JAPAN 3.11: Earthquake Tsunami Aftermath: Quake takes toll on interns working in Japan

Tuesday, April 12

Quake takes toll on interns working in Japan

KESENNUMA —
The March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan have taken a toll not only on human lives and infrastructure but also on long-nurtured transnational personal relationships.

At a seafood processing firm in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, six female Indonesian college students were working as interns when the disaster hit the coastal city on March 11.

The lively and industrious interns, who were in charge of processing shark fins, an ingredient of a widely prized delicacy, were like daughters to Hiroshi Usui, 59, who ran the firm, and his wife Michiko, 56.

The massive quake and tsunami washed away their fishery plant and forced the Indonesians to stay at an evacuation center with the Usuis.

In the evacuation facility packed with refugees, however, the interns remained as vivacious as ever, with one of them softening their heart by saying in Japanese, ‘‘I heard the president snore for the first time.’‘

But the devastation wrought by the disaster left the six no choice but to soon return to their home country.

Five days after the quake, around 30 Indonesian women staying in the area were given seats on a bus dispatched by the Indonesian Embassy in Japan, and the interns could not have enough time to even say goodbye to the Usuis. Michiko Usui could not hand over a farewell letter to them.