This article isLet's study "coexistence" sociologically (XNUMX) - What you can learn in the multicultural city of Kobe -] is the continuation of.
Last time, I wrote that foreign residents form "a part of Kobe's character."This time, I would like to consider the relationship between foreign residents and Kobe from a slightly different angle.
On January 1995, 1, a large earthquake hit the Hanshin area.The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake knocked down buildings in the town and claimed many lives.
I was in elementary school when the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake occurred.I still can't forget the view from my apartment in Higashinada Ward.Smoke rose from the town, and I could see the buildings collapsing in the distance.Calls for ambulances and fire engines were heard, but the town remained surprisingly quiet.There was no internet, no television, and I was daunted by the news on the radio, not knowing what was happening.
An earthquake is not just that moment.From there, my life as a victim began.
Electricity was quickly restored, but gas and water remained unrestored.I spent 30 minutes every day going to the water station.I wiped my body with water boiled on a cassette stove.I'm just an elementary school student.When will school resume?I was worried about that.Even if life changes drastically, the feeling is somewhere empty.Rather, it may have been driven by a strong desire to regain everyday life.
After that, I spent my junior high and high school years in Kobe.At some point, the town seemed to have returned to normal.Not only the scattered vacant lots, but also the widened roads and new buildings told us about the damage caused by the earthquake.Such a townscape became "just a daily life" as time passed.And I myself began to think less and less about the disaster.
It was around the time I became a university student that I decided to face the disaster again.It was through fieldwork in a university class.A few years after the earthquake, town development was being carried out in Kobe with the keyword "coexistence."
People who lost their homes in the earthquake began to live in schools and parks.We burned scrap wood in drums to keep warm and shared the food we had collected.
Many foreign residents have also evacuated to such places.Foreign residents were not known as they are today.The Japanese residents at the shelter were puzzled, wondering why there were foreigners here.Many foreigners worked in factories between Hanshin and Kobe, but they did not participate in community activities.It was as if they were living side by side in their daily lives, and there was a slight misunderstanding.
How will foreign residents and Japanese residents manage evacuation centers?What the Japanese residents saw was the "trouble" of the foreign residents.
The information about the shelter was only in Japanese.distribution of food and water.Administrative information for life reconstruction.Although all kinds of information was provided in Japanese, foreigners could not read it.And is it okay to say that it is the responsibility of foreigners to be unable to read?I wonder if it's not the same victim.
In this way, the life of foreign residents and Japanese residents at the evacuation center led to future town planning and community activities.The word used there is “multicultural symbiosis”.
What I would like to reflect on here is that, as I dealt with in my previous column, Kobe is a city where foreign cultures take root.We can "enjoy" foreign cultures.However, while enjoying foreign culture, I have not been interested in the lives of foreigners as residents.The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake brought to the fore the divisions hidden in such everyday life.
I also learned the word “multicultural symbiosis” and learned what my “daily life” was like.How did my beloved Kobe come to be?What were the effects of the earthquake?Who makes the lunch boxes and electrical appliances that I eat every day?I will delve a little deeper into multiculturalism in my next column.
Let's return the story.The readers of this column are assumed to be high school students.For all of you, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake is an event in the past, and it's probably something your parents told you about.It may not feel real.So use your imagination.Imagine the town you live in collapsing in an instant.
And this is not someone else's business.It is certain that a Nankai Trough megathrust earthquake will occur in the near future.At that time, you may be a university student or a member of society.
You may start your own family and live there.In such a case, studying in Kobe will surely be useful.
Kansai University of International Studies recommends that students acquire a “Disaster Prevention Officer” certification.As a university located in Hyogo Prefecture, this is to make use of the lessons learned from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and to prepare for the next disaster.Disaster prevention specialists are involved not only in disaster relief, but also in post-earthquake reconstruction and disaster prevention activities during normal times.
In addition to simply acquiring the qualification of a disaster prevention expert, learning about the experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake through various academic subjects should make it more concrete.what our daily lives are likeAre there contradictions in our daily lives?What is a region?I believe that the history and lifestyle of Kobe will help you learn and grow.
Faculty of Sociology Department of Sociology Kosuke Yamamoto
