Redeeming Disaster - Disaster Relief 3.0

I wrote an article for Christianity Today about the work about the triple disaster in Fukushima, 'Redeeming Disaster in Japan' (click here to read).

It's about lessons we can learn from Japan with the question of what authentic Christian response might look like when there is a local church present in the midst of such an unprecedented disaster. Three important lessons we forgot in the professional relief work: Spirituality, Story and Sustainability.

It's been good to hear fresh response to the already-forgotten-tragedy only after 2 years and a few months. It is now time to think seriously about the long term rehabilitation and sustainability. 

Slowly but surely... 2 years into tracing the Holy Imagination

It is once again March 11.

2 years have passed since the triple disaster hit Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate. For some people elsewhere it was a short time, but for evacuees from Fukushima, this was a long unforgettable time of agony, anger and frustration as the promised recovery of nuclear decontamination. The thread of hope of returning home seems to be getting thiner and thiner each day. 

I only made a few visits to Fukushima and still get overwhelmed whenever I think of Fukushima (click to read the year in review in March 2012). I wonder what might go through the mind of someone of my age in Fukushima who has lost everything she might have accomplished in all her life and lost loved ones to that disaster, having to reestablish everything all over again. Only God knows the depth of that grief.... 

I browsed a few reliable news websites to check some updates about Fukushima and found one common thing no matter what the source is: The recovery has been slower than expected and certainly more disappointing to those were given hopes to return home by now. I am also hearing updates from my friends in Fukushima, the local churches I visited and listened to the precious stories. God is surely with them in those slow moments, but more importantly he is at work of restoration and I hear those encouraging stories from these faithful friends, not from news websites. They warmed my heart. One particular story is this one from Usuiso village. 

I wrote a story about late Mr. Suzuki when he went back to that village again with us back in November 2011 (click here - scroll to the bottom to see the photos and story). Mr. Suzuki had suffered with heart problems even before the disaster and  PTSD quickly weakened his body and died a few months after I met him in Fukushima. GMC, the local church that started visiting Usuiso, gradually gained more respect from evacuees and they made a commitment to serve to rebuild Usuiso. They received a profound vision from God to not only restore the village but to build further an attractive thriving community that will mobilize young people from all over Japan and revitalize economy and create a new future. The work began by creating a little space of gathering for returning evacuees and to listen to their grief but to offer friendship of hope and commitment in return. Many of the members of GLC themselves were victims --lost loved ones to the tsunami or lost friends or work, but they are willing to take up their cross daily and serve these returning evacuees in Usuiso.

Here are some photos to give a quick summary of the last one year.

March 2012 - The piles of radioactive debris were the only landmarks in Usuiso.

Someone wants to remember their loved ones who had once lived here.

International delegates to Fukushima Forum praying over Pastor Ikarashi
as he and his friends are the church committed to be with people of Usuiso.

The vision of new, thriving town of future Usuiso - a holy imagination given to GMC and Usuiso residents.

The physical reality today isn't still there yet. Much work to do.

Listening Post - a temporary gathering place for returning evacuees.

A former Usuiso resident (man wearing the baseball cap in the far left) visiting, in conversation with
GMC members and FVI members about the vision (a model map is in the box, the right bottom corner ).

Slowly but surely....
Things are moving forward and hope is rising out of ashes.

Blessings to you all, my friends in Fukushima!

The empty town of Odaka

It's been over a week since Midori, Jonathan and I visited Odaka in Minami-Soma city with Rev. Ishiguro, but it made a very strong impact on all of us. Midori told us that the biggest shock for her was that seeing no one out on the streets because that is just so not Japanese.

People everywhere. That's what ordinary Japanese towns and villages look like, but not in Odaka. During our 2 hour long drive, we saw hardly anyone. That's the reality of life in Odaka and other places in the 20 KM evacuation zone. I tried to capture all that in the 7 minute video below (this is my very first movie!)

I had a privilege to meet Rev. Yusuke Yanagiya from Iwate who wrote the lyric of the song and it is below:

Sing to the LORD a New Song*

By Rev. Yusuke Yanagiya

A song cannot satisfy our hunger

A song cannot satisfy our hunger

It is true, it is so true.

But, let us sing together.

Our hearts may be filled.

A song cannot bring power back 

A song cannot bring power back

It is true, it is so true.

But, let us sing together.

Our hearts may be illuminated.  

A song cannot clear the rubble away 

A song cannot clear the rubble away

It is true, it is so true.

But, let us sing together.

Our hearts may be lightened. 

A song cannot build a house

A song cannot build a house

It is true, it is so true.

But, let us sing together.

Our hearts may be united.

Singing may sound hollow 

I know sometimes it feels so

But, let the tears run

Let your heart be broken

Let us sing our true feelings

Somebody there to embrace you as you are. 

