June 5 (Sunday) - We went to Iinogawa

On June 5, Miyagi Jonet went to Iinogawa in Kahoku-cho, Ishinomaki. At eight o’clock a.m., Sunday morning, we gathered in places around Sendai, dividing up 14 people in three cars.  This time, two female lawyers joined us.

We arrived at Iinogawa middle school at around 9:30. The middle school’s gymnasium had been turned into an evacuation centre. This is where the inhabitants of Kahoku and Ogatsu were evacuated. Later we learned that the number of people from these places, who had lost their homes to the tsunami, was incredibly high.

As it was a beautiful Sunday, many people (staying at the evacuation centre) had gone out for the day, and so the Salon time passed quietly and peacefully.

This time Jonet decided to put on the menu:

- making walking bear dolls out of cotton gloves,

- easy hand massage care,

- a tea party with delicious sweets, and

- consultation with the lawyers for those who may need it.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to hold the tea party because of space and time constraints. Each evacuation centre has various restrictions and we couldn’t move ahead as planned.

Participants gave out prepared Jonet sets.  Jonet sets are bags with about ten types of donated items packed into a large bag. This time we prepared fifty sets. 

We want to particularly get them delivered to women so we prepare activities like handicrafts, hand massages, and teas.

We don’t prepare a special lawyer consultation corner, so we determined to hear people’s concerns in an empty, unobtrusive space.  In regional areas, it takes a lot of courage for women to talk to a lawyer in front of people.

So the two lawyers practiced doing hand massages, and became instant masseurs. They even served as assistants to crafts people.

We passed out leaflets to evacuees, and told them that we are a Sendai group that supports women.  We conveyed that they should call us with any concerns, and invited them to today’s salon.

They seemed perplexed at first but gradually more and more women participated. In the craft corner, amid laughter, they made cute funky bear dolls.

In the hand massage corner, we were able to talk just among women and thus hear many stories. Through tears they spoke of how they lost everything in the tsunami; anxieties about temporary housing; daughters, sons and grandchildren who are far away; the pain of losing precious family members, friends, and relatives. And they repeated how grateful they were for the help of the many volunteers who came from all around the country. 

The person who made announcements in a dignified voice in the evacuation centre was a young woman who had a trustworthy sense about her and seemed to be adored by the children.  People from the prefecture, city, and schools, and teachers from preschools all lent a hand.

In the afternoon, we went to Iinogawa First Elementary School.  It was at the time when folks who had been granted temporary housing were to move.  I noticed a bit of sadness at the impending change.

People in their 70s had written cards requesting temporary housing, but once they move, they have no access to supportive resources and must be personally responsible for food and utility costs. This seemed to cause some anxiety.

Here a lot of children participated in making bear dolls.  Many women were pleased to have hand massages. Among the masseurs was one person who was in pain the following day and had to see a professional masseuse.  In volunteering with such enthusiasm she neglected her own body.

There weren’t many people with legal questions, but we thank the lawyers who listened so carefully and thoroughly.

On the way home we stopped by the neighbourhood of the Kadonowaki Elementary School.  It still looked like a burned out field.  A considerable amount of debris removal had been done but mangled buildings and the skeletons of burnt cars were ubiquitous. There is a lot to be done.

Y, who lost her parents but herself miraculously survived here, participated with Jonet today. T, from Sendai, who lost her father in Ishinomaki, also participated today.  They silently looked upon the ruin.

I heard that we don’t yet know the total number of missing for this area.   Both sides of the road were flooded, and some streets were one way.  The traffic lights were out in many places.

Recovery from the disaster is just beginning.

After that, Y returned to the Ishinomaki school evacuation centre where she has been for two months.  She met with women enduring with courage and handed out Jonet sets.