Hatsie Hughes

Hatsie Hughes - Photo by Nigel A.  JAMES

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Hatsie and Her Many Cousins!

When disasters come calling, they not only bring damage and pain; they also bring out the best that there is in the people involved.  And, the earthquake that struck Sukouka in Japan in 2006 brought out the very, very best of a young English woman!

Hatsie Hughes was working and studying in Sukouka at the time, and, like everyone else, she was busying herself with the things that one normally does, and, one of those things was looking forward to lunch with her friends. But lunch never came!

Instead the earth quaked!  5.5 on the Richter scale.  The worse that the city could remember!  And, like everyone else, Hatsie kept her head as she started making  her way home through the just shaken streets and the rubble, and then, as if being tuned into a high power frequency, she heard it. Through the sounds of destruction was coming the crystal clear note of an English SOS signal!  Hatsie knew there were people in need.

And in need they certainly were!  Standing and shivering together with nowhere to go were Rodney, Mo, Paul, Tomo, Jano and Cloe.  They had lost all. Their hostel was in ruins, and, with nothing but blankets to keep themselves warm, they were worrying about their next meal.  But not to worry.  Hatsie was there, and, with the words, “All back to my place”, she was able to drive off the clouds of despair. 

Soon the 5 weary and well-quaked-out travellers were enjoying a meal in the warmth of Hatsie’s mini apartment.  But they were neither friends - nor were they people she’d rescued.  They were more!

Rules are rules, and Japanese rules even more so.  The only visitors that Hatsie was allowed were  relatives.  There no exceptions, not even for victims of earthquakes!  And, so it was that Hatsie, all of a sudden,  had 5 cousins more!

And cousins they’ve remained. Despite being all over the world, they have remained unbelievably chained to each other.  Being cousins means more than just being friends, and cousins are automatically part of a much bigger family whole!  What happened by chance in 2006  has become something that’s still going on, an expansion of horizons and the interests and fun that they bring.

The day the quake came was the day that Hatsie’s new family arrived!