Friday, April 29, 2011

Lesson to be learnt from Japan - need of the hour for us Indians

Last night, I was sent to a little grammar school to help a charity organization distribute food to the refugees. It was a long line that snaked this way and that and I saw a little boy around 9 years old. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. It was getting very cold and the boy was at the very end of the line.
I was worried that by the time his turn came there wouldn't be any food left. So I spoke to him. He said he was at school when the earthquake happened. His father worked nearby and was driving to the school. The boy was on the third floor balcony when he saw the tsunami sweep his father's car away.I asked him about his mother. He said his house is right by the  beach and that his mother and little sister probably didn't make  it. He turned his head and wiped his tears when I asked about his relatives.
The boy was shivering so I took off my police jacket and put it on him. That's when my bag of food ration fell out. I picked it up and gave it to him. "When it comes to your turn, they might run out of food. So here's my portion. I already ate. Why don't you eat it?"

The boy took my food and bowed. I thought he would eat it right away, but he didn't. He took the bag of food, went up to where the line ended and put it where all the food was waiting to be distributed.
I was shocked. I asked him why he didn't eat it and instead added it to the food pile. He answered: "Because I see a lot more people hungrier than I am. If I put it there, then they willdistribute the food equally."
 When I heard that I turned away so that people wouldn't see me cry. A society that can produce a 9-year-old who understands the concept of sacrifice for the greater good must be a great society, a great people.
Well, a few lines to send you and your family my warm wishes. The hours of my shift have begun again.
 Ha Minh Thanh
************ LESSON TO LEARN FROM JAPAN ***********
10 things to learn from Japan.
 1. THE CALM Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
 2. THE DIGNITY Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture. 
 3. THE ABILITY The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
 4. THE GRACE People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
 5. THE ORDER No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding. 
 6. THE SACRIFICE Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
 7. THE TENDERNESS Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
 8. THE TRAINING The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
 9. THE MEDIA They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
 10. THE CONSCIENCE When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly!


----------------------
THIS letter, written by Vietnamese immigrant Ha Minh Thanh working in Fukushima as a policeman to a friend in Vietnam, was posted on New America Media on March 19. It is a testimonial to the strength of the Japanese spirit, and an interesting slice of life near the epicenter of Japan 's crisis at the Fukushima  nuclearpower plant. It was translated by NAM editor Andrew Lam, author of "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres." Shanghai Daily condensed it. 

Monday, April 18, 2011

MONEY IS YOURS, BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY

Germany is a highly industrialized country. It produces top brands
like Benz, BMW, Siemens etc. The nuclear reactor pump is made in a
small town in this country. In such a country, many will think its
people lead a luxurious life. At least that was my impression before
my study trip.

When I arrived at Hamburg, my colleagues who work in Hamburg arranged
a welcome party for me in a restaurant. As we walked into the
restaurant, we noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a
table where a young couple was having their meal. There were only two
dishes and two cans of beer on the table. I wondered if such simple
meal could be romantic, and whether the girl will leave this stingy
guy.

There were a few old ladies on another table. When a dish is served,
the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish
every bit of the food on their plates.

We did not pay much attention to them, as we were looking forward to
the dishes we ordered. As we were hungry, our local colleague ordered
more food for us.

As the restaurant was quiet, the food came quite fast. Since there
were other activities arranged for us, we did not spend much time
dining. When we left, there was still about one third of unconsumed
food on the table.

When we were leaving the restaurant, we heard someone calling us. We
noticed the old ladies in the restaurant were talking about us to the
restaurant owner. When they spoke to us in English, we understood that
they were unhappy about us wasting so much food. We immediately felt
that they were really being too busy body.

"We paid for our food, it is none of your business how much food we
left behind," my colleague Gui told the old ladies.

The old ladies were furious. One of them immediately took her hand
phone out and made a call to someone. After a while, a man in uniform
claimed to be an officer from the Social Security organization
arrived. Upon knowing what the dispute was, he issued us a 50 Marks
fine...

We all kept quiet. The local colleague took out a 50 Mark note and
repeatedly apologized to the officer.

The officer told us in a stern voice, "ORDER WHAT YOU CAN CONSUME,
MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY. THERE ARE MANY
OTHERS IN THE WORLD WHO ARE FACING SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES. YOU HAVE NO
REASON TO WASTE RESOURCES.´

Our face turned red. We all agreed with him in our hearts. The mindset
of people of this rich country put all of us to shame. WE REALLY NEED
TO REFLECT ON THIS. We are from country which is not very rich in
resources. To save face, we order large quantity and also waste food
when we give others a treat.

THIS LESSON TAUGHT US A LESSON TO THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CHANGING OUR
BAD HABITS.

My colleague took photocopy of the "fine ticket" and gave a copy to
each of us as a "souvenir". All of us kept it and pasted on our wall
to remind us that we shall never be wasteful.



This mail is received as forwarded one, but please think on that We
should learn to save resources like petrol food, water electricity
etc.