20/05/2011 Ambassador Fatimie, Afghan delegation bring supplies to disaster evacuees in Ibaraki prefecture, meet with Hon. Mayor Ichihara of Tsukuba, Hon. Governor Hashimoto of Ibaraki

May 20, 2011: Ambassador Dr. Sayed M. Amin Fatimie along with a delegation of officials from the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Afghan residents of Japan visited Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture in order to bring supplies to disaster evacuees from Fukushima prefecture, home of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The delegation was made up of Mr. Jafar Ahmadyar, Mr. Nabard E. Yazdani, Mr. Kohi Amin, Mr. Mohammad Esmail, Mr. Taqi Mahmoodi, Mr. Fahim Nawabi, Mr. M. Baqer, Mr. Haji Baqer, and Mr. Amin Gul Hanif. From the Embassy, the Ambassador was joined by Dr. Bashir Mohabbat, Deputy Head of Mission; Mr. Jason Pratt, Public Relations Officer; Mr. Yuki Takeda; and Mr. Antony Tran.

The evacuees who had just moved into their new temporary homes said that due to the disasters of March 11th and the subsequent radiation problems, they were forced to move out of their homes without time or resources to bring furnishings with them. The delegation presented new furnishings directly to three families and left furnishings with the local government for 17 more.

Each set of furnishing included five light fixtures and a gas stove. Gas heaters donated by Mr. Yazdani were also brought along. These sets were acquired at the direction of the local government with funds raised by Afghan residents of Japan totaling 1,851,000 yen.

Ambassador Fatimie and the delegation spoke on the solidarity between the peoples of the two nations and offered prayers on their behalf. The evacuees expressed their gratitude.

The delegation then met with the Mayor of Tsukuba, the Hon. Mr. Kenichi Ichihara, and then with the Governor of Ibaraki, the Hon. Mr. Masaru Hashimoto, the latter in Mito city. Both of the Hon. officials expressed their appreciation for the support. Ambassador Fatimie expressed that this was further evidence of the close relations between the nations, building upon the support the Japan has shown to Afghanistan in its development. The delegation further offered condolences regarding the massive loss of life and damage done to the prefecture and all of Japan. Ambassador Fatimie presented letters of condolence and of appreciation to the Hon. officials.

To see the full gallery of the visit by photographer Antony Tran, click here.

To read the NHK report of the visit in English, click here. To read it in Japanese, click here.

To read the Mainichi Shimbun report in Japanese, click here.

(Photo, left to right: Mr. Hanif, Mr. Kohi Amin, Mr. Yazdani, Ambassador Fatimie, Governor Hashimoto, and Mr. Ahmadyar)

All photographs courtesy of Antony Tran

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