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FOLENS Seminar March 2012: Introduction to Disaster Education – Field Visits and Volunteer Activities in the Afflicted Areas of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
Student's Reports： 
Ei Ei Theint
Co Thi Kinh
Mudan Hou
Mohammad Sahin Polan
Tomoya Watanabe
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Shaken while walking among destroyed houses still left as they were after a year (Higashimatsushima) |
Graveling a garden of a temple to prepare for its memorial event: the community lost hundreds of lives in the Tsunami (Jifukuji Temple, Kesennuma) |
Learning how RQ-CNJ has helped the communities after 11 March until now (RQ Tome) |
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Helping to rebuild oyster farming – tying scallop shells, nests of oysters (Karakuwa Area, Kesennuma) |
Cruising around beautiful and productive bay while listening to what has happened on and after 11 March 2011 (Karakuwa Area, Kesennuma) |
Posing with Mrs. Hatakeyama who warmly received our visit with a great hospitality (Karakuwa Area, Kesennuma) |
Our last seminar in the academic year 2012 was a visit to areas afflicted by the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on 11 March, 2011. Our objective was to participate in volunteer activities to help the recovery and to learn from the people and fields that have experienced and are trying to overcome this serious disaster. Six students and two faculty members participated in this trip, which was organized as a trial activity of a small scale, leading to a series of following activities. RQ Disaster Education Center, which promotes “disaster education” or facilitation of learning from experiences of efforts to recover from disasters, coordinated our visit. Ms. Sachi Urata, RQ Tohoku staff, accompanied our entire trip.
Day 1:
From Sendai City, we drove to the north along the coastal line to witness the impacts of Tsunami.
Our first stop was Higashi-Matsushima City. All the participants were shocked and lost words while walking among destroyed houses still left as they were after a year, realizing how enormous and horrifying the disaster was and how sad it has been to lose a usual life for the people living there. As we continued our way to Onagawa Town, Ishinomaki City, and Minami-sanriku Town, we came across countless fishing towns and ports, all destroyed, along the beautiful coastal area. Ms. Urata and faculty provided information on situations of local communities and people, and geographical impacts such as coastal subsidence.
In Iriya District, Minamisanriku Town, we visited a workshop of “Minamisanriku Recovery Octopus Association”. There, Mr. Abe, Director of Iriya Community Learning Center, and staff explained and showed us their activities to produce and sell goods featuring “Octopus-kun”, the symbol of the local industry and recovery, and also traditional handicrafts using cocoons. We then visited a large Octopus-kun statue placed at the local shrine to pray for the recovery of the community.
After stopping by at Shizugawa Recovery Market to buy food for the dinner, we dipped in a hot spring at Hotel Kanyo – one of the important bases for evacuees and volunteers since right after the disaster. Finally, at RQ Tome Recovery Communication Center, our base for two nights, we had a dinner while each of us shared expectations for this trip such as “To understand what can happen in a disaster like this to prepare for a future disaster in an own country”; “To know what we should do after a disaster”; “To make a contribution as a volunteer”; “ To see what is going on now and what have changed during one year”; and “To know the actual site of the Tsunami, that I only saw in news in a home country”.
Day 2:
We started the first day of volunteer activities by making Onigiri, or rice balls for lunch. It was the first experience for many of the international students, but everyone did a good job.
The activity site was Jifuku-ji Temple in Kesennuma City. The temple is located at a higher ground, but still the tsunami almost reached its ceiling. The framework of the main building, built only three years ago, survived. We could clearly see the coast from the temple ground – it was hard to believe that the coastal view from there had been completely blocked by buildings before the tsunami. Our mission was to help gravelling the temple ground to prepare for a memorial event to pray for hundreds of people in the community who lost their lives. Members of Kesennuma Reconstruct Association, which hires local people who lost their jobs due to the disaster, were there to work together. After the work, the priest of Jifuku-ji, Shuko Katayama, kindly gave each of us a framed picture with his own calligraphy written as “Not to give away. Not to run away. Not to give up.” International students were grateful to receive also a memorial CD from him.
