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| Source:National Geographic Unforgettable Pictures |
Six
months ago a huge tsunami slammed into northeastern Japan. It killed
thousands and devastated towns and villages all along Japan's
coast. Bureaucracy,
the massive extent of the devastation, and lack of financing have been cited as hindering factors in Japan’s recovery.
Taking Matters into Their Own Hands
Yet,
on what is proving to be a very long and difficult road to recovery
some citizens are taking matters into their own hands. Private companies
are helping shoulder the load, too. One of these, Fujifilm North America
Companies, was recognized by
AmeriCares for the collective humanitarian effort of its employees
through their outpouring of support through donations of cash totalling
nearly one-quarter of a million dollars.
“AmeriCares
is grateful to Fujifilm for its compassion and generosity in helping
the people of Japan recover from this devastating tragedy,” said
AmeriCares Vice President of Institutional Relations Diana Maguire. “Thanks to great supporters like Fujifilm, AmeriCares has the resources
to assist the long-term recovery efforts and help restore health and
hope for countless survivors. (Source:AmeriCares News Release)
Doomed to be Silenced Forever
Meanwhile,
another less publicized effort was underway back in Japan with other
Fujifilm employees. Working diligently, a group from Fujifilm set about
to help develop a process to preserve the countless numbers of silver
halide photos that now lay in rubble piles of debris. These treasures
once filled albums, hung on walls in frames, and sat quietly piled in
shoeboxes. However, having been immersed in salt water and coated with
mud, these "memories in print" seemed doomed to be silenced forever from
revealing their stories to other generations, about another less
traumatic time.
Obstacles Overcome
The challenge was monumental, as is everything associated with this tragedy. The objective was to develop field processing centers. These centers, once deployed, would have to handle large volumes of recovered silver halide photos in need of cleaning from damage due to immersion in salt water, mud, and sand. Staff would primarily be with volunteers in areas where anything but the bare necessities of life were merely a pipe dream.
The challenge was monumental, as is everything associated with this tragedy. The objective was to develop field processing centers. These centers, once deployed, would have to handle large volumes of recovered silver halide photos in need of cleaning from damage due to immersion in salt water, mud, and sand. Staff would primarily be with volunteers in areas where anything but the bare necessities of life were merely a pipe dream.
Despite the obstacles, a dedicated Fujifilm team was successful. Their efforts are now well documented (Silver Halide Photos: Cleaning water-damaged photos in albums | YouTube Video: Cleaning Photo Prints Damaged by Muddy Water-8mins).
As
a result, an untold multitude for generations to come will be able to
connect, share, and know of a past before the sea swept in and changed
lives forever.
An Ounce of Prevention=A Pound of Cure
Do
you have paper photos? Consider getting them all scanned into digital images and then be sure to keep a back-up somewhere, where if a local
disaster strikes, they will be safe.
