The Collective Memories of Disasters in Asia: Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake
It has been 26 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck the city of Kobe and surrounding areas (the SEEDS Asia HQ is located in Kobe). On this anniversary day (17th January), we stand for a moment of silence to pray for the souls of the victims to rest in peace, and hope that everyone thinking of that day in 1995, can spend a peaceful day.
SEEDS Asia was established in May 2006, but the earthquake has always been a trigger, a day of remembrance, for us to strive to make people and communities more resilient to disasters. Recurring disaster events taking place worldwide these days remind us that our small initiatives and actions will have to be repeated and multiplied several times over, as we respond to more frequent and severer natural disasters. This includes the Indonesia earthquake with magnitude 6.2 which shook Sulawesi island just two days before the commemoration day of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake last week.
With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting us during 2020, we have had to work under a number of restrictions to take action. Despite this, we never should forget about the fact that people somewhere in the world could be facing the risk of losing their lives, families, communities and hope in this moment.
26 years ago, many cities in Hyogo were struck by the human tragedy and were covered by fires, smoke and collapsed buildings. In such a chaotic situation, the compassion and empathy of volunteers who can to the region to help the local communities, became a driving force for them to take steps forward towards a resilient future. We at SEEDS Asia feel humbled and at the same time emboldened that this anniversary day will be a day when all wish for the safety and happiness of all, while spending time together with our loved ones.
