Paul Hastings

Sometimes small events happen which we know we will vividly remember for the rest of our lives. Such an event happened for me on May 24, 2013, when I found myself in the small circle of a support group for disaster survivors, listening to eight courageous young women share the traumas they had experienced during and after the triple disasters—earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear—in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. It was incredibly moving to witness these stories and emotions that had never before been shared. The young women were amazed to learn that others too felt as they did. Immediately, they moved to support each other, in a deepening bond. It was sacred space indeed…