The Yomiuri Shimbun
KESENNUMA, Miyagi--A Canadian researcher has focused her camera on Kesennuma in a project that may last a decade to show how the devastated city and residents are recovering from last month's massive earthquake and tsunami.
Anne McDonald, 45, a resident of Kanazawa, lived in Miyagi Prefecture from 1997 to 2008. Since arriving in Japan in 1991, she has researched fishing communities across the country.
"I really like the lively atmosphere of fishing communities and fishing ports," she said. "I think my film will encourage people in other parts of Japan and around the world to support [earthquake victims]."
She currently serves as director of the Operating Unit Ishikawa/Kanazawa of United Nations University's Institute of Advanced Studies.
At the outset of her project, McDonald recorded the sentiments of Kesennuma fishermen, the damage to their lives and the efforts they are making to recover from the disaster.
Kesennuma, one of the hardest-hit communities in the disaster, is famed for its large catches of bonito and Pacific saury, a fish also known as sanma.
"It's just like a battlefield," she said in reference to the battered city.
When she arrived on April 12, she was stunned and could only remain motionless as she stared at a still submerged area near JR Minami-Kesennuma Station.
A malodorous mixture of fish and heavy oil permeated the area, and debris was piled up on the shoulders of roads.
"This is a precious place for me," McDonald said, referring to the time when she used to live in the area. "It's sad to see the damage, but I couldn't look away."
Since she arrived in Japan 20 years ago, she has visited more than 2,000 fishing communities across the country to research the lives of fishermen.
She said she admires the mental and physical strength of fishermen who are in awe of nature but have to coexist with the ocean. In the March 11 disaster, some of the people she came to know through her research have gone missing.
During an initial three-day shoot from April 12, McDonald turned her camera on the local oyster cultivation business and factories of seafood products manufacturers, which both suffered damage. She also interviewed the head of the local fishing association, travel agents and officials of the local chamber of commerce and industry.
She said she would continue shooting her film over a period of five or 10 years. Excerpts from her quake-related footage will be shown at a symposium on the environment on May 22.
(Apr. 25, 2011)
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