“From the era of crisis to the era of renewal ―Vol.ⅠThe 1st Indonesia Volunteer Report―”
September 30 ~ October 5, 2018.
Kobe International Sustaining Organization
Administrative director Yoshio Iwamura

Eastern part of Palu, Balaroa Area.
Destroyed houses, buildings and power
poles.
October 2, 2018.

<Introduction>
After taking twenty-eight and a half hour from Japan, we arrived at Palu, the provincial capital,
where the most affected area in Sulawesi Island. We were unable to use domestic airplanes, express
train, and express-ways to reach Haneda International Airport, due to the Typhoon 24. Volunteer is“Gokiburi-Do (cockroach way)” in a sense. Cockroach is a creature that survives even if humans arevanished. Even there is no ways of transportation; we could not give up on the departure date toIndonesia. Because of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake which occurred on September 28, affected people
lost not only transportation ways but also lifelines were destroyed. When we entered the Republic ofIndonesia (hereby Indonesia), the number of victims was over 1,000. To be with those people whoare experiencing hellish reality, we cannot use excuse that we are not able to come to help because
there is no convenient airplane, express trains and comfortable express-ways. The attitude that we arecoming to do volunteer by using transportations that is not exist in affected area is very insensitivity
and arrogant. It will be like “I give you a favor”. Therefore, we went through the wildness road whichwere blocked or closed by struggling with a road map. We took 14 hours to reach Haneda International
Airport by using the down road from Kobe City. By quick thinking, mental and physical strength ofHirotaka Murakami (28 years old) who is the director of Kobe International Sustaining Organization,
we were able to be on time for the takeoff time of Garuda Indonesia. We could make a reservation of
the flight 16 hours before departure time. Since September 30 was Sunday, so we could not manage
to reserve seats by telephone. However, we managed to get vacant seats.
At the time of departure, Yasuyo Murakami handed lunch boxes to his son. That is the taste of homemade. That is the same smell of lunch box that my beloved wife Kayoko, who passed away 2 years
1ago, always made it for me every time I go to the Tohoku Volunteer since my 20s business man time.
She always cooked lunch box at early morning for everybody who come with me to go outside,business trip and travel because she thought about our health than enjoying local foods at ourdestination. Therefore, I and my wife rarely went out for food. I could enjoy the taste of my beloved
wife’s lunch box in after a long time and it made my heart warm. I could recall my wife's soft voice“My dear, was it delicious, isn't it?”
Former director of Mangokuura-Kindergarten, Reiko Kitagawa, who was a benefactor of ourorganization at the Tohoku Volunteer, recovered from breast cancer once, but she passed away
suddenly last month.
Even though she retired from kindergarten, she held a food party for people living alone in thecommunity, as well as delivered food. She had a strong volunteer spirit. Every month we met together,and young people form our organization were also encouraged. She provided us not only words but
also good foods. I know deeply the pain of Tsuyoshi that he left behind because of his beloved wife's
death. Because I experienced hardship of losing beloved family, loneliness and sadness, I am able toget close to the pain of the hearts of those who lost their families due to natural disasters.
On September 30, early Sunday morning, when I woke up, I heard groaning voices from Palu. Voicesof “I am crying and morning, please help” of a child, a woman who lost her husband, and weak people.
Perhaps you may think that I have an auditory hallucination, but it is not. I have sensitive awarenessof children’s cries, tears and pains, even though I am on the other side of the earth. Then, I could not
help myself but go to help people. I had several appointments and plan this week to meet people,
conduct seminars and food distribution at parks, but I canceled all unconsciously. Even I would becalled an irresponsible man, but the crying face of children derived me and pushed me to do action.
I was looking for my passport when I noticed. There is always no money. There is a lesson of Basho
Matsuo [1644-1694] that he walked through different places while increasing opportunities to talkwith local people and he walked all the way in Spartan life. In the first line of the Eighteen commandsof pilgrimage, he said “Jyukasekijoni fusutomo atatameru mushiroto omoubeshi (Even you sleep
under the tree or on the stone, simply think that it is a bed of straw)”1) Christ also said it more than
1,600 years ago. “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has noplace to lay his head’.” (Matthew 8:20) Moreover, he said his disciples, “No bag for the journey or
extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep”. (Matthew 10:10) In Vanuatu and
Nepal, I slept and lived together with the poorest Dalit class people. We could get food from only
almsgiving.
(1) Equatorial Sulawesi Islanda. Number of deaths / missing persons became more than 5,000 due to the triple troubles
We transferred at Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, and also at Makassar in Sulawesi, andfinally we arrived at our destination Palu after twenty-eight and a half hour.

