東日本大震災のボランティア活動（Women Knitters in South Walesによる）を掲載致します。（川田）
Children of Kesen-numa City, Japan
News reports cannot give the full horror of the recent occurrences in this city. Neither can they truly show the courage and fortitude of the people there. Kesen-numa City was established on June 1st 1953 by an amalgamation of Kesen-numa town with a number of outlying villages. It has since grown in size to some 74,000 people, now including 3000 residents of the nearby Oshima Island. Until recently was Japan’s busiest port for fishing and processing fish, particularly bonito, swordfish, pacific saury, skipjack tuna and it has a shark fin fishery. Fishing and its associated industries account for some 85% of employment in the city.
As an education centre for the wider locality there are 5 high schools (for young people up to 18/19) in the city, as well as 8 junior high schools (up to 15) and 14 elementary schools (up to 10). Additionally there are numerous kindergartens, some associated with local churches and faith groups, others independent and private.
The city is well spread out, covering some 129 square miles, with the highest point being on the outskirts of the city at just 2,300 feet above sea-level. Because Japan is prone to earthquakes and resultant tidal surges coastal communities tend to build important buildings such as schools and hospitals on high ground. Because of the reliance on fishing, most of the working population work and live at sea-level around the port. Kesen-numa city is located some 300 miles north east of Tokyo in the Mayagi prefecture of Japan. It was near the epicentre of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake which set off the chain of events that started at 14.47 hours local time on March 11th 2011.
The earthquake destroyed much of the city in just seven minutes. This broke electricity lines and gas pipes. Then the massive tsunami waves pounded the remains and carried vehicles, boats, rubble and people further and further inland. As if this was not bad enough, the waves also carried with petrol, diesel and oil from the various equipment and storage tanks around the port. The inevitable happened and this flammable flotsam ignited and the city burned for 4 days and 4 nights until all the fluid, gas, wood, plastic and other flammable goods in the city were burnt out.
It is estimated that some 2,000 people have died, but over 1,000 are still missing and incredibly specialist teams are still searching for bodies and over 6,000 living in temporary accommodation. Given the ravages set upon the city, this number perhaps indicates the courage of the people when dealing with these terrible events. It is impossible to imagine the trauma as people tried to gather around them those they loved and cared for, mourn for those who were dead and worry about the missing. But there was more to come as March is still winter in Japan and for the next two weeks it was bitterly cold and snowing.
It was seeing pictures of some groups of people with children, huddled together in the snow, trying to keep warm that I felt I had to do something. Since the age of 8 I have always knitted and made my first sweater for myself at the age of 10. Immediately I saw those cold children I knew what I could do. I went upstairs to my stash of wool, pulled out some bright colours and some patterns and started knitting. By the end of the week I had 4 little sweaters. It was whilst ironing them it struck me that I didn’t know what to do with them, where to send them.
Some years before I had become good friends with Yuko Yamaguchi who lives south of Tokyo. Sadly, over the years our contact had decreased. But, I e-mailed her and asked if she could advise me in any way. Fortuitously Yuko’s cousin, Father Takashi Aizu is both local priest and principle of a faith based kindergarten in the city. Without thinking much of the process, I sent the first batch of sweaters to him and it seems a miracle that they arrived. Yuko then contacted me and said that there was still no electricity, gas, telephone or Internet connections, infrastructure or transport to the city, except via emergency vehicles. Thus she suggested that I send items to her and through her contacts she would ensure that they got through to Father Aizu.
At the time of the earthquake there were 61 pupils at the kindergarten. Whilst most of the children were safe, many in the city became orphans or lost siblings and friends. Immediately after the events, the building became a centre of refuge for people and Father Aizu and his colleagues, staff at the school and parents of children started to reach out to the community to help where they could. People were homeless; they were frightened, hungry, thirsty, cold and deeply traumatised. Soon people started to come to the kindergarten looking for goods and part of the building was set aside and used as a centre of relief operations in the ruined city.
Father Aizu and his colleagues were determined to keep the kindergarten going as a focus of normality for the children and parents. They have even had their usual term closing ceremony and the next term’s opening ceremony, despite lack of light or heating. For new children and those remaining it gives them a focus in their day and gives them some hours of respite from the daily challenges their parents are facing. The knitted and crocheted goods are well received and the parents and children decide who gets something from each batch. The local people are extremely touched that people from another country are not just giving something but spending time making things to give.
