Last night I was sent to a
primary school, in order to assist the autonomous
association there distributing food to the
victims. Among the long waiting queue, I noticed
a boy at around 9 year-old, wearing only a T-shirt
and a pair of shorts. The weather was really cold
and he was standing at the end of the line. I was
afraid that there might not be any food left when
his turn came, thus I came over to talk to him.
He told me that the earthquake
and tsunami came when he was at school, in his
physical education class. His father, who worked
nearby, came to the school. From the balcony on
the 3rd floor of the school, he saw his father
and the car being swept away by the water. His
father had most likely died.
As I asked where his mom was, he
told me that since his family lived close to the
ocean, his mom and brother must have not escaped
in time. He quickly turned to wipe away his tears
when being asked about his relatives.
Seeing that he was cold, I took
off my police coat and covered him up with it.
Inadvertently, my dinner portion felt out of the
pocket. I picked it up, gave it to him, and said:
Im afraid thered be no food left when its
your turn. Here is mine. I already ate. You go
ahead and have it The little boy received the
food, bending over to thank. I was thinking he
would start eating voraciously at that moment,
but no. He carried it and went straight to the
front of the line, where the people are handing
out food, put what I gave him into the box of
food that was being distributed, then turned back
to the queue.
Extremely surprised, I asked why
he didnt eat it instead. He answered:
Because there are more people who probably are
hungrier than me. I put it in there so they could
fairly distribute it to everyone
After hearing his answer, I
turned away to cry so people couldnt see it. I
was moved. I cant believe that a 9 year-old
little boy, who was only in the 3rd grade, could
teach me such a lesson in this difficult moment.
A very touching lesson about sacrifice. A nation
with children who are only 9 year-old, yet
already know how to be patient, to bear hardship,
and to sacrifice for others is undoubtedly a
great nation.