Have We Forgotten Tohoku ?

This evening I went to listen to a speech by the mayor of Rikuzentakata, the town I went to in Tohoku to volunteer after the tsunami of March 11th last year.
He talked hinestly of his very personal experience of losing his wife and of his mixed feelings of gratitude and rage towards the mass media. He complained bitterly of the government's illogical and discriminative attitude towards the disaster area, and painted a picture of divided opinions among the victims themselves of the best way to move forward and past the horror.
He showed the necessary compassionate side of government in the affected areas. "When we are asked about the regeneration plans to get Rikuzen back on its feet , we talk about the 8 year plan. Even after a year and a half, nothing much has changed since last year. But many of those who lost their life partners in the tsunami were over 80 years old. If we tell them we are working on a 15 year recovery plan, they will lose hope . 5 years is clearly unrealistic but 8 gives them something to hold on to. But if we are fighting alone, it will take even longer. My biggest fear is that we will be forgotten by everyone, even in Japan."
I will have to think about what I can do next. The memory of thst place will not leave me any time soon.