Before I leave my country Japan...

Aya said:
If nobody wrote to me, it didn’t even occur to me to leave my home.
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How close are you and your family to the damaged nuclear reactors Aya? What the physical distance between you and the fires?

It’s very hard in the beginning when I felt the urgency to leave. Because I knew how much it would be hard to convince my family & friends to do so. It’s free will.
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Yup...all you can do is offer to help. We have a saying where I live "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink"

Take care and know that we're all pulling for you :hug2:
 
Aya, we're here if you need any help. I hope all the best for you and your family as well.
Keep us posted!


Guardian said:
My advice, for whatever it's worth, is that when disaster strikes, don't follow the herd...THINK outside the box. Focus on saving as many people as you can, and if you succeed, you'll be sitting right there with them when it's all over.
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I agree fully.
 
BUT, leaving shouldn't be based on fear and "I'm getting the heck out of here" and not stopping to think about it. The only thing that can save Aya and others in similar situations is, for example, to realize (after looking and asking) that this is the way things are, that nobody around you wants help, that their trust their government more than they trust your opinion. When you see that, then you know it's time to leave because nobody wants help anyway.
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That sums it up very well.
And since Aya has already discussed the situation with family and received a negative response to a temporary evacuation for their safety as well, there seems to be little more to do there right now.

Maybe better to secure a place in Canada so that others can follow too, should they so choose in the future.

Absolutely no point in going down with the ship just because everyone else wants too.

Better to live, to fight another day.
 
I would like to present a theoretical framework for risk assessment that can help to understand situations like the one currently in Japan. this may help to come to a objective decision whether to stay or not and what to do when you stay.

To be able to help a few conditions need to be met before this helping can take place.

the personal safety and security needs to be guaranteed as good as possible. Here the advice given in airplanes is appropriate: put on your oxygen mask first before attending to others. A dead person cannot help. To judge the own safety and security the risks need to be considered. In the literature

Risk = Threat x Vulnerability

With

 Threat: a potential act that may result in harm or injury, or loss of, or damage to, property. Threats are composed of two elements
o The likelihood of occurrence, which can be low, medium or high
o The impact when it occurs, which can be low, medium or high.
 Vulnerability: the extent to which a person is exposed to a threat.

The next step in the analysis is therefore to list all possible threats. In the case of the current situation in Japan, I would like to focus on the nuclear meltdown ( though there are more threats for the moment)

The likelihood a nuclear meltdown is high and the impact when it occurs is also high.

The vulnerability of a person is look at in how a person can influence the likelihood and the impact of a threat when it occurs. If for example there is a high threat for getting involved in a car accident during rush hour at highway X, a person can decide to not drive a car on that highway during rush hour (diminishing the likelihood) and- or drive a tank (impact is less when involved in an accident).

In the case of a nuclear meltdown a person does not seem to have ways to influence the likelihood of the threat. The changes it occurs remains high, whatever a person would try. The solution to diminish the likelihood is no to be there where the threat might occur, in other words, create a distance between one self and the threat. If the objective is to help on the spot, this is not a possible option.

The impact on the person when the nuclear meltdown occurs is possible to influence. Some measures could diminish the impact.

• Use iodine (impact remains HIGH)
• Wear protective gear (impact becomes MEDIUM)
• Build a nuclear fall out shelter (impact becomes LOW)
• Create distance from the threat (impact is LOW)

Depending on which measures a person take it is therefore possible that the impact is less. Therefore the risk involved with a nuclear meltdown is HIGH x (LOW – MEDIUM – HIGH). It seems reasonable that to stay in the area and help, one should have at least protective gear, and preferably a nuclear fall out shelter. These are conditions that are not easy met, but it is possible.

Once the risk is qualified one has to decide what is the acceptable risk one is willing to take. In case the objective is to help, it will mainly be determined by the kind of help you want to give and to whom you want to give it. In case of high risk for the person helping out, it is general accepted that only help that immediately saves the life of another person can be considered.

