Work travel in Japan
 
 Thursday, 03 November 2011 – Written by thevinh   

Mr. The Vinh has participated in a music performance trip with the Vietnam art performance group named Hoa Dao in Ioate Province, Japan.

The Vietnamese music builds a good friendship between Vietnam and Japan.

 

 

(Dan Tri Online) – Over a month since the disaster, the lives of the people has gained their normal-life beats. However, words can hardly describe our feeling when we are seeing with our own eyes the areas hit by the historical Tsunami in Ioate Province.

Thanks to the music performance trip of the Vietnam art performance group named Hoa Dao in Ioate Province, a group of reporters have a chance to learn more about the lives of people in the areas faced with the historical Tsunami 7 days after March 11th.

It takes 2 hours to travel in an express tram from Tokyo the capital to Morioka City, the capital of Ioate and then travel 100 km further in a car down to Miyako City. This cannot help to express our feeling of the ravages as we travel mostly on mountainous roads.

An ill shaped car washed away is standing alone and waiting for a move to a collecting area

A populated area near a beach

The floor 1 of the City Hall of Miyako is covered with plywood. The previous luxurious glass walls has been collapsed by the Tsunami. Mr. Ichiro Nagoshi, Deputy Mayor, says that it was flooded up to the second floor of the building on March 11th and it was not empty until the next day. The city has nearly 5000 houses destroyed, 500 found dead and hundreds of people missing. According to him, the number of the missing can be reported in very long time or never be counted for the dead since the families losing their folks and the parents losing their children still nourish a hope about a magic to be happened one day.

Houses full of holes and steel rods ticking out

Seeing the coastal area with our own eyes, we find that human being is powerless in facing the frenzy of the nature. The streets are devastated and heavily damaged. A few families have just come back to setting up their living. Without the noise of the cars passing by on the streets, people think that they must have lost to an oblivious culture. Most of the collapsed bricks have been cleared up so the crooked house bases are standing alone. Some houses, not totally collapsed, are full of holes and steel rods. An ill shaped car washed away is standing alone and waiting for a move to a collecting area. A middle aged woman is stopping her car, staring at a dead house across from the street. 7 months ago, it must have been a bread shop of her family, which used to be crowded with customers.

A ship of thousands of tons was washed ashore to the inner seaside dyke

At a primary school, also an emergency site locating on a high position, a photo of the area was taken an hour before the first tidal wave hit it and turned it to be a dead place. The image of a peaceful and busy town is now in a frame of A3 size photo, hung on a B40 rusty fence. Beside it, the clumps of wild reeds are crawling so as to hide the remained wall roofs and bases.

Tako, the largest temporary house in Ioate Province, is a home to 407 households. It is also one of the 10 performance sites of Hoa Dao art performance group. Mr. Vu Quang Luan, Head of the group, says that they come to Japan every year to perform music to do a fund-raising for the Agent Orange Victims in Viet Nam. However, the group will have 3 free shows in Ioate, Fukushima and Miyagi, the most provinces facing with the destruction during the disaster. He hopes that the shows bring warm loves from the members particularly and from the Vietnamese in general for a share, encouragement to people in the epidemic areas.

Many clocks stop their strikes at 3:25 pm when the Tsunami hit the city

Hand claps are continuing every song and dance. Tear drops have fallen down in every note of the song Furusato. It means “homeland-que huong” in Vietnamese. The lyrics symbolize the sympathy and sharing; they are touching the deepest emotion in very person who has been forced to leave their own loving home. Mr. Hanawa, a local man shares in a move: “This is my first time to join in a Vietnam musical program. It is a very wonderful show with beautiful dance and sweet voices. Though it does not last long, many of us the victims feel sympathetic and comfort. We will keep doing our best to overcome the present difficulties. Thank you.”

Every year the Hoa Dao art performance group organizes tours in Japan to do a fund-raising for the Agent Orange Victims in Viet Nam

The image of guitarist The Vinh playing both the harmonica and the guitar with one hand recall me for the strong will of the Japanese. Mr. Vinh says that it was his 2nd time to be in Japan but he has a new feeling when seeing the destroyed. He hopes that Japanese friends would have courage and a firm stuff for a stabilized life.

The performance of Mr. The Vinh makes the audiences really moved

Before taking a leave of the city, Ambassador Nguyen Phu Binh, the group and the local people plant some trees for a memory. The nemuno trees so called 3-leave trees, a symbol of strong bond relationship in a family, will be taken good care of. It means that the mutual sentiment between the 2 countries, the 2 peoples will be consolidated and developed.

Ambassador Nguyen Phu Binh and the Hoa Dao group plant some trees for a memory at a camp in Miyako City

By Viet Dung