A song cannot stop tsunami

No human hand could stop it

It is true, it is so true.

Therefore, let us sing together.

We may know the heart of God. 

Translation from Japanese by Yusuke Yanagiya and Midori Yanagisawa.

English edit by Jonathan Wilson and Soohwan Park. 

* This title is given by Jonathan and he describes: Events like the triple disaster in Fukushima call us back to God and to a deeper relationship with God in our pain, suffering, and disorientation. Out of that, like Israel in Psalm 96, we learn to sing a new song to the Lord.

Where is Odaka town?

I hadn't realized the disaster had been long gone from people's minds outside Fukushima even though it's been only 18 months. People asked me where Odaka town was, the place where Rev. Ishiguro drove us into the 20 KM evacuation zone. So here is the map of the 30 KM radius area from the Fukushima Daichii plant.

Events related to evacuation in chronological order

March 11, 2011:

M 9.0 earthquake and tsunami were followed by melt-downs in Fukushima Daichii nuclear plant.

March 12, 2011:

The Japanese government ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 residents within a 20 KM radius of Fukushima Daichii nuclear plant

March 15, 2011:

The government advised residents in the 20-30 KM radius area to stay indoors and declared the area a “voluntary evacuation zone,” meaning that evacuees would receive no financial compensation.

September 30, 2011:

The voluntary evacuation zone (20-30 KM) re-opened. The Stay-Indoors order was lifted. Some residents started returning but many towns and villages are still uninhabitable.

April, 2012:

The government gradually opened some areas within the 20 KM zone wherever radiation levels are not too risky. Only daytime visits are allowed: no overnight stays. Odaka town, 12 KM northwest of the crippled nuclear plant, reopened for daytime visits.

For more detailed information: 
About Tohoku disaster overall and a larger map of the disaster affected areas, I recommend this website (http://www.jcie.org/311recovery/background.html). This is a New York based research think-tank which collected information last year from organizations (both governmental and nongovernmental) to assess the level of recovery assistance (I also received an email to provide information to them). 

Into the 20 KM Evacuation Zone

Midori, Jonathan and I went to Minami-Soma by bus. The bus went through Itate village, which was one of the 100 most beautiful villages in Japan before the 3/11 disaster, and which now has the highest radiation level in Fukushima outside the 20 KM evacuation zone (read this fascinating New Yorker article here for more information about Itate village and radiation in Fukushima). It is still almost like a ghost town with residents still unable to return.

Soil clean-up by taking off about 5 cm of topsoil and covering it with a piece of blue turf. 

The problem of radiation is far more complex than what anyone outside Fukushima can imagine. Cleaning up the radiation-contaminated soil is a big issue in Japan right now because of a 'NIMBY' culture (not in my backyard): No one wants to store the contaminated soil in their city or prefecture. Even after the government tried to get the land cleaned up and created a long-term plan to dispose the contaminated debris, there's no place to store anything outside Fukushima. Not being able to progress according to the recovery plan, Fukushima falls further and further behind. People continue to live in fear and frustration, not knowing when to go back.   

An empty clothesline and barren yard indicate that no one lives in the house.

A house with washings in the clotheslines and flowers in the garden indicates the owners have returned.

Minami-Soma is a small city north of Fukushima Daichii nuclear plant and it is probably the most complex case of post-disaster management among all disaster-affected cities in Fukushima. Shaped in a long strip along the coast, Minami-Soma has three different radiation zones on top of dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami: the mandatory evacuation zone around 20KM area, the voluntary evacuation zone between 20-30 KM (which was lifted at the end of September last year) and the low-radiation zone from 30KM area.

I heard the news back in my last visit here in March that depending on the radiation level, some areas within the 20KM radius from the nuclear plant were open for day-time visits. Odaka town is one such open area near the Ishiguro's residence/church.

20 KM border under strict control (November 2011)

This border is open now up to Odaka town (approx. 11 KM north of the Daichii nuclear plant)

Spiders and cobweb above the gate: No one can enter.

Bike station at Odaka train station.  

People went to work in the morning after parking their bikes on March 11, 2011. But they could not come back to collect their bikes.

Weeds growing all over the the bikes

The lonely death of a dog

One of the new radiation borders 
(approx. 11 KM northwest of Fukushima Daichii, between Odaka town and Namie town)

The Sunflower Conspiracy

Soon after the disaster, the government announced that sunflower had a high level capacity to absorb radiation from the soil. But it was later found to be not true (read the news article on Asahi Daily here).

A local park reopened after cleaning up the soil 
(radio-contaminated soil is stored at a corner of the park - behind the tress on the left side in the photo)

From Listening to Dialogue: Theology in Conversation

A cycle of action and contemplation

Having worked in the NGO ministry (action oriented ministry) for 12 years, my thirst was always for more reflection, for more time for prayer and contemplation: to be still, to be silent, and simply to stop.  Having worked in an academic institution (reflection oriented ministry) for the past 4 years, I was always hungry for more action in the world: to be relevant, to be responsive and to be useful.

