For Japan: Our sister

For Japan: Our sister -

members of Atsuki Tokusatsu community in Jogjakarta donations for "Jogja Care for Japan" collection - Picture courtesy of Atsuki Tokusatsu Community

Looking back on how Indonesia to Japan T Responded hoku earthquake

March 2011 :? In the streets of Jogjakarta some young Indonesian men dressed unconventionally and women wearing boxing "Jogja Care for Japan" in. There is a boy in a bright red vest, dressed blue pants and a straw hat and girl in a Japanese school uniform. They are "cosplayers" (costume players) to collect donations to send to Japan.

On March 11, 2011 Japan shaken. It was the first time the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that T the? Hoku hit region, followed by a devastating tsunami. The earthquake and tsunami were Japan's deadliest, with almost sixteen thousand people die from twelve prefectures. About two thousand five hundred people have not yet been found.

The earthquake and tsunami was soon followed by another misfortune. Regular and emergency cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been damaged, resulting in meltdowns that have had significant consequences for people and agriculture from Fukushima prefecture. As part of the "triple disaster", acting foreign governments to provide support in a variety of ways are available. The Maldives, for example, sent 0,000 cans of tuna in Japan. Children all over the world sent postcards to Japanese children with messages of moral support. Among these postcards were thousands of children in Indonesia.

In the weeks after the March 11, 2011, I observed in Malaysia, where I lived at that time, different groups of people, raising funds and trying to get their support to show for Japan. For many weeks near my local supermarket I saw a booth, could donate to the passers-by money and fold origami cranes, which would be sent to Japan. With support from the Sumitomo Foundation, I was able to collect stories from all over Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam about what other people have to support Japan at this time.

In Indonesia, I worked with the filmmaker Mahatma Putra and photographer Tasha May interview Indonesians from a variety of backgrounds and with some fascinating stories. Among them were members of Atsuki Tokusatsu community in Jogjakarta, taking the funds raised by 'Cosplay on the street ". Cosplay is an activity originating in Japan, the dressing as characters from Japanese anime closes and tokusatsu ( live-action anime). Aryo Ari Wahyoyo and Muryadi Saputra were among the donations collected in the streets of Jogjakarta. with the money they collected, and folded a thousand origami cranes, their community, they were Japan with "a sign of gratitude "to present for its cultural contributions Muryadi stated:.". When the cosplayers would not exist in Japan every anime, tokusatsu not be, or Cosplay "

Muryadi Saputra in cosplayer clothing. He is dressed as a Kamen Rider. photograph taken by Tasha May

Muryadi is and the efforts of Aryo Megarini Puspasari initiated part of a larger event. Mega, as she calls them, studied in Japan and was co-founder of Hoshizora Foundation, the Indonesian Street Children seeks to give better access to education. She spoke of her fondness for Japan, where she has friends there as a result of their study years. She also noted the gratitude that the foundation of his many Japanese patrons owes, including the Nippon Foundation, which supported with start-up costs.

Mega describes how. After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, they developed the idea of ​​a charity concert, Jogja Care for Japan The event was a wide range of people and groups included, who were interested, express their support for Japan expressed. In describing the people to participate in the event, and how it affected the there, she said.

... it was extraordinary, the people who came to the concert. Although the preparation of only two weeks was, there were so many people who visited and a representative of the Embassy of Japan came to. And we had to tell a conference call with a friend living in Japan us how the situation was there, as the people had to do with the situation. And it was not only for Japan, but for us it was also a lesson ... that although Japan was a disaster compared to to survive. They did not fight over food, these processed sequentially, not to plunder and so on. It was a lesson for us. So there was a mutual benefit

A screenshot from the short film for Japan. Our sister of Mahatma Putra and Julian CH Lee. Available on YouTube.

had

While some of the respondents in Japan lived, there were other surprising connections. Ardini Suryati, head of Salman Al-Farisi School in Bandung tells how the inspiration for her school from the Japanese book came Totto-chan, , the story of how a young Japanese schoolgirl Benefits tells of going to an unconventional school after being expelled from another school. Mr. Mohammad Ridwan described this school, as developed its activities in the classroom to support Japan to help children "awaken their empathy with other people."

The cover Totto-chan, a Japanese book that had a major impact in the field of education. Image taken by Julian CH Lee

In addition to the activities in Indonesia there were those who gave the standing directly on the ground support in Japan. At the time of the earthquake, the Muslim charity Dompet Dhuafa had a staff in Japan work a branch there to establish. described Mohammad Abdi Sabed Lawang of Dompet Dhuafa as the presence of staff a "blessing in disguise" was when he was able to mobilize in Japan Indonesians making support in temporary shelters that housed displaced.

Rokhima Rostian was also there at the time, a lecturer at the Universitas Gadjah Mada. She was in Sendai and witnessed the enormity of the earthquake. Although evacuated, she soon returned to lend a hand along with some other Indonesians. "In addition to helping people every weekend we made Indonesian food and it is distributed in the camps." And to help overlooking Japanese children through this difficult time, "We played with them a lot of Indonesian Games."

we found the stories we collected convincing and to be heartwarming, and they said a lot about the area, that many Indonesians feel with Japan. Friends lived there and made others shared a worldwide recognition for Japan's cultural While for some of the bond a result was to have. Furthermore, as Indonesia with the curing, which is familiar to natural disasters, it was no surprise that one of the things that a sense of solidarity with those in Japan was in this respect came through. As Reni Ekifitriati the Hoshizora Foundation stated: "We must help them, especially if it was the earthquake, because we have also experienced.."

to some of the people tell described their stories, including Muryadi Saputra see who was interviewed in full Cosplay clothing, watch the short documentary on YouTube, For Japan. Our sister

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