Anthropological Research on Hazards and Disasters

“Disasters create contexts in which power relations and arrangements can be more clearly perceived and confronted, which transforms political consciousness, shapes individual actions, and strengthen or dissolves institutional power arrangements.” (pg.309-310)

After reading this section, I thought about many organizations working for the relief this time even though their usual concern is somewhere different. Japan Association for Refugees is one of the examples I thought about. Prof. Watanabe asked them why they are doing such volunteering activity while their aim is to help refugees in Japan. http://www.refugee.or.jp/en/ We could see a little bit of their power element, or power relations that they are cooperating with Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association http://www.jela.or.jp/. There must be some structure or system that many non-profit organizations have with others.

Addition to the context of present organizational power relations, I hear many organizations’ name for the first time that work for Tohoku relief. They are actually gaining power in society. If they can gain their value through working for this tragedy, it will benefit them in the future. It might also be their chance to get to know other organizations and to be known by more people in country, or perhaps in the world too. I think that is the benefit for organizations joining Japan relief other than their main concern.

Not only the organizations but also individuals shape new relationships with others, taking their action for the disaster. I got to know people in United States who work for the Japan relief while working for fundraising there. I also participate the fund raising activity done by college students, and I got to know a lot of new people through the activity. I hear some of my friends have new friendships and connections with others while taking their actions.

As many disasters completely smash people’s life lines, society, traditions, relationships with loved ones and it goes on, people need to rebuild their society or rather their world. At that moment, many people change their thoughts, have new idea about their life, and have the will to take  actions. Those will of actions are rather easily taken as actual actions, perhaps because there are nothing else people can do as their best. I feel that I am one of them. My brain is spinning around thinking about what I can do, what I should do and what I am going to do…since 3.11, and I feel that I am constantly changing and growing this time.

Reading through other people's experience...

             Reading through other people’s experience, I found out that I rather expressed my experienced as emotionally while others expressed them in a calmer way. Maybe it was because many people were outside of Japan, one month has passed since 3.11, or they have much ability to see this incident as rather a third person. I mean they can see things in many ways, which is a better thing I think.

Addition, even they were in Japan and had the actual experience of earthquakes, they were not the one who got in line to get foods and water at the supermarkets, and people who came to Japan did not over react to the radiation problem. All of them are trying to get new, better, and trustworthy information, and understand them correctly as much as possible.

              As a person who has fully grown up in Japan, it was quite surprising that many students from abroad still decided to come or come back to Japan. I thought many of them have already left or decide never come back. What I have heard from TV does not really fit to what I see and hear around me. Then how that false or different information is coming from?

Now I agree that media impacted me to think in this way, and reality can be different from what media is telling us through TV and the Internet. I should try to reach information without the media, and have conversation with them. Technology has its negative side other than its usefulness. I am interested what kind of technology can be used in certain situation effectively and how we should use the them in certain situation.

On March 11th

     I was working at the tax agency at that time on March 11th. I did not notice the quake until it got really serious. I remember I was looking at  the lights over my head swinging back and forth. I expected the earthquake would soon be over, like other earthquakes, the ones I have experienced before.
     But it did not stop. Some people started to get under the table. Then I noticed that I should protect myself too since it is something beyond my experience in the past. That was the biggest and longest one that I have ever experienced.
     Even after the quake, people at the tax agency kept working there. I left the work place, because I had another part-time job at cram school on that day. I heard that trains were stopped but I thought I should go there in someway, because there must be some kids and other teachers need some help.
     That was a completely impossible idea. Transportation was out of control. Many people were wandering the town, because they were scared to stay inside. I had no information about the incident. I did not know what to do next.
     I waited for the public bus for a while, but started to walk instead because I was not sure if buses were running. I felt really lonely, kept calling my mother and father, walking to the station. Being alone was the scariest thing at that moment, but a little information from TV through my cellphone somehow managed to calm me down.
     With the help of a person who lives in that town helped me to figure out which bus I should take from the station. I kept sitting in the seat about 3 hours. And my mother picked me up from the bus stop. I felt so relieved when I saw my mother's face.
     I went to the cram school to hear that everyone was safe there. After I got back home, I then saw what were really happening in Japan. Other than news on TV, I knew that many of my friends got stuck in Tokyo through Facebook, and how terrible intense the disaster is through Twitter.
     It is obvious that I had no extra thought on what had happened to other people while I was trying to get back home. It is a bit of ashame, but I feel that now I know how I would act when unusual things happen around me.