e-ShortNews

The “Disaster Relief Concert for Great Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami” was held at the Meguro Persimmon Hall on April 25, 2005. It was meant to assist the disaster-stricken people for their recovery, in particular children for their psychological recovery and education. Many governmental organizations concerned, business and non-business organizations and individuals in and around Meguro City, worked together to make the concert a success. We received words of appreciation, which include a letter from the Ambassador of Thailand as follows:

Chairman of NPO Meguro UNESCO Association,
Chairman of the Meguro International Friendship Association,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good evening for all of you
First of all, let me express my gratitude to be among all of you who are participating in and attending this wonderful event, The Charity Concert to Assist Sufferers from Sumatra ? Andaman Island Earthquake / Tsunamis in Indian Ocean, which is organized by the NPO Meguro UNESCO Association and the Meguro International Friendship Association.
As you are well aware, Indonesia, together with some neighboring countries, are presently suffering from a catastrophic natural disaster that has shaken our spirit. All of us have seen extensive media coverage of the aftermath of the disaster, but I am sure that the people from the affected regions will testify that what we have seen on the television screen represents only a small fraction of the painful reality. What the victims actually went through truly staggers our imagination.
Let me speak for a moment about the assistance the victims in Indonesia, particularly in Aceh, have received in the time of need. The tragedy has in fact seen the entire nation reach out as one, and volunteers, funds and goods are being mobilized throughout the country. Let me say how proud we are of the response from the Indonesian people in the face of this adversity and how grateful we are for the assistance from abroad.
In spite of the devastation and grief it has exacted, the disaster is also teaching us precious lessons. One of the most inspiring being our deeper realization of the virtue of brotherhood, the value of unity and the power of cooperation.
Bearing this in mind, I would like to thank our friends in the international community. It is not possible to mention all those involved, but let me take this opportunity to express gratitude for the immediate response, assistance and generosity that we received from our friends in Japan. The Acehnese and Indonesian people will long remember the images of the government and people of Japan working with us to assist those in need.
And finally, I would like to thank to the organizing committee for your kindness to hold this wonderful charity concert and please rest assured that the Indonesian people, especially the victims of disasters, will never forget.
Thank you.　

(Interpreter: Hiroki Abe, Meguro International Friendship Association)

Dear all,
It is an honor to send Meguro UNESCO this congratulatory message at the beginning of their charity concert to raise funds for Tsunami victims in South Asia. We wish you all the best.
I have known Meguro UNESCO since late 1980s when I was studying in Tokyo. I remember how helpful Meguro UNESCO was for international students at that time. While in Japan, I attended several of their activities. It is admirable to observe many activities they conduct each year for the betterment of the society.
Meguro UNESCO has had a very long relationship with the Herath Foundation. Since 1989, Meguro UNESCO has offered scholarships annually to students from Sri Lanka. So far, over 22 students have received Meguro UNESCO scholarships. We deeply appreciate your support of them.
In addition, Meguro UNESCO also positively responded to the Herath Foundation's request to help Tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. With the help received we managed to provide immediate relief assistance soon after the Tsunami. That helped to reduce the suffering of the people affected by this natural disaster. Also, we provided school supplies and pledged scholarships to students in the hardest-hit areas. We will continue to provide rehabilitation and assistance, rebuilding houses, schools, hospitals and places of worship. Let me take this opportunity to thank Meguro UNESCO for their continued support.
Currently the Herath Foundation is engaged in rebuilding the Peelegoda Sumanajothi Primary School in Galle, Sri Lanka which was completely destroyed by the Tsunami. The school, accommodating up to 200 students, will consist of 14 classrooms, two computer rooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium, a library, offices and a playground. The government's estimated project cost for rebuilding this school, including equipment, is 51.7 million Sri Lankan Rupees. This is the approximate equivalent of $ 517,000 USD.
The charity concert today is another noble effort to help Tsunami victims. I sincerely wish you great success.
And for all of you, I wish excellent health, joy and happiness. 　　　Susantha Herath, PhD
President, Herath Foundation
Professor, St. Cloud State University, USA
Photos Prof. Herath sent us: one taken before the disaster, the other showing the destruction caused by the tsunami

##### Sponsors and Supporters #####

Sponsors: NPO Meguro UNESCO Association,
Meguro International Friendship Association
Cosponsor: Meguro Foundation of Art and Culture
Supporters: National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan, Meguro City, Meguro Board of Education, Meguro Branch of Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Meguro Corporation Association, Meguro Aoiro Incorporated Association, Meguro-City Shopping Streets Federation, Meguro-City Industrial Federation, Meguro Junior Chamber, Inc., and companies, local entities, individuals located in Meguro and other areas.
We would like to express our appreciation to the companies, organizations, individuals,
and others (69 in total) for buying a one-line space for 10,000 yen in the program.

