On Monday night a candlelight vigil was arranged by Lund students for sustainability at Stortorget to show support for those affected by the disaster in Japan. The crowd turned silent when Takehiro Kawahara, a Japanese student, told how his town had been affected.
“It is hard to understand that the downtown that I know so well is now completely destroyed”, he said.
Around 6 pm a lot of people are huddling under umbrellas at Stortorget with lit candles in their hands. The mood is serious but friendly. Some people are hugging. After a while everyone gathers around a light post on the north side of the square and puts down their candles around it.
Anja Humburg, president of Lund Students for Sustainability, who planned the vigil, speaks to everyone that has come:
“We want to send our hope and empathy to Japan and our Japanese friends”, she says.
Then a moment of silence is held for the victims.
Haven’t been able to contact family
The crowd becomes extra quiet when Takehiro Kawahara, a Japanese student, asks to say a few words. He says that he is from Kamaishi, a coastal town in northeastern Japan that was heavily damaged by the tsunami.
“I am shocked, because my city has a water barrier, but it didn’t help at all. 30 minutes after the earthquake the wave came. It is hard to understand that the town that I know so well is now destroyed”, he says and continues:
“I haven’t been able to contact my parents yet because the power lines collapsed. I can only hope that they had time to evacuate, he says and thanks the people who have come to show their support.”
There are around two hundred people on to the square, a mix of Japanese, other international students and Swedes.
Powerlessness and shock
Among the Japanese students that have come to Stortorget the most visible feelings are shock and frustration over being so far from home.
Chiaki Nawata is from southern Japan but has friends in Sendai who she hasn’t been able to contact since the earthquake.
“I feel depressed when I see the news. It makes you feel powerless when you are so far away. But at the same time there are a lot of people in other countries that are trying to help Japan and that’s amazing”, she says.
Two other students with lit candles are standing on the other side of the crowd. They are from Yokohama, just south of Tokyo.
“I came because I want to do something for the people in Japan, says Keisuke 
Nakamura.”
His friend, Kentaro Niida, adds:
“I couldn’t believe it. I have a friend who is studying in the Sendai area and I got really worried. But I have been in contact with him so I am relieved.”
Idea from Germany
Anja Humburg, from Lund students for sustainability is German and was inspired by similar initiatives in her home country.
“I hadn’t heard of anything going on in Lund so I thought that we should contribute too. It’s not about money, but about showing empathy. There is not much we can do here, but we can show people not to give up”, she says.
Support group formed on Facebook
Some students at Lund University have also started a group, Act for Japan, whose purpose is to serve as a source of contact and support for those affected and to start a fundraiser.
Daniel Jönsson has his girlfriend and several friends in Japan and was one of the initiators of the group that formed on Facebook.
“We want to find reliable organizations to raise money for. It is mainly for the Japanese that are here and want to do something. Many people here have been affected”, he says.
Some Japanese students had planned to raise money for the Red Cross at the vigil. However, they were unable to do so because they had not been granted permission. But they expect to be given permission soon and later arrange the fundraiser through the internet.
