Side Comment
From My Experience at the Workshop Affected by the Disaster
Great East Japan Earthquake Hits on Moving Day
Chiaki Matsubara
Vice President, Kirara Onagawa
The Great East Japan Earthquake hit on March 11, the same day we moved our workshop. Kirara Onagawa, the first work support office for persons with disabilities in Onagawa-cho (Miyagi), opened on December 1, 2010. The office initially had four members, but that number quickly grew to eleven. Shortly after starting to look for a slightly larger place, we found one offered at good terms near the coast. Once we made a formal decision to move, everyone started to form images of what the new Kirara Onagawa would be like.
The long awaited moving day finally arrived. Everyone arrived earlier than normal and helped a lot with the move. The men mainly handled the heavy work, carrying large items such as work benches and lockers out of the old office and into the new one. In the midst of the move, we figured out we did not have the type of screwdriver we needed, so Masaru Hiratsuka (38), one of the workshop users, dashed out saying he would go buy one. The women were also doing all they could. They handled detailed cleaning up and organizing, such as laying carpets and attaching curtains. People probable had pretty high expectations for this new office. Moving day was full of laughter.
We were able to mostly complete the move before 2:00 p.m., quite a bit earlier than expected. Therefore, we decided to break early for the day. Everyone left the newly moved in workshop exchanging comments such as “see you next week” and “next week, come here, not the old workshop.” It was decided that two members would return to the company where they also worked outside our workshop since it was still early, and one staff member left with them. I remained at the workshop by myself since I had more things to put away.
Then the earthquake hit. What I remember was the terrible side-to-side shaking, which I had never experienced before. The shaking continued for quite a while.
All I could think about was what was right in front of me. Desperately clutching the steering wheel, I first headed to the office that the two members and staff had headed toward. Along with another worker at the workshop, I drove those four to the Onagawa-cho Municipal Hospital, which is located on high ground. I dropped the four people off at the hospital and head back to pick up the other two staff members who said they would flee later. I made it there in time. However, we headed for a different piece of higher ground than where the hospital was located. If we had headed back to the hospital, I do not think that we would be here today. We went as far as we could go by car, and when we got out of the car, the water was up to the soles of our feet. I never thought that the water could make it this far, but the surrounding view was even more unbelievable. Houses, cars, the whole town was being washed away down to its roots. We were standing in front of quite a steep cliff, and for an instant, I thought that this was it. From the corner of my eye, however, I caught a glimpse of a steel staircase. Voices called out “This way!” to lead us on, and we ran for all we were worth. We were able to escape to slightly higher ground by climbing those twenty stairs. Along with neighbors who had congregated there, we all frantically raced up the stairs. The stairs seemed like they went on for a long time. The incoming tsunami quickly reached up to the middle of the staircase, and in an instant, the car I had driven was washed away. Some men in the group desperately fished out an elderly lady who had been swallowed by the tsunami. Although they gave her CPR, they could not revive her. We all prayed over her.The water started to recede as the sun began to set. The roads resurfaced in the growing darkness. We headed for the Onagawa-cho Municipal Hospital. However, there were no decent roads. On the way to the hospital, we came across a soaked elderly woman, and with her hand in mine, we continued to walk until night fell. What I saw when we reached the hospital was completely different than what I had seen a couple of hours earlier. All of the cars in the parking lot had been washed away, and the interior of the hospital was a mess. I searched for the stairs and after finding them, I started to make my way up. The second floor was also a tragic sight. With a prayer in my heart, I headed up to the third floor. In sharp contrast to the first two floors, the third floor was packed with people. People were just milling about. Along with the fourth floor, these two floors saved many people. Everyone from Kirara Onagawa had gathered in a single room on the fourth floor. I was at a loss of words when I reunited with the Kirara Onagawa people. We hugged each other and broke down into tears. Those strong feeling of happiness lasted a short time. That is because I heard that one of the members had run straight for the tsunami.