The concert was held for education assistance as well as for the rehabilitation of those suffering from the most disastrous natural hazard on record. People living in Meguro took a leading part in planning the concert in cooperation with people living in other areas. The performers and the audience were united in the cause, which won the sympathy of many more people. After the curtain fell, the Indonesian ambassador, Mr. Abdul IRSAN, gave a speech.
The concert was made up of two parts; classical music (first half) and Gershwin (second half), and was performed by saxophone player, Mr. Yasuto Tanaka, and piano player, Mr. Mitsutaka Shiraishi. The hall was filled with passionate melodies. During the interval, a witty talk was also given to introduce the history of saxophones and its varieties (there are 7 of them). It turned out to be an interesting music lecture. The peace song “Imagine” composed by John Lennon, was played as an encore. The melody reminds me of days gone by.
(By Moriaki Saitoh)

##### Program #####

Bach ? “Sonata in E flat Major, BWV 1031”
Grieg ? from “Lyric Pieces”
Desenclos ? “Prelude, Cadenza and Finale”
- Intermission -
Gershwin (arr. Fumio Tamura) ? “Three Preludes”
Gershwin=Atsushi Nagao ? “Your Kindness”
Gershwin (arr. Toshio Majima) ? “Gershwin Cocktail”
- Encore -

##### Performers #####

Yasuto Tanaka (Saxophone)

Made a brilliant debut as a first-prize winner in the saxophone section in a wind instrument contest.
Highly praised as “a person of real caliber who has an internal poetry” and made even Marcel Mule, who can be called the father of saxophone, dazzled.

Mitsutaka Shiraishi (Piano)

Studied at the Juilliard School after graduating from the graduate school of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. In 1990, won a prize in the Gina Bachauer International Scholarship Competition. In 1991, won first prize in a concerto competition. Played Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Juilliard Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall, the Lincoln Center.

__________________________________________

Thank You for Your Cooperation!
We haven’t completed the calculation of the earnings from the concert, but it seems that we can contribute about 1.2 million yen in total to Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. We appreciate your cooperation.

__________________________________________

(#) A symposium on “Dialogue among Civilizations” was held at the UNESCO Headquarters, inviting the Iranian President Mohammad Khatami as one of the keynote speakers. President Khatami is said to have asserted the necessity of dialogue between different civilizations from the standpoint of the preamble of the UNESCO Constitution.

(#) I have once visited Tehran, the capital of Iran, for the construction of power boilers in the country. It was during the time of the Iran-Iraq War. In 1980, Saddam Hussein of Iraq had launched an invasion of Iran, which was then under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini. It was only shortly after the Iranian Revolution (often called the Islamic Revolution), and Hussein tried to take advantage of Iran’s unstableness to expand its territory and, at the same time, to prevent the revolution from spreading to his own country. The war lasted until 1988.

(#) In the meanwhile, the United States had to secure its oil rights in the region to maintain a stable economy. Soon after the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution, in the name of containing fundamentalist Islamic revolution, the United States started to provide a huge amount of military aid to Iraq, by logic of “my enemy's enemy is my friend.” Ever since, up until Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the US is reportedly to have exported 1.5 billion dollars worth of weaponry and military technology to Iraq, including biochemical weapons.

(#) A noted critic and philoso- pher Shunsuke Tsurumi says, “The United States is blind to how it is looked upon by those who are targeted and killed. It is completely at loss, because it has broken the mirror to see its own reflection.”

(#) If that is the case, our hope is that the United States will see ‘dialogue’ as its new mirror, and take a good look into it to find its way out.

(Y. Shimosato)