A local couple is urging their son and his Japanese fiancée to leave Japan and come to Canada.
Ken and Carmen Boake have spoken to their son, Leslie, twice a day on Skype since the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan last week. While their son teaches English about 230 km south of Tokyo, in Yokohama, they remain concerned about his safety.
“I would think he should come home,” said Ken Boake, a local physician. “He’s pretty independent. . . . He’s pretty knowledgeable and if he feels he has to get out, he will get out.”
Ken said the frequent power outages in the city are preventing his 36-year-old son from working and this may force him to leave.
However, the Red Deer College graduate has a Japanese fiancée. Carmen Boake spoke with her future daughter-in-law on Tuesday evening.
“I said, ‘I truly understand your predicament,’ ” said Carmen. “ ‘We would like him here and you here but you have your family there so I understand you don’t want to leave your family. It’s only understandable. It’s only human. We understand what you are going through. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.’
“I said not only me but the whole Canada is.”
The twice-a-day phone calls have alleviated her concerns but Carmen said knowing her son and his fiancée are in the disaster-stricken country is not easy.
He has described the empty grocery store shelves and shared his concerns over possible radiation exposure.
“As a mother, I say bring the whole family here,” she said.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com