January 13, 2018 - The Day We Died (Almost) (It was a False Alarm)

Aloha,

Jan. 13 was a morning I'll never forget.

We were getting ready to go to a book & record fair when my boyfriend Will showed me an alert on his phone: A ballistic missile was on its way to Hawaii, we need to take immediate shelter, and it is not a drill.

As soon as I could process that, I clung to him and I could see that my hands were trembling and feel that my heart was racing. “Take shelter” -- the alert said. But what kind of shelter? And where? We did briefly hide in the shower and I just remember standing there, feeling helpless and frozen with fear.

Eventually, we called my neighbor Freddie. Other than Will and a few others, Freddy is as close to family as I have here in Hawaii. He is also a certified Natural Disaster trainer, so I knew he would have good ways to stay calm. I am so grateful for him and his proactive disposition while dealing with pressure (and my nerves). Freddy told me that he was on his way home and Will and I did end up moving down to his apartment later to be together.

I also called my sister, @isharmaine who suggested I put shoes on, pack an emergency bag, and fill as many containers of water as possible. It was really hard to move and do any of these things. But I’m grateful for Will, who stayed calm and jumped into action, when I couldn't.

Together with Freddy, we turned on the radio and the three of us tried to listen for more information. To our dismay, we just found regular stations playing as if nothing was happening. We searched on our phones but still, nothing. Without knowing where else to turn, I even called 911 hoping they could help, but there was no ring.

I went outside and saw some of my neighbors frantically packing up their cars. “You got the alert too?” I asked one of them. “Yea. Some people are leaving. Staying away from populated areas. You should too.” I live in the city of Honolulu and that made me wonder if I should do the same thing. I asked the guys whether we should leave and their reply was very straightforward: “We have 15 minutes, Teej. We’re not getting anywhere in 15 minutes. Better here, than a car.”
I really didn’t know what they meant when they said 15 minutes. 15 minutes until the bomb would hit? How would they know that? And why 15? But it did finally sink in that: there wasn’t anything left to do.

So I hugged my boyfriend tight, dawning on me that this was it. I was anticipating an explosion any minute and I started thinking about the last conversation I had with my sister and with my brother. I prayed to God that His will be done, and braced myself. That’s when we started to receive a few messages from different news outlets and social media saying it was a false alarm. I wanted to believe it but I needed to be sure. More and more messages reassured us that the alert was sent in error. The tweet from Rep. Tulsi Gabbard confirmed that Hawaii was in no threat and that’s when I started crying, with heavy relief! I wanted to understand how this could actually happen, but more importantly, how to feel safe (and prepared) for if anything like this were to happen again.
**
It wasn’t easy going about the day. It was just a few hours ago when I thought we were all going to die. The truth is, Hawaii is vulnerable considering it’s an island and that there is no place to escape to. We don’t have basements, there are no bomb shelters. And it doesn’t help that Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un has been politically bantering with each other about nuclear bombs. Tensions are high and Hawaii is one of the closest U.S. targets to North Korea. We’ve already started testing nuclear bomb sirens for practice last month. Whether we like it or not, Donald Trump, our president, represents us, and is responsible for whatever happens, but he is incompetent of that responsibility and it’s clear that for our safety, he needs to either promote peace over war, OR just be removed from office.
After learning it was a false alarm, I prayed once more to thank God, and together with the community of Hawaii, we continued to celebrate life by reading on the beach, walking under the warm sun, and ultimately knowing now more than ever not to take any of it for granted.
**
Mahalo for reading and warm aloha to you
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