Mindset in Emergencies and Human Dignity

Gold bars are fine. But when you are fleeing during a crisis, you will be targeted for them along the way and they will be stolen along with your life, so a person who once fled from the continent to Taiwan during the war said that you should always spend your wealth on acquiring skills and knowledge for yourself and your children. They said that the skills and abilities you have acquired can never be stolen, and they will definitely be useful wherever you flee. I believe that this kind of wisdom is what we should possess in the turbulent times ahead.

The skills you acquire are not limited to the so-called "high academic background" obtained at universities. In overseas refugee camps, for example, there seems to be a great demand for hairdressing. In the terrible environment of a place of refuge where hearts are also devastated, having messy hair cut and groomed can be a trigger for restoring one's own depressed feelings and gaining the courage and vitality to face difficulties once again.

Even in Sendai immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, there was a lot of demand for perm shops and barbershops. With electricity, gas, and water infrastructure not yet restored, many Sendai citizens experienced days where they could not even wash their faces properly, let alone take a bath. This was not limited to the tsunami-stricken areas, but occurred in wide areas of Sendai city. When news spread on social media that a luxury hotel in front of Sendai Station, where infrastructure had been restored, was opening its guest room shower rooms at a low price, many people flocked there. The hotel served the citizens regardless of profitability.

While many people were suffering from the disaster, especially in the shelters in the tsunami-stricken areas, food and donations were of course important. But in fact, for the restoration of feelings, being able to do a little grooming in the shelter and "comedy" were welcomed by many people. Also, reuniting with pets they had been keeping can be mentioned. I think this is also a hint for preparing for the turbulent times to come. Some people may not think that grooming, laughter, and pets in a shelter are a top priority because it is important to connect the life of the body first. However, it should not be overlooked that these are also properly in line with the great principle that the restoration of human dignity is paramount.

In disaster-stricken areas and conflict zones, what should be prioritized is the restoration of human dignity. Therefore, for people who have entered from the outside, arbitrariness and imposition are the things that should be avoided most. First, listen to the voices of the local people. Next, have the local people participate in every decision-making process. Young people who will live in the turbulent times to come, please remember this.

I want young people who will live in the turbulent times to come to know the importance of human dignity. If you haven't already, please watch this video.

Also, in the Great East Japan Earthquake, I experienced the importance of restoring human dignity. I want you to know about this as well.

In the Great East Japan Earthquake, a grassroots organization called "Scoop Dan," which was formed by a local Sendai person named Ryo Taira calling out to the whole country on social media and people who resonated with it flocking one after another, saved the hearts of many people in the tsunami-stricken areas. The people of this organization, especially Mr. Taira, were people who deeply understood human dignity and showed it in their actions.

Not only did Mr. Taira and his team shovel mud and clean up buildings damaged by the tsunami, but they also ran around the country to collect dry ice to preserve the bodies of those who died in the tsunami and put them in coffins. In response to this, misguided criticism and slander appeared on the internet, such as "In an emergency, what is it to use energy for the dead rather than the living?" The important thing here is the fact that Mr. Taira's actions were truly close to the hearts of the "living," such as families mourning the dead, with true kindness, and helped them restore their human dignity. People sometimes speak short-sightedly without thinking deeply. Therefore, I think it is important to continue to think deeply about human dignity, touch it, and accumulate days of showing it.

I think the lady who said, "But you know, (the important thing) is not things, is it?" in the article written by Mr. Taira is also a person who deeply understands human dignity. (Quoted below)

The words of that lady gave birth to the Requiem Grand Fireworks Festival on March 10, 2012, which became a grassroots movement of a scale rare in history. On the day, from wide areas of Miyagi Prefecture, people who had lost many people and whose emotional wounds had not healed were staring at the large circles of fireworks launched toward heaven. To tell the person who had passed away, "I am doing well."

In the nuclear accident, there were also people who supported the elderly who strongly wished to return to their contaminated hometowns. They don't wish for a long life. They are people who supported those who wanted to pick and eat mushrooms and wild vegetables from their own mountain villages where radioactive cesium and the like were detected at high values by teaching them the permissible amount, allowing them to regain the daily life they had lost. However, there were people on the internet who strongly criticized even them. It was a cold opinion that completely ignored the dignity of living that the elderly themselves had chosen. The people who supported the elderly were actually the people who helped restore human dignity.

In terms of numbers and cutting off, the living are more important than the dead. Avoiding radioactive contamination is more important than the food one has been accustomed to for a long time. However, I feel that understanding that there are things that can never be saved by that is high reason and deep culture. Because those with shallow understanding of humans cannot truly save people.

In the turbulent times to come, I am made to think that the only way to save the natural environment and the confused world widely is a chain of resonance among people based on such deep understanding. For example, even in the recent global problem-raising by young people regarding climate change, if you forget about human dignity, that movement will soon enter a dead end. If you really want to reduce carbon dioxide emissions globally and protect the earth's natural environment, I think it is better to appeal to the world starting from thinking more and more deeply about human dignity. And I believe that the appeal that comes from that deep thought will strike the hearts of people who were indifferent and lead them to action.

Turbulent times involving the world will continue in the future. In such times, opportunities to think about how people should live will also increase. I do not have an answer that satisfies everyone. However, if it is to be a hint, I feel it is the following. For example, suppose global climate change is resolved, the "apartment without a toilet problem" in nuclear power plants is solved in environmental issues, and various international problems are solved, and peace comes to the world, what will humans be seeking there? I try to imagine how people will live with dignity in that peaceful environment. It is reverse calculation, but I form the future that should be sought in my own heart now. It is not to be impatient to create it immediately in the current reality while accompanied by great friction. I build it first as a thought in my own heart. Embodying it in one's own heart may be the key to a solution. Especially active young people should not confuse the means that can be taken immediately with the original purpose. Because human dignity is profound and should not be thought of short-sightedly and shallowly. I strongly hope that all of you young people who will live in the turbulence to come will be thoughtful people who think deeply about the meaning of dignity.