数百人の人々にメールを送るのには勇気がいったが、今必要なのは気持ちも大事だが何より行動だと自分に言い聞かせた。とりあえず顔の見える一般内科・救急・循環器・呼吸器・消化器・腎臓・腫瘍血液・神経内科・Hospitalist・ケースマネージャの人達に送った。清水の舞台から飛び降りるというが、それはもう矢のように送った。
ものすごい反応だった。メールを貰った人がさらに転送してくれた。おおくの人々が賛同して寄付してくれた。電話オペレータのおばちゃんも寄付してくれた。子供まで小学校でfund raisingを始めてくれた。アメリカのすごさと思った。アメリカは「自分が心から信じたことを、迷わず行うことだ」と教えてくれた。私は米国赤十字が日本赤十字とのパイプがあってより直接必要な所に届くと思った。他の団体に寄付した人もいた。
米国赤十字は今日、日本赤十字にひとまず1000万ドルと65000枚の毛布を送った。一人ひとりの力が合わされば、大きなことができる。さらに私は、恩師の先生が居る別の病院にも呼び掛けるつもりだ。また今週はToastmaster clubのミーティングでも聴衆にスピーチで援助を求めて訴えかける。自分の心と自分の言葉を信じて、できることをする。
檄文の大意は以下の通り（英文は下記）。甚大な被害のを知るにつけ、遠くから胸が張り裂けそうだ。しかし勇気を出して行動を起こさなければならない。私は米国赤十字に寄付することにした。これで水や食糧などの生存に必要な物資が届き命が助かる。寒さと恐怖に震える人々を勇気づけられる。そして、被災地のど真ん中で必死に戦う私の友達を援助できる。皆が力を合わせれば、乗り越えられない危機などないと信じている。日本のために、どうか手を貸してほしい。
Dear all,
I would like to call your attention to the situation in Japan, because this email will be the first urgent message I have sent to you during my residency. As you know, last Friday, my country was struck by the historical earthquake and swept by a monstrous tsunami. I am writing this email to ask you for donations and help (perhaps to the American Red Cross) to save lives there.
The damage by this disaster is tremendous. The quake broke most of the infrastructure, triggered fire, and caused severe damage to buildings. My friends were almost killed when their hospitals collapsed. Tsunami crushed tens of thousands of houses. Nuclear reactors are in peril, posing invisible threats of radiation to the surrounding area. Confirmed casualties are over 2,000 and at least 7,000 people are missing. These stunning numbers will only go up. It will take months or even years to recover from this catastrophe.
I decided to donate to the American Red Cross to help. They are a reliable organization, working in cooperation with the Japanese Red Cross. Japanese Red Cross is the leading rescue/relief organization in Japan (but they are too busy to set up their own donation website). It makes me feel crazy to think that people are literally being killed even at this moment. But I have to take courage to act and change the situation. Even after this apocalyptic event, there should still be something that I can do.
By donating them, you can provide 3 precious supports.
First of all, you can save lives. Not only you are helping lives at your hospital every day, you will be saving a lot of lives in Japan. There are people who are still standing on rooftops and asking for help. At least 300,000 people are evacuated, and millions are without water or electricity. Not only medical needs, but are there huge needs of basic supply such as water, food, and blankets just to keep them alive.
Second, you can send a clear message that the whole world cares about the people who are in danger. In the face of crisis, people in Japan are still calm and persevering. I admire them but I wonder how much emotional distress they are going through. By donating, you can tell them they are not alone. You can warm not only the body but the heart of people who are trembling under the wreckage in the cold temperature (as low as 30F) and snow.
And lastly, you can help my friends from my teaching hospital in Japan. They are my comrades, connected with as bond not less strong than blood. One doctor from my class is an orthopedist in the area hit by both earthquake and tsunami. He is working tirelessly doing a lot of trauma surgeries with limited resources. Another one (1 year junior to my class) is a nephrologist in Sendai, a devastated metropolis with 1 million people. He is running dialysis day and night because his hospital is the only place where dialysis can be performed in the region. There are a lot more of my friends who are struggling in the wake of disaster. I want to support them in a substantial way.
I appreciate if you could lend your kind hands to save lives in my country, support them including my best friends. What each one can do against this massive damage might be limited, but if we combine our goodwill, I believe there is no obstacle big enough that we cannot overcome. Thank you in advance for your generosity and cooperation, on behalf of Japanese people.
