At the Conference of Iwate International Associations held on May 26, 2011, we received reports from international associations and Japanese conversation classes about the damage and reconstruction efforts of the affected regions. Here we will share the current situation of foreign residents and international exchange.
We restarted our Japanese language class on April 14. We do things like play Karuta card games using Miyako dialect, but the night roads have gotten scary for people walking alone since the disaster, and many foreigners have been absent from class. They say they could not do anything to help even when asked by Japanese. There are even foreigners who were swept away along with their houses by the tsunami. There needs to be in investigation into whether the deceased merely couldn’t understand the warnings, or whether they didn’t know where they could escape to.
There are also foreigners who have come to help out. They soothe people’s fears just by being here. They may be able to heal our hearts precisely because they have nothing attaching them to the area yet they come anyway.
Kamaishi, a port city, has historically welcomed foreigners. Filipino sailors who took emergency port after the tsunami were not able to communicate because of the language barrier, but they helped the Japanese in town and the Japanese gave them rice balls. There are also foreign residents who have married Japanese and taken Japanese names, so there is no way to tell who in the shelters is foreign just from the name list. Then we even have foreigners who see themselves as Japanese because they have worked so hard to integrate into their local society. I think that foreigners and Japanese are the same. After all, isn’t this what an international society is all about?
At the city’s Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, I met former ALTs Jeffrey and Joshua by chance. When I asked them why they were here, they told me they hurried here from Kanagawa Prefecture, and they stayed in Kamaishi for some time volunteering. These are the bonds we have been able to create.
The participants of the Rikuzentakata Japanese Language Class are foreigners who have come to Japan through marriage. I have heard comments from foreigners saying that they were hurt by thoughtless words aimed at them while in evacuation shelters. There are people who have lost their jobs, people who have lost their children, people who cannot sleep because they have seen the dead bodies of their relatives. These women have roots in our region, and they will remain here.
The mass media is calling the remains of swept-away homes “debris,” but we know it is not simple debris. It is the proof that we lived here.
By chance I met a foreigner who invited me to a BBQ on April 23. We struggled to find a facility that was not already being used by evacuation shelters or emergency supply storage. On the day of the BBQ, we went around to all the shelters and picked up everyone. I think the foreign residents realized there were Japanese who were worried about them and cared about them.
http://iwate-ia.or.jp/cms/media/kikanshi/2011/2011autumn-kikanshi-E.pdf
（Iwate International Association September 30, 2011）
Report: Oceans Miyako International Club
Representative: Masato Sasaki
We restarted our Japanese language class on April 14. We do things like play Karuta card games using Miyako dialect, but the night roads have gotten scary for people walking alone since the disaster, and many foreigners have been absent from class. They say they could not do anything to help even when asked by Japanese. There are even foreigners who were swept away along with their houses by the tsunami. There needs to be in investigation into whether the deceased merely couldn’t understand the warnings, or whether they didn’t know where they could escape to.
There are also foreigners who have come to help out. They soothe people’s fears just by being here. They may be able to heal our hearts precisely because they have nothing attaching them to the area yet they come anyway.
Report: Kamaishi International Association
Director: Naoko Kato
Kamaishi, a port city, has historically welcomed foreigners. Filipino sailors who took emergency port after the tsunami were not able to communicate because of the language barrier, but they helped the Japanese in town and the Japanese gave them rice balls. There are also foreign residents who have married Japanese and taken Japanese names, so there is no way to tell who in the shelters is foreign just from the name list. Then we even have foreigners who see themselves as Japanese because they have worked so hard to integrate into their local society. I think that foreigners and Japanese are the same. After all, isn’t this what an international society is all about?
At the city’s Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, I met former ALTs Jeffrey and Joshua by chance. When I asked them why they were here, they told me they hurried here from Kanagawa Prefecture, and they stayed in Kamaishi for some time volunteering. These are the bonds we have been able to create.
Report: Former Rikuzentakata International Association
Japanese Language Teacher: Kayoko Owada
The participants of the Rikuzentakata Japanese Language Class are foreigners who have come to Japan through marriage. I have heard comments from foreigners saying that they were hurt by thoughtless words aimed at them while in evacuation shelters. There are people who have lost their jobs, people who have lost their children, people who cannot sleep because they have seen the dead bodies of their relatives. These women have roots in our region, and they will remain here.
The mass media is calling the remains of swept-away homes “debris,” but we know it is not simple debris. It is the proof that we lived here.
By chance I met a foreigner who invited me to a BBQ on April 23. We struggled to find a facility that was not already being used by evacuation shelters or emergency supply storage. On the day of the BBQ, we went around to all the shelters and picked up everyone. I think the foreign residents realized there were Japanese who were worried about them and cared about them.
http://iwate-ia.or.jp/cms/media/kikanshi/2011/2011autumn-kikanshi-E.pdf
（Iwate International Association September 30, 2011）