It was Masaru Hiratsuka who had headed for the tsunami. Although he had temporarily taken refuge at the hospital, he shook off the staff out of concern for his mother and grandmother and ran toward his home. It was just as if he had dived into the tsunami. Shortly afterward, it was confirmed that Masaru's mother and grandmother had died. Masaru is still missing, and it is probably hopeless. The sole-surviving member of his family is his father who continues to watch over the memorial photos of his family.
It was the second day after the disaster that we received heartbreaking news. We found out that the whereabouts of Shoko Takahashi (29), one of the workshop users, were unknown. The day of the disaster was the one day a week that she worked at a coffee shop. It appears that she finished her work earlier than usual that day and was at home when the earthquake hit. Immediately after the shaking had died down, Yoko, her mother, and grandmother fled to the local meeting place. It was considered a safe emergency shelter. However, the whole structure was washed away, and more than half of the people who had been in the shelter died. Thinking that Yoko may have survived, I visited the various emergency shelters every day for a month, but my wish was not met. Except for Yoko's father, who was away for deep-sea fishing, and her younger brother, who worked in another prefecture, all of her family died in the disaster.
I alternately felt disappointment, regret, and sadness. I will probably continue to feel these as long as I live. I feel, however, that since I survived, this cannot be it. The best thing that I could do for my two friends who lost their lives is to rebuild Kirara Onagawa. The earthquake just happened to hit on the moving day, and we need to at least restore things to how they were when we had completed the move. Although at one point, I was not sure what to do, I am sure now. Working with the remaining Kirara Onagawa friends and related parties, we will fight on. I will do this while keeping in mind the smiling faces of Masaru Hiratsuka and Shoko Takahashi.
Journey of Escape
Miyoko Nishi
President, NPO Asagao
The unprecedented Great East Japan Earthquake, along with the unthinkable explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, caused a fear and anguish that we cannot express in words. It has been more than one year and four months since the disaster, but there has been no essential change in that fear or pain. As time passes, however, I feel that I am regaining my composure. Now that I am beginning to regain my composure, before the memory of mine and all those of the group home fade, I would like to concisely record that journey of escape immediately after the explosion at the nuclear power plant. Although it was only a two week journey, it taught me irreplaceable lessons, such as the importance of judgment and decisions, the incredible power possible when people work together, and feelings of prejudices and discrimination that cannot be taken lightly. This has perhaps become the foundation of the lives of not only the people of Asagao but also myself.
First, let's return to the earthquake and tsunami. There was extremely violent shaking shortly after 2:46 p.m., March 11. Our Minamisoma-shi (Fukushima) is also located on the coast facing the Pacific Ocean, and the majority of the city was completely destroyed by the disaster. Our workshop and group home were also damaged - the equipment was all knocked over and the building was damaged in an uncountable number of places. However, the one good thing that could be said about the disaster is that not one of the forty members (those working in the workshop or living in the group home) or thirty-eight staff were injured. Since all our people were safe, we tried to help people affected by the disaster as much as possible considering factors such as conditions at our homes, and we did all we could to provide support and cook at emergency shelters and transport drinking water. Several of the members and many of the staff devoted themselves to support activities. In fact, the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant had already grown serious by this time, which we only learned about later. We found out that there had been a series of explosions since March 12, the day following the earthquake, but we had no idea what this meant about the radiation. Information provided by the government was vague, and it appeared that it would be difficult to get correct information as basic utilities such as phones, TVs, and radios had all been cut off.
