Blog Archive
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2011
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April
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- Cowgirl Kylie returns to her Neighbours
- Cowgirl Kylie returns to her Neighbours
- Kinky boots: Miley Cyrus dons risqué leather outfit
- Kinky boots: Miley Cyrus dons risqué leather outfit
- Katy Perry mocks internet sensation Rebecca Black
- Katy Perry mocks internet sensation Rebecca Black
- 'The most incredible gift ever': Mariah Carey give...
- 'The most incredible gift ever': Mariah Carey give...
- Have Britain's Got Talent judges found their winner?
- Have Britain's Got Talent judges found their winner?
- Not very Abbey: Cart-wheeling verger carpeted by c...
- Not very Abbey: Cart-wheeling verger carpeted by c...
- Middletons go home ... £250,000 poorer: Family’s h...
- Middletons go home ... £250,000 poorer: Family’s h...
- Her Royal Hotness will be next to wed...
- Her Royal Hotness will be next to wed...
- Same place, same pose... but two very different st...
- Same place, same pose... but two very different st...
- Whisked away by helicopter... but Wills's back to ...
- Whisked away by helicopter... but Wills's back to ...
- The universe's reaction to the royal wedding
- The universe's reaction to the royal wedding
- Happy and glorious: OFFICIAL Royal Wedding album i...
- Happy and glorious: OFFICIAL Royal Wedding album i...
- What honeymoon? A weekend away then it's back to w...
- What honeymoon? A weekend away then it's back to w...
- Music Core performances from April 30th
- Big Bang says goodbye with ‘Stupid Liar’ on Music ...
- CNBLUE performs ‘Love Girl’ on Music Core
- After School makes a comeback with ‘Shampoo’ on Mu...
- INFINITE says goodbye on Music Core
- The eight-tiered Royal Wedding cake decorated with...
- The eight-tiered Royal Wedding cake decorated with...
- Sure those hats were wise, ladies?
- Sure those hats were wise, ladies?
- Party at the Palace! Newly weds William and Kate d...
- Party at the Palace! Newly weds William and Kate d...
- How Kate's foxy sister Pippa stole the show
- How Kate's foxy sister Pippa stole the show
- Magical wedding for a Royal bride...
- Magical wedding for a Royal bride...
- Kate Middleton marries her Prince in stunning desi...
- Kate Middleton marries her Prince in stunning desi...
- A MILLION turn out for Wills and Kate
- A MILLION turn out for Wills and Kate
- Kiss me Kate! William and his new bride show their...
- Kiss me Kate! William and his new bride show their...
- 'You look beautiful': What William whispered to ra...
- 'You look beautiful': What William whispered to ra...
- Gala pre-wedding dinner held at the Mandarin Orie...
- Gala pre-wedding dinner held at the Mandarin Orie...
- When to see that dress and where to watch that kis...
- When to see that dress and where to watch that kis...
- Here comes the groom: William goes on a final walk...
- Here comes the groom: William goes on a final walk...
- A regal wave: Kate arrives with sister and mother ...
- A regal wave: Kate arrives with sister and mother ...
- Catherine Middleton, her mother Carole and sister ...
- Catherine Middleton, her mother Carole and sister ...
- Fans of the royal family take photographs on the Mall
- Fans of the royal family take photographs on the Mall
- Obama declares state of emergency as death toll fr...
- Obama declares state of emergency as death toll fr...
- The Royal tent city: If you were hoping for a spot...
- The Royal tent city: If you were hoping for a spot...
- Kate arrives to cheers from thousands camped outsi...
- Kate arrives to cheers from thousands camped outsi...
- Daesung performs ‘Baby Don’t Cry’ on M! Countdown
- f(x) makes their comeback on M! Countdown
- B1A4 debuts on M! Countdown with “OK”
- Turtles makes a ‘Hero’ comeback on M! Countdown
- Shin Dong Yup & Super Junior’s Leeteuk cast as double
- 'Last day of freedom': Biker Wills speeds off
- 'Last day of freedom': Biker Wills speeds off
- Very subtle! Kate Garraway shows her support for t...
- Very subtle! Kate Garraway shows her support for t...
- Heavily pregnant Natalie Portman
- Heavily pregnant Natalie Portman
- Get them to the (Abbey) on time!
