February`s study tour to the earthquake and tsunami affected areas of Soma and Minami-Soma was a great success – and yet another testament to the resilience of the people of Fukushima. We spent the majority of our two days in the area touring some of the hardest-hit towns and villages, along with stops at the Fukushima Decontamination Information Plaza, a local fishing cooperative, a small strawberry farm and, lastly, the Minami-Soma solar `agri-park`. Once again, I was amazed at what these people had been through – and how they are slowly, but surely, rebuilding their lives, businesses and communities with a strength of spirit that is truly admirable. The tsunami-swept landscape of what was once a small town was barren and uninhabited; but the spirit of a nearby strawberry farmer was anything but beaten. As he spoke with us, he admitted that the damage seemed insurmountable just after the disaster. But with the helping hand of countless volunteers from all over Japan, the pieces of his small community have slowly been finding their way back in place. Things are not, and never will be, the same as they were before the disaster, he said. But that`s not to say that we can`t rebuild our lives. And our strawberry farms. Later, as I walked through one of the many greenhouses on his strawberry farm with a bowl off sweet cream and an overripe strawberry in my hand, I couldn`t help but think how much that image contrasted with the one I had just left. Not five miles away a town lay in rubble, devastated by the one of the most powerful earthquakes and tsunamis Japan has ever seen. His farm was destroyed, but with determination (and a lot of help) he built it again. This theme was echoed at every stop we made along with way – from the Decontamination Information Plaza in Fukushima to the Minami-Soma `solar agri-park`. When small communities pull together, great obstacles can be overcome. Amazing things can be accomplished. |  |
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