The Noto Peninsula earthquake casts a shadow on foreign technical intern trainees who are key players in the local fishing industry. In Takojima-cho, Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, 16 Indonesian workers engaged in bottom trawl fishing were affected. Fortunately, the tsunami had little impact and the ship was safe, but it will be a while before work can resume. “What should I do now? If I could go home, I would like to go back to my country,” said a voice of anxiety. (Yu Nishikawa)
Indonesian technical intern trainees walking in front of a damaged house
Three trainees came to the evacuation center, Shoin Elementary School in Shoin-cho, Suzu City, to charge their cell phones. When the elderly evacuees asked, “Are you eating well?” and “I hope you remember my face soon,” I gave a small nod and returned to the dormitory in Takojima Town where I live.
In the two-story reinforced steel dormitory, 16 people huddled together in a large room lined with futons and a stove lit. They survive on rice balls and water that “the master (captain) brings.” She thought about going to an evacuation center, but decided to stay in the dormitory, saying, “There are a lot of grandparents there, so I don’t want to get in the way.”
◆3 months after coming to Japan, debt of 300,000 yen remains
Aditya Ardyansha (22) has only been in Japan for three months. Shortly after she took a shower, she was struck by the shaking and she fled to higher ground without anything. She spent the night outdoors at a bonfire with her friends. “She could barely sleep,” she recalled in broken Japanese.
His family in his home country survives solely on the earnings of his father, a motorcycle repairman. Life was difficult for him, and he had come to Suzu to send money to his family and was just “getting used to the job.” He still owes 300,000 yen that he paid to an intermediary to come to Japan. He is frightened by the aftershocks and worries about his future.
Dian Andrian (29), who has been working in Suzu for five years, is waiting for his parents, wife and two-year-old daughter to return home. “Are you okay? How are you?” She receives a concerned phone call from her family. “I don’t know what will happen next. I just want to go home. I don’t have a place to live, and I don’t have a job.” She puffed on a cigarette with a sigh.
According to Suzu City, as of the end of December 2023, there are 87 foreigners registered as residents in the city. The number of foreigners in evacuation centers is not known.
2024-01-09 08:00:00
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