earthquake

it’s 48 hours after the big earthquake hit the north & east side of japan on 11th march 2011. outside our apartment in central tokyo, the sun is shinning, a beautiful quiet sunday in early spring. a little too quiet maybe for a normal sunday though.

the damages in tokyo were so little compared to the ones in the north. it is devastating and mortifying to see people, cars, houses, towns swept away by the evil stream of water, and houses burning and a nuclear reactor exploding. hour by hour, the tv reports the increasing number of casualties, even by a bulk of 200 bodies. the latest report showed more than a hundred people being checked for the level of radiation they may have affected.

in tokyo, we are still being faced with constant fear when the next after shock is going to hit, and the possibility of the nuclear radiation being released to the air at any time. at home i am contemplating, along with my husband, whether we should flee our apartment and head west, further from the earthquake, further from the nuclear plant. but we just cannot make up our mind – should we believe the government saying everything is safe, or should we take precautions, protect ourselves, leave everything behind and go – our dearest family and friends, our home, our job, our memory. our answer at the moment is no, we will not do that but instead stay. is it stupid? are we just being oblivious about the potential danger?

i cannot decide.