Through my experiences and the experiences of others whom I have observed, I have learned that action and contemplation seldom come together simultaneously.  For so many years in the past I had felt guilty for not striking a balance between action and contemplation, resentment for having too much of one or too little of the other. I finally came to reconcile with myself about this: Action and contemplation come in seasons and are rather cyclical. Wisdom lies in knowing when to do what.

For the past four trips to Fukushima, every time I came back to Vancouver, I had the privilege of having friends who are theologians be willing to listen to my encounters, my questions and my limitations and offer their prayers. Some offered their places on Galiano island where I could get away and rest in God and in his beautiful creation on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima. That’s how I have been cared for by my friends. The cycle of action and reflection continued throughout the intense year since 3/11.

Jonathan Wilson is one of such friends for me in Vancouver. He is a theologian who teaches theology and ethics and is closely connected with an evangelical renewal movement in North America called the New Monasticism (click here). Because of my involvement in community development among the poor around the world, I keep a keen interest in innovative models of community building and the New Monasticism movement is one that I’ve mentioned to people in Fukushima often.

In my reflection on contemporary missional praxis, I made observations that we evangelicals lack a comprehensive theology of creation in our approaches to mission. Dealing with the unprecedented triple-disasters of Fukushima, I concluded my year-long cycle of action and contemplation with the insight that ‘loving God and loving neighbor’ must include our role in restoring God’s good creation. It is simply put in Scripture as the reconciliation of all things to God through Christ (Col 1:15-20). My other observation is that the cycle of knowledge development in theological education and mission is not fast enough to deal with challenging realities like Fukushima (I won’t argue why or how it is so in this blog). My conversations with Jonathan often ended with my question to him, “So, when is your new book coming out?” This time, rather than handing me his new book, Jonathan decided to join me in Fukushima as a co-listener and co-learner.

A circle of listening: a place of restoration

18 months have passed since the 3/11 disasters and my Japanese colleagues decided to offer space for a group listening time for pastors in Fukushima after a similar gathering they offered a year ago. Just six months after the disaster, last year’s gathering was focused on creating a space to stop, rest, and listen to God collectively. As a result of collective rest and reflection, they wrote a declaration together (click here) and formed a local entity called the Fukushima Christian Cooperation, to live up to the name of Fukushima, the Land of Gospel for the first time in history (read the story here).

This time the gathering was created to offer a small ‘stopping point’ in the midst of busy routines of post-disaster life everyday. We met at a local church in Koriyama for an extended period of lunch and sharing. We set in circle with the beautifully presented Japanese traditional lunch boxes, “Bento.”

Dr. Kanda asked two questions, and one by one Japanese pastors shared their stories.

• How has the level of radiation changed since the 3/11 disaster and what have you been doing so far?
• During this time, how has God been speaking to you?

With Midori’s translation, Jonathan took lots of notes, as his task was to provide a theological commentary on what he heard. (What unconventional things my Japanese friends always come up with: This was a completely upside-down-theological-conference!)

Everyone was pre-assigned to read Jonathan’s short essay on God’s Good World (a summary of his upcoming book) before they could register to come today. Their lives for the past 18 months have been reflected through a new lens of theology of creation below to look at themselves, their life and work in Fukushima:

• that this is God’s good world,
• that the goodness of this world is grounded in the life of the One God: Father, Son, and Spirit,
• that the life of this One God has been given to redeem the world,
• that the purpose God has given to creation—its destiny—is new creation,
• that the worst possible event in the universe has occurred—the death of the Son of God,
• that the death of the Son of God did not bring an end to the universe,
• instead, the death of the Son of God is overcome in resurrection, which guarantees the ultimate redemption and healing of the universe in New Creation. 

We went around the circle and listened to each one’s story intently (I will summarize the stories another day), but this one phrase a pastor saw on a sticker on someone's bumper summed up everything:

WE LIVE IN FUKUSHIMA. WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES.

Life is full of surprises and often these surprises have more to do with suffering than with excitement. In those dark times of suffering, it is not easy to listen to other people’s advice (especially in Fukushima where so much deception, lies and rumors about radiation have affected innocent lives).

Good listening is not only a service, but a necessity of community life, as Bonhoeffer said to his beloved community under the dark regime of Nazi Germany. Listening to one another and listening to God. That’s how we can make the best sense of a world that is so uncertain, so chaotic and so fragile as ours is today, especially in a place like Fukushima. In my humble opinion, that is how a good solid theology develops in dialogue with life in suffering, life with Easter Hope.

The circle of listening we offered today was an act of God restoring his good creation, touching our hearts through the stories we heard.