******************<\/p>\n
Thanks to Vancouver-based JET alum\u00a0Alison Dacia Brown<\/a> (Iwate<\/a>-ken, Rikuzentakata-shi, 2005-08)<\/strong>\u00a0for sharing this article she wrote with JETwit, which also appears (with photos) on page 8 of the latest issue of the JETAA British Columbia Newsletter<\/a>. \u00a0It is a follow-up to a previous article she wrote titled “Rikuzentakata<\/a>.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Rikuzentakata, Iwate: \u00a09 months after the tsunami\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The last article I wrote for JETAABC was just a few weeks after the tragedy happened.\u00a0 I lived in Rikuzentakata, a small city in Iwate prefecture on the coast, whose location and landscape could not have been worse on March 11th. \u00a0 Over nine months has passed, and even though Rikuzentakata, or Takata for short, is far from being fully healed, it’s unbelievable what has been accomplished to make the city liveable again in such a short period of time.<\/p>\n Temporary housing has been built. Grass has begun to grow again.\u00a0 Debris has been cleared.\u00a0 The Tanabata festival has been celebrated.\u00a0 A Lawson has been opened. Possessions have been returned to their owners.\u00a0 Possessions thought to have been lost forever.\u00a0 As an example of this, could you imagine losing your home and possessions and barely escaping with your child and a few clothes?\u00a0 Could you imagine the happiness you would feel when a volunteer is able to give you a memory card with pictures on it you thought were lost forever?\u00a0 There was one volunteer department responsible for this ‘Photo Recovery Project’.\u00a0 In an online video, I smiled when I saw those blue laundry hangers with the clips holding photos that had been recovered and carefully cleaned.<\/p>\n I was devastated when I saw the images of the destruction in the days that followed the tragedy.\u00a0 What was worse was seeing a video taken of the city from a helicopter.\u00a0 It wasn’t just destruction; it looked apocalyptic.\u00a0 I recognized about three buildings which were some of the biggest:\u00a0 The Capital Hotel, City Hall and the building that housed Daiso and the town supermarket, Maiya.\u00a0 Even though they were spared from the waves which swept mostly everything away, they seemed to stand there like ruins, completely gutted from the inside.\u00a0 In the days that followed, a closer look at these buildings showed trapped trees, cars, and probably people which were swept into their paths.\u00a0 Boats on top of buildings seemed commonplace.<\/p>\n I keep in regular contact with my friends in Rikuzentakata and Ofunato, the city next door.\u00a0 In addition, I do some volunteer editing on the Save Takata website.\u00a0 I feel like doing all these things is keeping my spirits up.\u00a0 What also keeps my spirits up is hearing all the stories about my town from volunteers and friends.\u00a0 The day-to-day activities that show that life really does go on are amazing.\u00a0 One of humankind’s best qualities is the ability to adapt, and the residents of Rikuzentakata have certainly adapted and carried on.\u00a0 Enzo Caffarelli, a good friend and former ALT from Takata, has since returned with the volunteer group All Hands.\u00a0 I remember messaging him back and forth on Facebook after he arrived and he told me was doing some work at a rice harvest cooperative, and being managed by a dirty old Japanese man who loved women and sexual innuendos.\u00a0 Awesome.<\/p>\n In addition to cleaning ditches and digging canals, he was able to do some salvage work for a friend of ours who was the art teacher at the local high school.\u00a0 He was able to find pieces of art, photos, slides and documents which made her very happy.\u00a0 Another project he helped with was in making a local cemetery accessible again.\u00a0 Stones had been toppled and the paths had been uncut for months.\u00a0 He said it was great to see people coming back to visit their ancestors.<\/p>\n A new ‘Takata’ has appeared outside of the central town which houses many of the businesses and public buildings that were destroyed in March.\u00a0 This new Takata now has our post office, city hall, a Lawson, a couple of bars, an AU shop, among others.\u00a0 This sleepy area has now had to absorb new migration from the disaster zone.\u00a0 Makeshift laundry shops and hair salons have popped up to service the people who live nearby in temporary housing settlements.\u00a0 In the neighbouring town of Senmaya, Takata’s sake brewery has been reopened.<\/p>\n I was able to connect with Hiromaru and Noki through Yuko Okamura, an American grad student here in Vancouver.\u00a0 Yuko is doing a master’s degree in architecture.\u00a0 To my pleasant surprise, she has been researching Rikuzentakata for her thesis which focuses on rebuilding after a natural disaster with memory and sustainability being key factors in the process.\u00a0 She spent a short amount of time in Ofunato and Rikuzentakata during the summer and had obviously never seen the city prior to March 11th.\u00a0 She shyly asked if we could meet so I could talk about my memories of the buildings, the beach, and the people of the town.\u00a0 I was and always will be more than happy to talk about Rikuzentakata.<\/p>\n It is expected that it will take roughly 10 years for the city to return to its pre-tsunami state.\u00a0 Some people have left, some people have stayed.\u00a0 Many have accepted the geography of where they live and will not succumb to the fact that nature rules all.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see the continued progress which I know is incorporating new tsunami contingency plans.\u00a0 I will document it when it happens.<\/p>\n Alison Dacia Brown<\/em><\/strong> ****************** Thanks to Vancouver-based JET alum\u00a0Alison Dacia Brown (Iwate-ken, Rikuzentakata-shi, 2005-08)\u00a0for sharing this article she wrote with JETwit, which also appears (with photos) on page 8 of the latest issue of the JETAA British Columbia Newsletter. \u00a0It is a follow-up to a previous article she wrote titled “Rikuzentakata.” Rikuzentakata, Iwate: \u00a09 months after the tsunami\u00a0 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\n Rikuzentakata ALT, 2005-2008<\/em>
\n ESL Teacher, GEOS Language Academy<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"