- Get them to the (Abbey) on time!
- Inside the £5,000-a-night room where Kate will sta...
- Inside the £5,000-a-night room where Kate will sta...
- 'With so much love within our hearts'
- 'With so much love within our hearts'
- Crowds walk along Whitehall which will be part of ...
- Crowds walk along Whitehall which will be part of ...
- How Westminster Abbey is being turned into a £50k ...
- The final countdown: Middletons move to London wit...
- The final countdown: Middletons move to London wit...
- Royal Wedding brought forward? No, it's a William ...
- Royal Wedding brought forward? No, it's a William ...
- Full track for After School’s “Shampoo” released!
- Hundreds of servicemen stage spectacular trial run...
- Hundreds of servicemen stage spectacular trial run...
- A royal disappointment? How being official wedding...
- A royal disappointment? How being official wedding...
- Trees to the big day! Workmen create Kate's indoor...
- Trees to the big day! Workmen create Kate's indoor...
- Lindsay Lohan opens up about jail term
- Lindsay Lohan opens up about jail term
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April
(705)
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Portrait of hope after the tidal wave of despair: How distraught woman seen sobbing in Japan's ruins was reunited with her grandmother... and two of h
By DAVID JONES Devastation: This picture of Akane Ito sitting crying in the ruins of the devastated city of Natori became one of the most iconic images from the Japanese tsunami Among all the haunting photographs taken in the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami, one image became iconic - capturing the incredible scale of destruction and the resulting human misery in one unforgettable frame.Published prominently in the Daily Mail and countless more newspapers around the world, it showed a young Japanese woman hunched in despair beside a ripped-up road, her tiny figure dwarfed by vast mounds of debris. Rather strangely, she had removed her red rubber boots and placed them neatly beside her, but the fact that she sat barefooted amid the wreckage somehow made the picture more poignant. Reunion: Against all the odds, Akane found two of her 13 dogs, labrador Mei and poodle Momo after the disaster The photographer who took the picture never spoke to the woman, nor even asked her name. So who was this tormented woman, with her fashionable clothes and hairstyle, and what was the story behind her anguish?The image was so powerful that I determined to discover the answer while in Japan reporting on the earthquake and tsunami for this paper. But with tens of thousands living in homeless people’s shelters along the country’s north-east coastline, tracking her down seemed an impossible task.However, when I had all but given up and was back in Britain, I finally found her. Temporary home: The hostess is now housed in a shelter where there is a special section for homeless people with pets I had pinned the picture to a town-hall door in Natori in northern Japan, alongside dozens of other appeals to the missing - and by sheer chance she had seen it and responded to my request to get in touch.Her name is Akane Ito, she is a 28-year-old nightclub hostess, and her story is by turns tragic and uplifting – a testimony to the extraordinary spirit with which the Japanese are facing up to their trials.Until the tsunami struck, Akane lived with her construction-worker boyfriend and his mother, in a two-storey wooden house in Yuriage, a fishing port nearly 200 miles north of Tokyo which was populated by some 7,000 people. Hope: Akane has not given up looking for her 11 other dogs Akane has no children, but kept no fewer than 13 dogs - including six chihuahuas - which she loved dearly and regarded as her family.‘On March 11, I was upstairs watching TV with my dogs, when suddenly I felt this mighty earthquake,’ she recalls. ‘There seemed to be no major damage, but we were just left without water, electricity and gas.‘It meant that we had no radio or TV, so we hadn’t a clue that a huge tsunami was about to come racing in. We weren’t worried at all because a few years ago, when we had another big quake, the tidal wave was only about 10cm high.‘The day after the tsunami, I tried to go back for them, but the town was still flooded and I couldn’t get through. I had no idea it had been completely destroyed until two days afterwards, when my boyfriend was able to drive us there.‘When that photograph was taken, it was about 11am on March 13. I was sitting in front of what had been the entrance to my house, in total shock at the realisation that we had lost everything and our beloved dogs were gone.The first dog to be found alive was May, a six-year-old female Labrador. Bedraggled and forlorn, she was spotted by a family as they wandered through the ruins of Youriage, a mile from Akane’s home, in search of missing relatives. source: dailymail
Labels:
Earthquake,
News Update