On May 24th Katsunobu Sakurai, the mayor of a city in Japan called Minamisoma, recorded an eleven minute youtube video pleading for help from other parts of Japan. He said there was a feeling of abandonment from the rest of Japan. being a city located very close to the nuclear plant, the amount of damage and tragedy is very vast, Sakurai assumed that the mass media would come to them, but they had disappeared from all news broadcasts because all of the reporters stationed in City Hall had run away. The Youtube video was their last desperate attempt to get some attention and help, but Sakurai was skeptical. At first it was just in attempt to get some volunteers and supplies from the rest of Japan, but soon after it was posted a local man added English subtitles and it has since received over 200,000 views, and the city has gotten an incredible response. The remaining citizens were on the path towards starvation and they are now receiving phone calls, food, and supplies from all over the world.
This is yet another example of how quickly and significant the internet has proven to be in the midst of disaster. The speed at which information can reach the whole world, information not limited to what is broadcasted in news reports is amazing, and significant. The people themselves can stand in front of the world and ask for help and get a response immediately. If it weren't for that youtube video who knows how long it would have taken the world to pay attention to Minamisoma, how many people could have starved in their homes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/world/asia/07plea.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=technology
1 comment:
Our world is now based on technology and I do find it amazing that this has happen. This whole disaster is heartbreaking because not only did they experience a natural disaster but now they feel abandonment and that must add so much more stress to the situation. I am glad that the video had received a lot of views and now they are getting the help they need.
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