Amidst that chaotic scene, 5 Vietnamese workers used their bare hands to remove each tile, each wooden stick to rescue an old woman nearly 90 years old who was trapped under a dilapidated house.
It is worth mentioning that the 5 Vietnamese workers are just workers on their way back to their homes after work and do not have professional rescue skills.
And at that moment, if they choose to "pass by" like many others, it is also normal, no one blames them. Because aftershocks continue, the house may collapse more at any time.
But they stopped, and then a "miracle" happened.
When asked later, a member of the group only said that at that time they did not think much other than determined to find every way to get the old woman out of the dangerous area as soon as possible.
That answer is what moves many people.
Kindness, after all, usually starts from very natural things. It doesn't need big promises, nor does it wait until the stage lights or cameras are directed at it. It's simply impossible to turn your back when others are in trouble.
What is even more precious is that those 5 Vietnamese workers do not consider themselves heroes. For them, saving a person is something that should be done.
Perhaps, that's why this story has gone beyond the meaning of a brave act.
For many years, the image of Vietnamese people abroad has been mentioned a lot through figures on labor, study abroad, export or investment.
But the prestige of a community is not only built by labor productivity or income. It is also nurtured by the way each person treats the community where they live.
A beautiful action is sometimes much more contagious than a speech.
Japanese people will surely remember the year of Vietnamese youth not because they came from Vietnam, but because they did not abandon an old man in a moment of life and death.
Vietnamese people still have the saying "love others as you love yourself". That value is not only for our compatriots, but also for anyone who needs help, because compassion has no borders.
5 Vietnamese workers in Kumamoto will soon return to their daily work. They will also continue their lives like many other people far from home.
Then the ruins in Kumamoto will be rebuilt and life will gradually return to normal. But what remains longer than an earthquake is the memory of people who did not turn their backs on the pain of others.
