DISCLAIMER FROM THE TRANSLATOR

DISCLAIMER FROM THE TRANSLATOR: While I speak both English and Japanese fluently, I know nothing about medicine. These are rough translations made through tears (i.e., sometimes while bawling). Please take all medical details in particular with a grain of salt. These translations have not been proofread and will be revised on a later date.

Please note that I am NOT in contact with the original author, who has given general permission for translation in one of her entries.

I would appreciate it if everyone can refrain from posting these entries elsewhere and to share this address <http://jkts-english.blogspot.com> instead, as I will be making revisions to each entry directly (addresses for individual entries may change if I revise their titles).

これらの英訳文は当ブログにて直接改訂を行いますので、転載は控えてこのアドレス<http://jkts-english.blogspot.com>を周知していただけたら幸いです(個々の記事のアドレスは変わってしまう可能性がありますのでご注意ください)。
また、ツイッターで看護師様ご本人の許諾を得て英訳したと紹介されましたが、直接連絡は取っておりません。翻訳に関してのご本人の見解は元のブログのこちらの記事の最後の方をご参照ください。

ALL ENTRIES © THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.



Start reading here: 1) To the affected areas.



Thursday, April 7, 2011

10) Tomorrow will be better than today.

May 20

The streets have been fixed, and many heavy machinery have finally come into Rikuzentakata. And as the rubble is cleared, many bodies have emerged.

The bodies were carried away on trucks, and I hoped that they will be met by those who have been searching for them soon.

More sadness spreads on the scene.

Beneath the rubble, I heard the ringtone of a cell phone that finally had reception since the system recovered the day before.

It was also very painful when the body of a pregnant woman came out. The reality that people who have nothing wrong are victimized. I no longer understand what it means for people to be alive.

They tell me that there is now a street where their houses full of memories were standing just several days ago.


We were on standby with emergency kits, watching the heavy machinery do their work, just in case there were any survivors. Sadly, there was nothing we could do.

All that came out were sighs and tears, and I felt horribly chagrined.


I talked to a boy who had a fever and a loss of appetite. He showed me a Doraemon book covered in mud.

I asked him what his favorite was of all of Doraemon's tools.

"I used to like the ozashiki tsuribori (indoor fishing mat), but now my favorite is the taimu furoshiki (wrapping cloth of time). I want to wrap up the whole city with the taimu furoshiki and make it go back to how it was before the earthquake."

The earthquake had even traumatized innocent children.


I was given a short break, so I went to see one of the areas where the people were allowed to reenter. An old man is looking very hart for something. He says he is looking for the stamp collection that he had been keeping for sixty years, and his photo albums, too.

People looking for their parents' spirit tablets, people looking for their husbands' bequests, people looking for their pets, people looking for school bags, people looking for their family…

I was afraid that moving the rubble will reveal a dead body, but we all searched together. Disappointingly, we couldn't find it.

I can't bear that it can take away the lives and treasures of people so easily.

I was hit harder by all this than the old man, who actually gave me a word of consolation. Pathetic.


I can't tell people try harder to persevere, or even that we should try harder together. I've already seen them trying so hard, too hard, even, and all I can say is "Let's bear with it" or "Let us overcome."

I can't tell them to try any harder than they already are, and even if they do try harder to persevere, there are just too many things that no one can do anything about.


But things are gradually getting better, right? It's a bit cold today, so I'm feeling rather weak-hearted.


But let us try harder, all the same!!


After all, although there have been many separations, there are also people who were finally able to see their friends and family today.





Next entry: 11) Smile





Translated March 28, minor edits April 19.
Original entry in Japanese: 10、明日は今日より良くなる。

2 comments:

  1. Please, no one can ask any more of you than what you are already doing, you have proven that you are strong, that you have courage beyond all things, yet you are human and mortal for all that. There is no shame in being weary, there is no shame in showing grief.

    Your beautiful Land has earned imperishable honour and merit forever, because of the actions of her emergency teams in this time
    of black disaster.

    And that includes you. You yourself bring honour to your Land.

    ReplyDelete
  2. During this website, you will see this shape, i highly recommend you learn this review. visit this page

    ReplyDelete