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On behalf of all affiliates in UNI Apro, the UNI Apro Management Committee at the meeting on 18-19 April 2011 in Singapore, extend our support and message of hope to UNI LC Japan. "We Stand With You" poster, with a collection of UNI staff signatures is also presented at this occasion. Below is the statement of solidarity adopted and presented:





The Tohoku quake, tsunami, and still unfolding nuclear crisis are clearly having a traumatic effect on Japan, the worst crisis Japan has suffered since World War II. We, at UNI Apro, are shocked at the scale of destruction suffered by Japan due to the giant tsunami and the nuclear power meltdown unleashed by a killer 9.0 quake on March 11, 2011. Over 12,000 dead, over 16,000 missing, half a million rendered homeless and millions more facing nuclear radiation risks.



We, at UNI Apro, share the pains being endured by the Japanese people. This is a natural disaster that is unprecedented in human history.



And yet, through it all, the humanity, stoicism and steely endurance of the Japanese people are shining through. Yes, tears are falling down but quietly. No panic, no riots, no loud complaints. In other climes, such a disaster would have provoked widespread chaos and disorder. Post-tsunami Japan shows the resilience and discipline of the Japanese people.



Some of the Japanese UNI affiliates and members, especially in the Tohoku Region, have been affected by the disaster. We commiserate with them and their families and with the countless other victims.



We also note that the affiliates of the UNI LCJ, all over Japan, are among the first to respond to the crisis. They are actively helping the affected citizens pick up the pieces to rebuild lives, homes and communities.



We, at UNI Apro, wish the Japanese people, especially our UNI brothers and sisters in Japan, full success in their national re-building program. At UNI Asia-Pacific and UNI Global, UNI LC Japan has always been a source of strength, contributing the most to UNI’s varied continental and global union-building programs. Now is the time to express our solidarity with our Japanese brothers and sisters and exert our utmost efforts to ease their suffering, in whatever limited individual and collective capacities we may have.



The disaster in Japan threatens to significantly impede the nation’s economic recovery and inevitably spreading to other nations, especially on the Asia and Pacific region where Japan economy is an important and integral part. As it was for the development of trade unionism, Japan has for many decades provided leadership, consistent economic assistance and political co-operation in this region. In the sprit of solidarity, we call on all nations to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Japanese brothers and sisters as they deal with the recovery and reconstruction efforts



We extend to the Japanese people our unity, our deepest solidarity, in this hour of their national grief. We feel your suffering. We feel your pains. We feel your anguish. We share your hopes for speedy recovery.



Likewise, we share the hopes of our UNI LC Japan affiliates that the re-building of Japan shall form part of the global effort to make Planet Earth habitable, climate-change ready and sustainable for all humanity.



We are one with Japan.