Tragedy in Japan through the Eyes of Maryknoll Sister Abby Avelino

Maryknoll Sister Abby Avelino Aids
Filipinos Evacuated to Tokyo Catholic Church
Japan Tragedy of March 11, 2011

Last Wednesday, March 16, 2011, around noontime, our Maryknoll Sister ‘Abby’ (Aurea) Avelino received an unexpected but urgent phone call to go to our parish church in Kichijoji (west side of Tokyo). The Philippine Ambassador and team had chartered a bus to bring supplies to their people in the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster areas of Sendai and Fukushima. Unplanned as it was, the bus returned filled with an additional 42 people, 21 of whom were little children seeking safety. On the way to Tokyo, the bus ran out of gas eventually arriving at

10:00 p.m.

Father Miyazaki, S.V.D., the pastor of the Catholic Church in Kichijoji had been quick to respond to the Filipinos’ plight. He had called together the parish council and then the parish’s women who are members of the parish’s Marian Group. These women took charge of preparing the facility and contacting the parish’s Filipino members to help. Sister Abby, having grown up in the Philippines before moving to the United States from where she joined the Congregation of Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, was a key person in the relief effort due to her ability to translate for them in the Tagalog language, learn of their immediate needs and desired destination.

The very next morning, having had little sleep, Sister Abby was back at the parish cooking eggs and sausages for the tired and hungry travelers. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that the Philippine Embassador returned to meet with the people and learn of their individual needs for proper documentation, which would allow for the next step of arranging for safe passage to the Philippines. Several complicated cases turned up. Some had passports that had expired. Others had Philippine passports, but since they had married Japanese men, their children had Japanese passports. Having hoped to arrive with their belongings at Tokyo’s airport and leave immediately, they faced the arduous prospect of several more days of waiting with the kids in a limited space and sleeping on the floor.

Again on Friday Sister Abby spent long hours into the evening looking after the Filipino evacuees at our parish church. Tokyo University students, who were studying Tagalog language volunteered to help entertain the children and so did some Boy Scouts from the parish. The children and young volunteers bonded immediately. The good news came that about half of the group were able to depart for the airport. The remaining 34 had to wait several more days for travel documents. So on Sunday they moved to the Franciscan Chapel Center in Roppongi (Tokyo), as there was more space and where they had access to the airport bus.

Still on Sunday, a second, third and fourth group of Filipino evacuees arrived in Tokyo__43, 15, and 30 more people respectively. Besides staying at the Franciscan Chapel Center, others were received by the Protestant Churches, the Tokyo Light House in Otaku (Tokyo), and the Wesley Center in Minami-Aoyama (Tokyo).

Sister Abby’s cell phone kept ringing often that week as she followed these people, advising them and referring their needs to the Catholic Tokyo International Center (CTIC). By Tuesday, 27 people remained at Wesley Center and 23 at the Franciscan Chapel Center. Abby told us their story:

Sixteen out of the twenty-seven people are men who are here in Japan as ‘trainees’*. They are construction workers. All of them said that they want to get a job right away to support their families in the Philippines. They were among those who survived the tsunami by climbing to a high place. One man said, it was a very frightening experience to see people being washed away by this gigantic tsunami. He had taken a video with his cell phone. He said he couldn’t believe his own eyes. It was such a nightmare.

Most of them are very worried about their families in the Philippines as well as their own situation here in Japan. They all have expressed their gratitude to all the people who helped get them out of danger and moved to Tokyo. Today (Tues. 3/22), a construction company came over for job interviews and eight of them were able to get employment. We are hoping that the other eight men will get a job soon too. They’re still not ready emotionally and physically to start back to work, so stressful and traumatic was their experience, but for them it seems they have no choice but get back to work right away. They said, “Sister, we hope our employers will allow us at least three more days off to process this traumatic experience. We are emotionally and physically exhausted.” I think time for this is very important. I and other counselors are helping out in the debriefing process hoping to ease their stress and anxieties. Mothers and children are even more vulnerable in this aspect. I spoke with a young mother of a 3-month-old baby who said she was having a difficult time breast-feeding. The baby was crying a lot. I had to look for baby pacifiers hoping that might bring comfort to the little one. Some of the women and children have already gotten sick. All they want is to be in a safe place for some peace of mind. They are very frightened, especially since they keep having to experience so many aftershocks of the earthquake.

*[ Note:’trainees’ are in Japan doing an internship for a particular skill. Many are often taken advantage of by being made to work long hours and are underpaid.]

March 25:Two Weeks Have Passed Since the Japan Disaster

The mothers and children who have been suffering the hardships of evacuees for two weeks now are emotionally exhausted from the mental distress of not knowing what to do or where to go next. I have spent much time on the phone this week, and also visited some of these mothers, listening to all their worries and hearing of so much pain they are going through.

One woman, “Annie”, is a Filipina married to a Japanese Buddhist priest. They are the parents of two young children, a five year old little girl and a ten month old baby. Annie’s husband stayed behind in Fukushima to care for his afflicted neighbors as one of the volunteers. Annie is very worried about her husband’s health because of fatigue, overexposure to the cold, and scant nutrition, but especially because of the health risk from the radiation to which he and their little children have been exposed along with the other disaster victims. Nevertheless Annie, who had come to Tokyo on a bus provided by the Philippine Embassy, was thinking of going back to Fukushima to be with her husband. She was suppressing knowledge of the risk involved in returning to the disaster area and only hearing her longing heart.

I accompanied Annie in the process of debriefing, offering her what assistance I could to reduce her stress and pain. Annie calmed down and, feeling better, was able to start talking about taking her children to the Philippines for the time being. She needed to have her passport renewed and also to get a Japanese passport for her ten month old baby. The Philippine Embassy was able to obtain issuance of travel documents for her family. Seeing a clear path open to her now, she feels more relieved and will call her husband to come down to Tokyo and join the family.

Another Filipina woman I have been counseling is “Merlyn”. A week ago she persuaded her Japanese husband to evacuate to Tokyo with their two boys, an eleven and a nine year old. They found shelter at the Catholic church where I am a parishioner at Kichijoji in Tokyo. Merlyn’s idea was to accept the offer of the Philippine Embassy to assist evacuees like her to go back to the Philippines. But her husband, who accompanied her and the boys to Tokyo, now wants to go back to the disaster area and find work to support his family. She is torn between her husband’s decision to go back up north and her desire to protect the health of the two boys.

These are just a few of the many stories I heard from these mothers. At the heart of their concern is the vulnerability of their children to emotional stress. These mothers and children do not know how to process the stressful experiences of the past weeks since the great disaster occured in the northeast of Japan, a disaster totally out of proportion to anything they may have been told to expect and for which to be prepared. For me, it is really a challenge to accompany mothers and children who are so vulnerable and have encountered emotional stress to such a great degree. I have to keep reminding myself to be strong, and as the angel said to Mary, “The power of the Most High shall overshadow you.” My prayer is to have these people feel better and live a peaceful life.