|  Remembering
the Great Hanshin Earthquake -- a Personal Experience
On January 17, 1995, at 5:46a.m., a magnitude
7.2, intensity 7 earthquake struck the Kobe-Hanshin area, killing
5,502, injuring over 30,000 and damaging over 400,000 homes. The
Great Hanshin Earthquake directly hit a modern metropolis in Japan,
sending shock waves throughout a technological superpower as bullet
train tracks and elevated expressways came crashing to the ground.
Several AFWJ Kansai members and their families were directly affected
by the disaster. [The white house in the photo above is the actual
residence of the author of this article.]
My husband and I were asleep on the first floor. We
suddenly felt a big jolt and the house shaking violently. ''Aaah,
an earthquake,'' I cried out and covered myself with the quilt cover.
I thought my time was up and hoped for a quick and painless end.
Within twenty seconds, the house had collapsed over us. A first,
big relief...''I am still alive.'' The ceiling had crashed onto
us and touched the tip of my right foot, but fortunately was a few
inches away from my face. My left arm was pinned under the telephone
table. Miraculously I wasn't hurt.
The ceiling had caved in between my husband and me and separated
us, but we could hear one another. The crushed furniture in the
room cushioned us and shouldered the weight of the second floor.
No light penetrated into the small space where I was trapped. My
husband was lying on his side when a chest of drawers fell over
onto his legs pinning him down. He remained in that position till
he was rescued twenty two hours later. The wooden pillar supporting
the family altar alcove broke into two and missed his tummy by inches.
The tatami straw mats were covered with broken glass from the glass
doors. Luckily, he was not bleeding.
"I am OK, how about you?" I asked. "I think my legs are broken.
I cannot breath and I feel cold. I am shivering," he replied calmly.
My heart sank and I prayed for the best. He was in excruciating
pain and clung to the remains of the wooden pillar for support.
I reassured him and advised him to do slow deep breathing exercises...
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Partner Violence:
Why It Happens and What Needs To Be Done
Heps Aoba and Gina Natsutani were both subscribers to an on-line
friendship group and occasionally answered each other's queries
or commented about what the other had written. Gina particularly
seemed to appreciate what Heps wrote. Then Heps' husband was transferred
to the same area where Gina and her family lived and Heps was happy
that there would be someone she was "acquainted" with
nearby in the new place. Shortly after the move, Heps suggested
coffee. She was surprised that Gina had to be persuaded to get
together.
When the day came that they finally met, Heps was shocked to
meet a pale, almost gaunt Gina, whose eyes were dull with black
circles around them. Thinking maybe Gina had been ill, she didn't
say anything. Gina seemed happy to get together and make small
talk
but she was the one who set the schedule and who not infrequently
called the last minute to cancel. Her appearance didn't seem to
improve and there were days when her makeup seemed heavy and she
would wear a long-sleeved blouse even if a hot day. One day Heps
said, "Gina, I hesitate to mention this, but are you ill?"
Gina started to cry. "My husband beats me! He calls me awful
names. He says I'm the most stupid person he's ever known. I'm so
afraid." It was a strangulated voice which said these awful
words.
Violence against women can occur in any setting. "The term
'violence against women' may explained as "any act of gender-based
violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual
or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of
such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or private life." (from the Beijing Platform
for Action: Fourth World Conference on Women.)
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In Japan on One’s Own
A husband may have long term assignments overseas,
be on sabbatical leave abroad or be temporarily displaced for a
job inside Japan. Sometimes circumstances just don’t allow
for both partners to move together. Or we may be in Japan on our
own after a divorce or death. It is good to be prepared for times
when we are on our own in Japan for an extended period of time.
My own husband has been abroad for several prolonged periods during
the last few years due to work as a logistician for an international
humanitarian organization. The following list does not claim to
be exhaustive. These are just a few thoughts on how to cope with
different situations in Japan while husband is gone.
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continues here) |