We became aware of the seriousness of the situation on March 16, four days after the explosion. My daughter, who was living in Tokyo, finally got through by email, and she desperately pleaded with us to do something. It was easy to pick up from the messages that radioactive contamination was a serious problem and that we should get as far away from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant as soon as possible. After talking with several people, we decided that all residents of the group home would leave Asagao that day (as for workers at the workshop who were not group home residents, everyone would be contacted, and we would confirm plans to evacuate with their families). Even so, we were not sure where we would evacuate to. Although we requested that Fukushima Prefecture and Minamisoma-shi authorities arrange a place to evacuate to, we never received a response. Looking back, this was a hectic time for them, but it is still terrible that they never got back to us. I felt as if we had been abandoned. We had decided to leave Minamisoma-shi, where Asagao is located, even if it meant we would camp outside. Even so, the middle of March in Fukushima is extremely cold as winter still has a strong grip. In order to prepare as much as possible, we kept busy from afternoon until late at night on March 16. I could only think of one thing. I had to protect the lives of residents and staff, and to do so, we would put ourselves even one or two more meters away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
We loaded up the workshop's two-ton trucks with as much goods as we could. This work lasted until late at night as snow continued to fall. The truck was full of various supplies, including water, futons, rice, food products, gas, oil, gasoline, and heaters. We selected the leader of each car that evening, and they were provided with the mobile phone numbers of key persons in case we got separated. Rice balls, candy, and chocolate were also distributed so people get by for a short time. While the trucks were being loaded, everyone took a bath and washed their hair since we had no idea when we would be able to do so again. After checking personal belongings such as water bottles, medicine, and prescriptions, residents and staff went to bed late at night. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible and did nothing but waited for the dawn to come. It was an extremely long night, perhaps because I was thinking of what was to come.
The morning of the March 17 arrived, and we finally departed. We formed a convoy of six cars with my husband taking the lead and I bringing up the rear. For an instance, I thought that we may never be able to return here again. Although nobody said anything, I am sure we were all thinking the same. This was the start of our journey of escape.
I was extremely concerned as I was not used to driving on snow-covered streets. I can vividly remember how I desperately tried to get us over the Kuriko Pass. My family operates a gas station. We had to close the gas station for a while, and our customers had harsh words for us for doing so. It seems that they did not understand our desire “to help persons with disabilities evacuate.” Ultimately, my husband immediately returned after delivering us to our final emergency shelter. The gas station ended up being closed for two days, and luckily, it did not cause much problem.
On March 17, we took refuge at the Yanagawa Gymnasium in Date. Perhaps it was because of our sudden appearance, but the prefectural employees who were managing the shelter were not happy to see us. For various reasons, including that we had not undergone screening for radioactive contamination, they shouted at us to stay out. We did not back down at all. Looking straight at their faces, we pleaded with them. With the support of a municipal employee of Minamisoma-shi who just happened to be with us, we were finally permitted to enter as long as we all stayed in one corner. We stayed there that night. However, Yanagawa Gymnasium is located around sixty kilometers from the nuclear power plant, which was quite short of our goal of one hundred kilometers that we had decided upon when we departed Asagao. Our journey of escape would continue.
We ultimately made our way to Hataraku Fujin No Ie, Community Center for Working Women in Kaminoyama, Yamagata. We phoned one facility after another from the car but were refused time and again. In the end, it appears that the understanding of Kaminoyama authorities played an important part in being accepted at the facility. The twenty-seven of us, including group home residents and staff, would end up spending two weeks there. We persevered as we received food from various entities including Association for Aid and Relief, Japan. However, the unfamiliar environment caused a deterioration in the physical conditions of our members with disabilities. Concern about the nuclear accident faded slightly, and we learned that the worst case scenario had been avoided. We also found out that Minamisoma-shi was designated an area that people were told to just stay inside, which meant that people could live there. Although we were not sure what to do, we had no idea what would happen even if we stayed in Kaminoyama. After discussing things, we decided to return to Minamisoma-shi. We returned to our hometown in two groups - one group arriving on March 30, and the other, on March 31.
As for my current state of mind, I would be lying if I said I did not have any concerns. I have no idea what will happen in the future. There are always new people who want to join our workshop or group home. We will do all we can to continue on in our hometown of Minamisoma. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks to people throughout Japan who provided so much support.