Back in Cardiff in South Wales, I had started speaking to all my friends and relatives, asking them if they could help. I asked people if they could knit something, give money towards postage and packaging, or give me balls of wool that they had not used. I went to local shops that I bought wool from and contacted suppliers that I used on-line. The response has been almost overwhelming; family, friends, neighbours, bridge-playing friends and complete strangers have been so keen to become involved. My family and friends have spread the word and now their daughters, mothers, aunts, friends, friends-of-friends are working away with all manner of styles and colours. Some of the groups who have become involved include Quakers from both Cardiff and West Wales, members of the Friends of the National Museum of Wales, Monmouth Women’s Institute and members of the Soroptomists Association. Some people haven’t knitted for years and I have been giving lessons and support to them. It is delightful that they are enjoying returning to their hobby. Some older women tell me they no longer have children or grandchildren to knit for and they do not feel up to knitting larger adult sized items of clothing. Children’s sized clothes are just right, not too heavy to hold and they can indulge in pretty colours and a few fancy stitches. There is even an international opera star who is happy to click knitting needles while waiting for her cue. There are many other unsung heroines and heroes who do not knit or crochet but who have been exceedingly generous in donating money towards the packaging and postage, collecting finished items, distributing wool, donating wool and sewing up garments. Local companies have donated wool including retail outlets such as Hobbycraft and Shaws the Drapers, on-line companies such as Deremores and Texere have also been exceedingly generous.
Soon people who hadn’t knitted for years were inspired to start knitting again and I was asked to run some workshops, just to help people get started. Their hands easily picked up the rhythm and they have been knitting and nattering ever since. One group of women have come together just to knit; they meet once a week to knit and enjoy a social chat. Two women in the group are partially blind and one is blind, but they love knitting simple patterns that require little shaping. In their group other women help at the difficult parts, some non-knitters busy themselves sewing up the sweaters, and of course keeping everyone topped up with tea and biscuits! One couple were married in August and on their wedding list they put ‘balls of wool and hand knitted sweaters for children’; all of this they gave to me to send to Japan. One lady of 92 visited everyone in her 100 unit sheltered accommodation and collected 5 big bags of wool. She lashed these together with a scarf and carried then quite some distance to deliver them to me; had I known, I would of course have been waiting at her door! The youngest knitter is 12 and she has yet to finisher her first sweater. The oldest is 98 and is an inspiration to us all as she tells us ‘just one more row and we’re nearer finishing the next sweater’.
Over a hundred and twenty knitted items have gone to Father Aizu at Kesen-numa City so far. We currently have over 50 waiting to go. Just under £1000 has been spent in money or kind to cover the cost of packaging, postage, petrol for collection and delivery, and the purchase of other children’s clothes which have been sent or are awaiting to go; anoraks, fleeces, rain coats, socks, tights, quilted jackets, pants and vests given by people who do not knit but who desperately wanted to help in some way. Over 80 kilos of wool has been donated. This is a mark of people’s generosity and their response to such a terrible event in Japan. But we do need more knitters, or people who prefer to crochet.
Whilst we all hope and know that the children and their parents are having some benefit from this work. Something wonderful has happened as in Cardiff and the wider areas of Wales older people are meeting the challenge. They have more focus to their lives and are pleased to have the opportunity to use their skills and talents; to be giving to society rather than just being seen as recipients of income, food, and help in other ways. They are meeting and chatting to people as I and other call to their houses to collect finished items and give them more wool, or as they meet in their weekly groups. They are enjoying the joy of giving. All people are united in feeling that they can achieve some small improvement for someone in the face of such disaster in Japan
Father Aizu has kindly kept me updated of the situation and sends photographs of the children with their sweaters. These I share with all the knitters and helpers. I am sending him photographs of our knitters and the stories of individuals so that he can help the children understand the lives of people in a far away country. We are all learning more about each other and our environments. Born out of such a terrible disaster has developed such a wonderful opportunity for friendship, fellowship, support and helping hands reaching out between and across nations.
Dr Elizabeth J Muir drlizmuir@gmail.com
Liz is a Quaker and semi-retired postgraduate tutor in entrepreneurship. She has knitted all of her life and particularly focuses on environmentally friendship materials and is fascinated with the social and economic history of knitting. If anyone would like to be involved with the project in any way, please contact Liz, first via e-mail.
