, others trucks to carry waste to the dump.

One guy made sandwiches and gave them out to everyone on the street until power came back on about a week later.

The biggest problems a couple of weeks post-flood faced were:

1. electricity

2. heating

3. food refrigeration

4. cooking equipment

5. washing clothes

The minor ones were:

1. table for eating, writing

2. boxes to store clothes

Even if people are insured, insurance claims took about 8 weeks. (I just got my cheque last week for some minor flood damage). Then there is the long wait for builders to get started.

In the meantime, the supply chain is completely broken. Bakers don't have flour, people don't have work. Survivors are idle and need work to take their mind off their predicament, but these people will need to be organised and mobilized.

For areas that are not affected by flood, it was still another month before milk started reappearing on shelfs. I remembered that vegetables were difficult to come by, and my parents were thinking of making bean sprouts.

Even though I'm sure Japan can stand on its own, it is nice to have people help out because it helps you to realize you are not on your own, and a lot of people care about you.