Another consideration is how many person do you want to help? As said saving one person requires that without your help (s)he is dead within the hour. If you can help 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000 persons by taking high personal risks, it might be worth. This of course will raise the question what resources do you need and what resources do you have at your disposal to help those 10, 100, 10000, 100000 persons. Without having those resources the risk becomes again not acceptable.

Hope this helps to assess the situation of what a person can do in any kind of situation where helping out should be balanced by taking risks.
 
Aya send my deepest respect to you and all your family and hope your path is an easy one,family first forgot eveything else and go without fear.
 
Jeremy F Kreuz said:
I would like to present a theoretical framework for risk assessment that can help to understand situations like the one currently in Japan.
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SWEET!! Thanks Jeremy! You just put a process we use into a WELL worded, concise statement. We use four levels, Low, Medium, High and OMG....but that's about the only difference.

May I have permission to lift a goodly portion of your post for transplant to a Guardian group I belong to...with proper credit to you of course?
 
Hello Aya, You seem to just have a feeling about this one and intuition can be a powerful tool. It's "better safe than sorry," my mother always says.
You may find this quote inspiring, "We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." -Ben Sweetland
Wishing you safe travels!! :hug2:
 
Scarlet said:
Hello Aya, You seem to just have a feeling about this one and intuition can be a powerful tool. It's "better safe than sorry," my mother always says.
You may find this quote inspiring, "We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." -Ben Sweetland
Wishing you safe travels!! :hug2:
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Me too! Bon voyage. :hug:
 
SolarMother said:
Scarlet said:
Hello Aya, You seem to just have a feeling about this one and intuition can be a powerful tool. It's "better safe than sorry," my mother always says.
You may find this quote inspiring, "We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." -Ben Sweetland
Wishing you safe travels!! :hug2:
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Me too! Bon voyage. :hug:
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Thirded! I wish you the best of luck on your journey, Aya, wherever you end up. Keep safe! :hug2:
 
Hi Aya,
It sounds to me like you know what you need to do. In this most distressing situation I think you need to listen to your heart and act accordingly.
Please keep us updated on your choices and how they eventuate.
Thinking of you and too many others in your situation. :love:
 
Today was the hardest day ever in my life.
For 90% I lost my job. I feel like I am in pain.
I liked my job. I worked really hard to get it. Did I make a right decision?

I met my friends. Everyone told me to not worry and be happy.
It hurts me when I am with a happy crowd.
Why can't I be happy like those people?

I keep telling myself. "I shouldn't worry. I shouldn't expect anything."
But I do have concerns and sadness never leaves from my heart.

I will pack and go first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Before things get worse... Is it getting worse?

I am afraid because there is no answer.
But I do know that if I lose a chance, I might never come again.

Maybe this is my chance to learn something...

The confirmation number of my flight is...NowJapanAyaRUN!!

I take it as a go sign.

It was a full moon day. A big earthquake hit right before I told coworkers that I was leaving this country.
Sings are everywhere... but I don't know what they all mean.

I hope I can make it to my destination.
Now it's getting a lot harder than the moment I made the decision.

I hope I can at least get out from this stress. The stress that kept me down for last three days.
I couldn't sleep, eat, speak, laugh, and concentrate.
It was killing me.

I packed my suitcase light but also I packed it as if I'm not coming back.
I took all my money from my bank account.
I prepared some necessary documents.
I talked my family and warned the danger as much as possible.
I had fun time with my friends and family too.
I bought a plant for my mother's birthday present on 21st. I won't be here.
I got some food and water for my family.
Did I prepare enough?

I will be coming back here soon if I can. I hope everything will be fine like people say.
I hope so.

It's exciting and scary.
I will be happy when I understand what all it means.

Thank you for your posts. They keep me alive. :hug2:
 
I think you did all you could to prepare, and in these kind of situations it can feel like it's never enough but we can try out best. You may have lost your job, but you keep your sanity and god forbid something happens, your life...

...and an earthquake right before telling your co-workers your decision is either an amazing coincidence or the universe giving a clue!

Remember, you are family to us too, and you'll be well cared for here, no matter how long you need to stay.
 
Do what you need to do when you need to do it, and the Universe will look after you. That is what I believe. Firmly. I wish you safe travels and good fortune, now and in the future. :flowers:
 
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