We are in Minamisoma, Fukushima, covered in mud. We`re trying to clear the gutter around a person`s house, but it`s filled with tsunami mud and some kind of oil. Worse, some kind of fat-stemmed weeds have been growing in the mud, so we have to pull out the weeds before we start work on shoveling the mud out.
It`s been more than a year since the disaster, but some areas of Minamisoma haven`t been cleaned because they were previously inside the exclusion zone. I check all the frogs to see if they have extra legs, but everyone at least looks healthy.
We`re almost done, and filthy, but still trying to clear out the drainage pipe under the road so water can drain to the gutter on the other side.
While most of us are resting, and a few are scraping away at the openings with shovels and things, a clean-looking van with clean-looking people inside slowly drives by. The painting on the van says they are Christians. (Denomination unknown.)
My volunteer buddies (Japanese) look at the van as it drives away and say to each other "That`s the worst. Go after them while they`re weak."
If you`re wondering what response people in need have to say about the good word, it`s that, if you don`t want to get your shoes dirty and help people first.
The first people I ever invited to volunteer were the LDS missionaries* in Kitakami. I was so proud of myself--I couldn`t wait to be patted on the back for bringing in all those volunteers! Because these were RELIGIOUS guys, so this kind of stuff was right up their alley! I thought. They`d be pouring in every week. Stronger moral compass or something.
But after they said they`d call me back, I never heard from them again.
I know these guys are mostly really young. I know they get orders from their church, probably pretty strict ones, about how to spend their time and what risks are and aren`t acceptable. I know they only get one day off a week. But I was still really surprised and disappointed, because it`s false advertising. What`s the point of being spiritual if you don`t give a damn about other people, or enough of a damn to act?
I just wish some people on religious missions, and self-described Christians in general, would think a little more in depth about what kind of message it sends when a bunch of atheists and agnostics and such are going to help a disaster area and they (the missionaries, or Christians in general) aren`t lifting a finger. I and everyone else I know who is a regular, at least in my area, is not religious, let alone Christian.
You know who actually practices what they preach? Caritas Japan. We`ve worked with Caritas Japan volunteers many times in Kamaishi. They`ve always been very nice and polite and hardworking. Caritas Japan has bases in many disaster-struck cities including Ootsuchi and Kamaishi. They are dedicated to helping long term (read: not just coming in for a week and then going right back home). They don`t force their religion on anyone. In fact, they don`t mention religion at all unless directly asked.
But do you know who knows that Caritas Japan is a Christian organization? Exactly everyone I`ve talked to. Christianity is unusual here, so they know, and they remember. Just like I`m sure they remember those jerks in Minamisoma and I remember the missionaries who wouldn`t do anything.
*I hope nobody is thinking, "Well, it`s just because those Mormons are such-and-such" because while I am not at all fond of the LDS church, there are plenty of churches that waste a lot of time and money that could be used to help people on mission trips that are primarily for evangelism.
