Elmhurst man back home after relief effort in Japan

Mark Dyer of Elmhurst recently returned from a humanitarian visit to earthquake-torn Japan.

Dyer is a member of ShelterBox International, a relief organization that sends volunteers and aid around the world to areas hit by natural and man-made disasters.

Dyer arrived in Japan the week of March 24 and returned home last week.

The following is his e-mail report of what he found in Japan — and his feelings about being home.

Q. Now that you’re home from your humanitarian effort in Japan, what message would you want to share with Americans about what you saw and the need for continued assistance? Can we really understand what’s happening on the ground in Japan just from the news reports we see?

A. Japan is a developed nation and was probably more prepared for a disaster like this than any other country in the world.

By the time I left, water had been restored to the majority of the country. Electricity was available, even though they still have some scattered interruptions. Transportation had also been restored — most of the major roads and bridges had been repaired and were open. Railroads will take some time, but supplies and materials are available and reaching victims.

Many areas of the country were still without natural gas, but we saw huge numbers of workers out doing repairs and every day more people were coming back on line. There were still fuel shortages in the hardest hit areas, but even that situation was improving every day as lines for gasoline dropped from more than a kilometer down to a few city blocks.

There is and will continue to be a need for help in rebuilding huge areas of the country and in housing people while they rebuild homes.

As is the case with everything, it would depend on which news report you’re looking at. Definitely the amount of devastation, death tolls and human suffering are huge — the tsunami covered a huge area and affected people for hundreds of miles up and down the coast.

The nuclear reactor is an ongoing problem, and people are concerned about it and watching it — but the general population outside of the evacuation zone is not consumed with the problem like the Western media is.

Q. Is there a single moment from your trip that stands out in your memory?

A. We had one where we found a group of people who had been living in their cars for the three weeks since the tsunami. We were in the middle of a parking lot, talking to a few of the people about ShelterBox, when two women who were probably in their early 60s recognized each other. They clearly had both thought the other dead, and they were so relieved to see each other. They were both crying and hugging each other and just very, very overcome with emotion.

The whole incident was very private and personal but unfolded right next to me. Probably only three or four people even knew it had happened. In Japan, where there is little or no public displays of affection, for this scene to occur publicly and in front of a Westerner was really uncharacteristic and very powerful. To me, it just showed the level of pain and loss that many of the families are feeling.

Q. When you heard Thursday that new tsunami warnings were being posted in Japan, what was your first thought?

A. My first concern was for our response teams that are still operating in country, and for the friends and families of the many people we are working with. Within less than an hour of the quake, I had already received notice from our operation team that all of our response teams had moved to higher ground and checked in safe.

Q. How many ShelterBox volunteers remain on the ground in Japan and what do you think their greatest accomplishments have been so far?

A. Currently, we have three teams working in various areas of the Tsunami Zone. Plus, we have a team based in Tokyo working on logistics, moving people and equipment into the country then up into the disaster areas (seven total response team members).

So far, we’ve been able to move more than 1,700 ShelterBoxes (more than 18, 10-ton trucks) worth of equipment up into the affected areas and distribute (it) to local communities. We are continuing to ship in boxes, with shipments arriving in Tokyo every other day.

Q. How do you explain the willingness of yourself and other ShelterBox volunteers to put themselves in harm’s way to assist people in need?

A. I can only speak for myself, but it probably boils down to the fact that we understand the importance of the work we’re doing and know we’re making a huge difference in people’s lives. A disaster can happen to anyone, anywhere, and that is when they need the most help.

I’d say it would be the same reason that people become police officers or firefighters here in the states.

Q. You’ve seen the Japanese people under some of the most stressful conditions imaginable. What was your impression of them?

A. I had never been to Japan before this trip, and I was very impressed. Their culture is very proud, straightforward, hardworking and appreciative. I have never felt such a great sense of community where everyone was just trying to help each other to recover and move forward.

Q. When you returned home to the relative calm of life in DuPage County, what was your first thought?

A. First and foremost, I’m happy to see my wife and family. Then it always takes me a little time to adjust when coming back from a disaster. You’ve been living in the disaster zone for a while (average deployment is two to four weeks), so it does take a few days to adjust to the fact that now you’re in a place where life is just normal.

Getting back into a routine and doing things like paying bills or answering the piles of e-mail just doesn’t seem so important. But then after a few days I start getting back into a more normal routine.

Q. Is there anything else you think our readers need to know about your organization or the situation in Japan?

A. We will continue to have teams in Japan working with Rotarians and other organizations for as long as there remains a need for shelter and aid. Unfortunately, during the last three weeks we have also had teams in Bolivia (flooding) and Madagascar (cyclone).

There will always be a need for emergency shelter; last year alone we responded to 17 disasters around the world.

Not every disaster in the world makes the news here in the U.S., but for the people who have lost everything the need is just as critical. For more information, or if you’d like to help, please go to www.shelterboxusa.org.