日本から海を越えて、心温まる贈り物が届いた。
高校時代の同級生が、一針一針心をこめて編んでくれた手作りのボンボンマフラー。
モコモコとした手触りと気の利いたボタンの配置、計算され尽くされた機能美にうっとりする。
茨城県つくば市で農業生物資源の研究にいそしむ今泉温子さん。
大震災後の原発事故で、研究者達が次々に関東地区を離れていく姿を目の当たりにしたものの、自ら冷静にリサーチを進め、家族と一緒につくばでの「日常」を保ち続けた。
彼女独自の報告書を読んで、私達同級生はどれほどの勇気を与えられたことだろう。
「被災者」側の立場にあるはずの彼女が、昨夏からコツコツと編み物を始めた。
やがて訪れる寒い冬を前に、被災地の子供達にあったかマフラーを贈りたいという試みだった。
仕事と子育てに忙しいはずの毎日の中で、少しずつ作品の山が大きくなっていく様子を見ていた同級生が一人、また一人と声をあげた。
彼女の呼びかけはついには海をも超え支援活動は国外へと波及した。
そして12月、彼女のもとから60本のマフラーと144個のクリスマスオーナメントが、そして国内外の同級生達からも箱いっぱいの手作りオーナメントが被災地へと贈られた。
家を失い、家族を失った子供達に、小さな希望の灯りがともりますように。
彼女達の行動力に、私は頭が下がる一方だった。
震災後に「絆」という言葉がもてはやされているけれど、一人一人が心地よい距離感を保ちながら絆を紡ぐことの大切さを、彼女の偉業に改めて教えられた。
あの日から、まもなく一年。
今ここで出来ることをやる。その想いは根強く変わらないけれど、自分自身がもっと進化していかなくてはならないと痛切に感じている。
おんこちゃんのあったかマフラーのおかげで、ニューヨークの寒い冬も乗り越えられそうです。
被災地の子供達にも、大きな愛が確実に伝わっていることでしょう。
がんばれ日本。がんばれ私達。
Heart-warming gift, Bonbon muffler that my classmate in high school
knitted by hand, had arrived from Japan across the sea.
Look at the very soft and tender texture, the witty and flaky button.
I admire the functional beauty that has been exhausted is calculated.
My friend, Ms.Haruko Imaizumi, Agrobiological Scientist, diligently study
her research in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.
In the nuclear accident after the earthquake in Japan, her co-worker, the
scientists went off the Kanto region to the other.
But she decided remaining to keep "as usual" in Tsukuba along with her
family, promoting research herself in calm.
We, her classmates, got the huge courage by reading the report of her own.
Though she might be in the position of the "victims", she began knitting
steadily from the early summer last year. She was to attempt to give the
muffler to the children in the disaster area, before the cold in winter.
Though she was supposed to be busy with work and child rearing every day,
the results of the work had grown little by little.
Classmates had a look at how she did, and joined to support her little by
little.
Her support activities finally spread to the sea beyond.
Her 60 scarves and 144 Christmas ornaments were gifted to the disaster
area in December.
Many handmade ornaments from our classmates were followed there.
We want the children who lost their homes, lost family members, to have
the light of small hope.
I was impressed with their ability to act that always reminded the word
"LOVE".
The word "Kizuna, bonds" has been touted after the earthquake, but I was
taught anew by her feat,; the important thing to connect "bonds" was to
keep a feeling of distance ties each person feels comfortable.
Unforgettable date is coming soon, after one year.
I do my best that I can do here now.
My deep-rooted wish has never been changed, but I keenly feel that I have
to evolve myself more and more.
Thanks to her heart-warming muffler, we are likely to be overcome the
cold winter in New York.
Also the children of the affected areas should have received the great
LOVE.
