By Peter Howard, Director of Emergency Response
In Sendai and it’s hard to believe the destruction. Today many thoughts and memories of the 2004 Asian tsunami came back to me as I traveled around Ishinomaki and talked with those affected by the tsunami.
One couple I spoke wit
h had received help from JIFH in the form of food and volunteer labor. I visited with them while they were hard at work cleaning out mud from their home. It was tough to watch them sort through their home and memories, many of which were caked in mud and the rest lost to the sea. When the earthquake struck and the tsunami warning signals went off they were at home, but quickly left their home on foot and ran for the hills away from the sea. In the following 20-25 minutes they made it to high ground but sadly lost friends and family who were unable to get away in time from the wall of water and debris. The wife was quite eager to share her experience, complete with details of watching the wall of water come her way. Soon the husband, who was a bit more reticent, chimed in with hand motions and more details. As the JIFH staff made clear, especially in these more northern and rural areas, elderly Japanese rarely open up about their thoughts or emotions and instead soldier on with great endurance. As the conversation ended the JIFH volunteer felt it appropriate to ask me to pray and so I felt it an honor to ask God’s presence, peace and help on this older couple trying to rebuild a life among the rubble.
Later in the day, with several JIFH staff, we were able to bring some food to a shelter where we visited with one of the women who lives in a relatively small area with 18 other families. She told of feeling the earthquake and then hearing the tsunami warnings go off. Thankfully, she said that everyone in her village was able to escape prior to the tsunami coming in. But the destruction from the wave left their village in rubble. It was several weeks before she was able to return and see firsthand what she and her family lost. She is thankful but now must contend with crowded and hot conditions with the 18 other families. She has put her name in a lottery for temporary shelter but does not know how long it will take. In the meantime they make do with one fan and one refrigerator for all the people in the shelter. There was no hint of complaint, but rather a resolve to endure and rebuild.
Pete, thanks so much for the reminder to continue praying for the Japanese who suffered so much from this disaster. The emotional side of their adjustment to their “new normal” must be very hard to endure.