MIYAGI-JONET: Red Kitakami River

What is Miyagi-Jonet?

MIYAGI JO-NET (Miyagi Women’s Support Network) is a non-profit organisation supporting women in the Tohoku area that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. We aim to connect the women in the affected areas with women and supporters from around Japan and the world. To this end, we are cooperating with various other women’s and relief organisations. Our many projects are designed to help women individually in reconstructing their lives and livelihoods. We thereby hope to brighten their everyday a little bit. We also collect relief/support goods and other donations to distribute them among the women and families affected by the disaster. Through regular meetings, our ‘salons,’ and consultations, we gain insight into women’s needs and concerns, and propose adequate measures to local and regional administrations.
Many of Miyagi Jonet’s members are women affected themselves by the disaster.

日本語　JAPANESE

23 Aug 2011

Red Kitakami River

19 August. Right when the earthquake hit in the waters off Fukushima Prefecture, I was in Onagawa Town. I was walking outside, but when I heard the first rumbling of the earth, I was filled with dread. As I returned home, running along the Kitakami River path, which is a guideway to the Ishinomaki Ogawa Elementary School, I saw that the river had been dyed red.

The Kitakami River, familiar to me since my childhood, usually flowed calmly, reflecting the beautiful trees on the mountain. The scene was a particular favorite of mine, with an elegance I can’t find words to describe. But the muddy red river, affected by the earthquake, frightened me.

mom.jonet