Visitors Determined To Help In Shattered Nishinomiya
In 20 seconds on Jan. 17, life as I have experienced it for two years in Japan crashed to a halt.
The lovely Sannomiya area of Kobe is ruins and burnt-out rubble. Most of the quaint, lovely homes in my neighborhood are leveled. A favorite bakery and sushi shop where the cutest little elderly Japanese couple waited on me sits in a pile of broken bricks, wood and dust. There is no way of knowing what happened to the owners.
Many friends are gone. There is a feeling of sorrow and disbelief, of a need to mourn, partly because there have been no goodbyes, no closure. One day you are planning lessons with Japanese English teachers and the next you are wondering if they are alive or still have a home.
Many American friends and acquaintances have been sent back to the United States by their companies.
Stephanie Mollet Armijo, Amanda Wood and I, from Spokane, and Deborah Strode, from Washington State University, chose to stay and assist our Japanese peers in any way we can.
Amanda and a teacher from Colorado went to Osaka to bring back vegetables and vitamins for the weary members of the Nishinomiya Education Board who have been working around the clock to take care of teachers, students and community members crowded into school gyms and public facilities. Some of them have also lost everything.
After the first few days of panic and shock, we five American and two Canadian staff members arrived to help clean up the mess in our office building. Desks, books, files, papers and shards of broken glass lay in mounds under twisted shelves and toppled bookcases. It took us only two hours to clean our office and we were able to finish another room the first day. Our camaraderie and spirit of independence were encouragement to the Japanese staff. One afternoon, Debbie performed magic tricks and I taught some dances to displaced children and their mothers. It was rewarding to hear their laughter and I think it gave the mothers a welcome respite.
About 500 displaced people were living in the gym where our office is located. There is no gas or running water. Meals are served by volunteers from Japan and around the world.
We have waited in lines to shop, standing in the cold for over an hour till the market opened. At first, commodities were scarce but now most things are available.
The courtesy and emotional restraint that epitomize the way of life here is still present. Japanese friends and acquaintances call and apologize that I have to experience such a disaster while in Japan.
We are on common ground here, we survivors. An indomitable human spirit pervades. I am most concerned for the infirm and the elderly who must sleep in cold shelters in danger of disease. However, even their quiet resignation is an inspiration.
For the present, Stephanie and I are staying with Peter and Amy Mathis, a young couple from Kobe International Baptist Church. Five of us are staying here, including Kishimoto-san, a young Japanese man whose apartment was destroyed. Usually, there are seven or eight for dinner as men from Peter’s work whose families have have left temporarily, join us.
Without running water the first two weeks, we learned a new meaning of the word “conservation.” Amy had saved water in her bathtub and washer while it was still available. This we boiled for cooking and washing dishes, using the remains to flush the toilet.
Dishes were wrapped in plastic to save on the water needed to clean them. February 2, we finally had water restored. It’s cold, and shampooing in it, I am sure, causes hypothermia of the brain cells - but who’s complaining?
Sunday we drove to Sanda, a mountain community untouched by the quake. We were pleasantly surprised that it took only an hour and a half to travel the 15 miles to get there. Because of the damage to major highways, most roads are incredibly snarled with traffic.
It was like an R-and-R from a war zone. The weather was cool but bright and sunny. Lovely, old-style homes surrounded by manicured gardens and terraced rice fields were a welcome relief from the devastation.
Much criticism has been leveled at the government for the lack of adequate preparedness and response immediately after the disaster hit. I, as most Westerners, have a difficult time understanding the bureaucracy and hierarchy that are so prevalent here. The refusal of medical personnel without a Japan license is just one example. Only after several meetings by officials to decide who could make an exception to the law, were outsiders with medical degrees allowed to enter the country.
Right now, along with 300,000 others, we are looking for affordable housing. A system called “key money” allows landlords to charge exorbitant fees. For a small, one-bedroom unit, the fee usually ranges from $2,000 to $4,500 nonrefundable deposit.
A friend called to tell about four apartments near our office that were supposed to be quite nice. However, key money on each unit was $20,000 - slightly out of the school district’s price range.
We all live in apprehension, awaiting the promised big aftershock. There are minor trembles day and night. Last week, as I waited for a bus, a large truck went by causing the already cracked sidewalk to shake. Immediately, a Japanese lady and I jumped and looked around for a place to run. Realizing what caused the ground to shudder, we both laughed in relief.
From my futon on the floor of the shelter that first morning after the quake, I remember thinking, “I have been inconvenienced, lost a few personal items and my life in Japan has completely changed. These people, however, have lost their homes, their jobs in some cases, their friends and family members. For them, life has changed forever.”
One young man staying at the same facility asked me if I was from America and, if so, did I know what time it was in Michigan. “I have a host family there I lived with one year and I want to call and tell them my house is broke, but my family and I are all right.” There are many broken houses and broken lives.
As long as we are not a burden, we will stay to fulfill our contracts. We will assist wherever and however we can. If it is someone just needing a kind word or hug, I will be here. I am reminded of a verse from the book of Esther in the Old Testament, “And who knows that you have come to (your) position for such a time as this.”
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Joan Lee Frank is a teacher in Nishinomiya and is from Spokane.