What follows are my
impressions of the Jonet Salon in the City’s meeting hall, which I could join
for about 30 minutes yesterday. It has been 4 months since the earthquake and
rather than anxiety and impatience I now read perseverance on the victims‘
faces.
Before joining the salon I visited
an acquaintance from Kesennuma. The house was built on an elevated place and it
was intact, but the company where her husband worked, had been near the shore
and was destroyed by the tsunami. Now he is receiving unemployment benefits.
According to my acquaintance, the procedures smaller and medium-sized companies
have to follow in order to rebuild their businesses, take several months. Not
being able to shorten that period is like putting shackles on the revival of
the region. That‘s the situation right now.
My friend did not receive
any financial support, but it appears that some of the people whose houses were
partially or completely destroyed, are using the money they have received to take
a taxi to the next pachinko parlour and indulge in an extravagant lifestyle.
Some might consider that a smart idea, because the money keeps the economy turning.
But this is just a temporary thing, isn’t it. So if then, they cannot find a
job and apathy sets in, the neighbourhood itself will get rough and decline it
is feared.
So the need for a long-term
employment is felt strongly.
Nomura
Inside a house
Seawater has flooded the streets
A picture on the pavement
Only the houses’ foundations
remained
The rail-line was
completely destroyed; rather than reconstructing it,
it will be constructed from
scratch in accordance with new regulations.
The box shaped object is a house swept onto
the bridge by the tsunami
The mountains of debris are
everywhere
The camp of the Japanese Self Defence Forces
Among the Forces’ personnel, there are also
married women.
Their children are being looked after by their
relatives …
If that weren’t the case and they could not
completely
concentrate on working on the relief efforts
in the disaster
areas, they would have had to quite their
jobs, they said.
People spray cold water on top of the bath-tents,
because the inside gets too hot.
Immediately after the earthquake there were
baths made from boats covered with vinyl
sheets.
But the inside of the one from the picture looks
just like a proper bathhouse.
A woman, receiving a hand massage, is looking
at the person next to her making a fan
The work of a girl from 6th grade: she drew it
with the paper on her knees while looking at
the magazine
This is the private space of a man.
It was kindly opened for the salon.
That‘s what my fan looks like
The instructor, Mr. Ou, explains
how to use the brush
We are leaving and everybody from the shelter
is waving us goodbye
A store on the shore
Inside a factory
Seawater has flooded the road in
front
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