(Part 2)
The work…
The work I was involved in generally fell into that transitional impact zone previously described, where many structures remained salvageable. The homes and businesses we were charged with experienced anywhere from 1 to 4 meters of immersion, yet remained structurally sound. One place was a virtual miracle of endurance…it was hit by 4 meter waters (up to the roof tiles) that laid waste to about every other building for 200 meters.
Due to the water damage, aside from sometimes significant debris removal, these structures required water-damaged floors, walls and ceilings to be removed and aired out before reconstruction. The walls were mostly sheetrock, and the floors were generally tatami mat over sub-floor. Fiberglass Insulations in floors, walls and ceilings were often still water-logged a month after the offending waters had receded.
Ceilings and sub-floors were filled with garbage and mud. There were often numerous fish that were strewn in every direction after the fish canneries on the bayside were toppled. Opening up a sub-floor with even a handful of fish within (and mud) was an eye (and nostril) opener.
Since the houses had no power, and I had the only cordless tools, I was lucky to be in relatively “clean” working groups (light cleanup and selected demolition). Other groups were delegated to hard-core cleanup, and sometimes lots of fish-mucking. There were even stories of folks putting on rain jackets to crawl under sub-floor spaces to shovel out mud and fish. I’m pretty sure that would not have been for me, considering the general lack of showers and extra clothes.
The victims of disaster…
The folks in town had become used to seeing the All Hands folks walking and driving to/from work sites. They waved, or bowed and said “hi” and seemed appreciative of the help. The owners of the homes were very appreciative and often brought snacks and drinks for break time. They often worked alongside volunteers cleaning away the bits of their lives.
Photos…
This deserves its own section. Very early on (first day), I became aware that there was a strong stigma attached to a phenomena I’ll call “disaster tourism”. In short, I wanted to avoid taking gratuitous photos of the sorrows of others. This is the reason many noticed a conspicuous lack of photos on my part, in respect of what had occurred.
In telling their stories, many of the residents tearfully recounted seeing folks in cars and busses driving past devastation, clicking away. There are plenty of photos on the Internet, I’m happy with my decision to generally refrain.
In Conclusion…
I was happy to have been able to do some small thing in this country, which has been my home for 15 years. 50 to 70 folks working 8 hours a day for the 7 days I was there made barely a scratch in that one community (work naturally began before I got there and continues). So much needs to be done…and I impacted so little. However, I guess I can say that the teams I worked on did have a significant impact on a few lives, a few homes.
Because the affected areas are so far north, I don’t think I’ll be able to get up there on weekends. I might be able to revisit on some extended vacations in the future. I’d like to get my kids up there for some experience in the service of others.
If anyone would like to contribute to the efforts of All Hands in Japan (or elsewhere), All Hands has a system where volunteers (and others) can set up a sub-page on the All Hands site for contributions. If anyone would like to contribute (even a small amount) please visit here.
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Originally Posted by DiscoveryDiver
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