|
AZUZ: Tears, prayers and a moment of silence: those were some of the ways in which Japan marked the tragic anniversary of last year`s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Extraordinary images like these show you how powerful and destructive these natural disasters were. More than 15,000 people were killed by the quake and tsunami.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: And last year, right after it happened, we asked you to share your thoughts and words of encouragement for the victims of these disasters. We asked you to put those on our blog, and here`s what some of you had to say at that time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): From Libby, “The devastation is just so mind- blowing. My prayers go to those affected by this disaster.”
Guffey said, “We should show our support for the people of Japan, perhaps by donating money or supplies.”
Elizabeth said that, “despite all the chaos, there are people who struggle to live and have hope that things will work out. There is hope in every living witness of this disaster.”
And Toyo said, “I`m reading these messages in Japan. Thank you everybody in the world.”
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Kyung Lah now has more on yesterday`s anniversary and the memorial ceremonies in one city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A year after the tsunami, this is downtown Ishinomaki, still bearing all the scars of when the tsunami roared ashore a year ago. There is so much work and rebuilding to be done.
But for just this moment, this city paused to remember all the victims who had died in the tsunami, people stopping here to lay flowers, to remember the dead. Monks walk through Ishinomaki, chanting for the souls of the dead so that they may rest in peace. But many of the remembrances here in Ishinomaki were on a small scale.
Jie Kozutzumi (ph) laid flowers for two friends, who today are still missing.
“All I can do is keep going,” she says, “and live in the best way I can,” one foot in front of the other as a matter of fact Japan continues to recover — Kyung Lah, CNN, Ishinomaki, Japan.
|