After a dinner at the base, Ms. Urata gave a presentation on what RQ Citizens Disaster Relief Network Japan (RQ-CNJ) has done to support afflicted people in the area. RQ-CNJ was a body that networked volunteers since right after the Tohoku disaster, and recently developed into some new organizations including RQ Disaster Education Center. It has had no paid or permanent staff but individuals, who were expected to be responsible for planning and making an action on their own initiative, voluntarily formed the organization. With its flexibility, RQ-CNJ has been successful to provide support for those that government could not reach. Both students and faculty were impressed to learn such RQ-CNJ activities and philosophies, and also Ms. Urata’s personal motivation, experience, and current thought.
Day 3:
On our last day, Mr. Masanori Hatakeyama and his wife, who own an oyster farm in Karakuwa Area of Kesennuma City, hosted our activity. Our mission was to support the recovery of oyster industry, by tying scallop shells to ropes to make nests for oysters to grow. The activity was coordinated by Mr. Hoshino of RQ Karakuwa Base and other volunteers also joined.
With patient and cheerful instruction of Mrs. Hatakeyama, we could somehow manage to do the work. Mr. Hatakeyama took us to the bay by his boat and explained the natural beauty and wealth of the area, impacts of the tsunami, and his vision for the recovery of oyster farming. They let us taste their delicious products, such as fresh scallops and fish, grilled oysters that survived the tsunami. Thus we had to admit what we received from them was much more than our contribution to them. At Hatakeyama’s home, each of us wrote a “thank-you” message with our own languages with Japanese translation on large sheets of paper, as other volunteers who had visited had done.
After returning to the base, we shared what we had felt during the trip: “I was impressed with the power of local people and governments. Lots of volunteers came and it shows the good will of Japanese society. I believe Japan can recover.” “Before coming here, I could not really understand what had happened - no houses were left after the tsunami. I want to bring what I saw to my country to learn from the experience.” “I was totally shocked by the scenery to see that everything has disappeared. By meeting the people during this trip, I could realize the power of the field.” Ms. Urata told us that she thought local people were happy to receive an international group and to know that people in the other places of the world support them.
Through these three days, we could meet many wonderful and powerful people who taught us much. We have to admit that our contribution was small but our earning was so big. Believing that learning in Tohoku is important for those who want to be environmental leaders in future, FOLENS would like to continue activities to connect our education with Tohoku. (SN)
Programs：
Day 1 (Wednesday, March 7)
09:30 Meet at the east gate of the Sendai station
Meeting 1: Self-introduction and overview of this field seminar (Ninomiya/Urata,
RQ-Disaster Education Center)
10:00 Leave the Sendai station by a wagon (TOYOTA HI-ACE)
10:30 Higashi-Matushima – Onagawa – Ogatsu – Shizugawa: Landscape of the damage
(Urata/Furuichi)
14:30 Minamisanriku Fukko Dako no Kai (Minamisanriku Restoration Octopus
Association): Mr. Abe, Iriya Community Center
15:45 Bathing
16:30 Leave Shizugawa
17:15 Tome RQ Office – Check in to the accommodation
18:30 Cooking for dinner (Curry and rice, salad, etc.)
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Meeting 2: Wrap-up discussion of the day (Ninomiya/Furuichi)
Day 2 (Thursday, March 8)
07:00 Wake-up, Preparation of breakfast and lunch
08:00 Breakfast
Leave the accommodation
Arrive at Jifuku-ji Temple, Kesen-numa city
Volunteer activity 1: Cleaning up a tsunami stricken temple (Mr. Nishimura, RQ-Koizumi
Volunteer Center)
15:00 Leave Motoyoshi
16:00 Shopping at Michinoeki of Tome (Foods)
16:30 Shopping at a DIY shop (Equipment)
18:00 Bathing
19:30 Cooking
20:00 Dinner/ Preparation for Tomorrow
Day 3 (Friday, March 9)
05:30 Wake-up, Preparation of breakfast
06:00 Breakfast
07:00 Leave the accommodation
08:45 Arrive at Karakuwa area, Kesen-numa city
Volunteer activity 2: Oyster farming (Hoshino, RQ-Karakuwa Center)
15:00 Leave Karakuwa
16:30 Arrive at the accommodation/ Cleaning
Meeting 5: Wrap-up discussion of this seminar (Ninomiya/Furuichi)
18:00 Leave the accommodation
20:00 Ichinoseki Station- Dismissal