March 8, 2018 | UHCL Staff
Anthropology students at University of Houston-Clear Lake had the opportunity to learn from 23 students and two professors from Fukushima University in Japan how they coped with the events of March 11, 2011. On that day, Fukushima suffered an earthquake, followed by a devastating tsunami that triggered the nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to malfunction, causing the most significant nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The Japanese students, who are participants in Youth for Understanding’s Kakehashi Project, which means “bridge” or “connection,” discussed their experience overcoming the disaster at UH-Clear Lake on Feb. 23 and were interested in hearing how UH-Clear Lake students struggled through the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Students spoke and showed photographs of their participation in the ongoing volunteer effort to assist their community in the recovery process.
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Studies in the College of Human Sciences and Humanities Maria Curtis said that she received support from the Office of Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as the Office of International Programs and Admissions to offer this event. She explained to the Japanese students in detail how Harvey had affected UHCL and the community at large. “We have a lot in common, because both of our cities have gone through such terrible disasters,” she said. Curtis added that she was struck by the students’ emphasis on taking care of people’s feelings in their disaster outreach. “We talked a lot about resilience, and all the ways that communities come together after these kinds of disasters,” Curtis said. “The Japanese professors who accompanies these students said that they felt it was important to remain active and not sink into ‘victimhood,’ in the same way Houstonians came together to help each other after Harvey.”
Associate Professor of Environmental Economics at Fukushima University Daisuke Numata said that although the disaster had happened eight years ago, they were still rebuilding their community. “Our students have worked in the community as disaster volunteers,” he said. “We are struggling for recovery, but we are here to tell everyone about the situation in Japan today. Even though we have a big language wall, today’s Japanese are eager to communicate with other students and we are here to make friendships.”
The Japanese students also visited the Asia Society as well as Johnson Space Center and other noteworthy sites in Houston.
For more information about UHCL's Department of Anthropology and Cross Cultural Studies in the College of Human Sciences and Humanities, visit www.uhcl.edu/human-sciences-humanities/departments/social-cultural-sciences/anthropology/.