2From Makassar, we took a propeller aircraft, and most of
the passengers were relief volunteers from within
Indonesia. Palu is the capital of Sulawesi, and its
population is 342,754. Washington Post reported that thedeath/missing people would be more than 5,000 people2).
The situation that we didn’t know in Japan, we noticed
the damage caused by the severe prominence of theground on the field. Damages were not just by
earthquakes and tsunami. According to local people,
there were rumors, such as magma blew out andliquefaction, were going around. However, prominence
is neither of them.
All the buildings at Petobo area were completely destroyed by land prominence not liquefaction.
Palu’s famous Yellow Bridge was also crushed like a candy. The bridge spanned from the east to thewest of Palu City and its official name is Ponulele Bridge. I heard that the bridge was the proud of
citizens.
Cars were rolling like marbles. Ships were also carried over the roof of the houses. In Indonesia,
except for Jakarta, even at the airport, there are no shops that have air conditioner. After walking
through the hot iron plate like land and finally reach the airport, our burning body temperatures are
eased by natural winds. People those who are having a comfortable living life, they will not be blessedby those natural blessings. No matter where you go, flies, mosquitoes and small insects are coexistingwith humans. Buddhism, an international religion, let the Japanese to avoid killing things. However,right now, electric insect killers are placed at restaurants, express way service areas and offices. On
the way to and from the Tohoku Volunteer, every time we drop at the service area for our break, thegraves of various insects, moths, and chironomidae are creepily shining brightly by blue fluorescentlights. I always have a hard time to control myself to do not plug out the outlet. “We also have therights to live”, small lives are crying. On the other hand, humans are trying to eradicate it as if they
were immortal enemies. Did modern people paralyze their pang of conscience? Nobody dislikes
insects as much as current Japanese. When people did become so cold-hearted? Basho, who I
mentioned above, he said in the second command of the pilgrimage, “Koshini suntetsutaritomo
taisubekarazu. Soujite monono inochiwo torukotonakare. (Never carry even a small knife. Never takelives of living things”. He preaches not to kill natural living lives unnecessarily.
b. Pro-Japanese
Despite the fact that most Japanese have never visited Palu, people speak to me in Japanese like
“Konnichiwa (Hello)”, “Arigatou-gozaimasu (Thank you)”, and “Hajimemashite (Nice to meet you)”.
As I mentioned in the 2nd Vietnam flood disaster volunteer report in March 2017, we cannot ignore
the existence of the former Japanese armies who stayed on their site after the end of World War II. I
3

think that soldiers heard about the battleship Missouri surrender on September 2nd, 1945. Therefore
they would have hesitated to return home and to do vindication. I imagine that they remained on theirsite as they were, and they decided to continue to survive as a soldier because there were also petitions
from former unit’s survivors.3)
They contributed to the Indochina War, and the first Indonesian President Sukarno [1901-1970] gave
the highest national honor award to those former Japanese military officers. Japanese who devotetheir lives in the independent war are buried at the Heroes Cemetery. At airports in Indonesia, you
might mistake some local people as Japanese because they have similar facial expressions. On the
day we arrived at Palu, I met the general manager of the Coco Hotel which is also damaged. He said
his name “Lakada” for easy pronunciation. Even he has been unable to do anything for his employees
and customers any more, his intention to restart from zero was not broken. His grandfather’s familyname was Takada. Just because I am Japanese, he offered me to sit on a sofa that was moved out
outside and provided generous meals.
There are not a few Indonesian people visiting in Japan as interns, and they are very pro-Japanese.
I was just disappointed that my appearance was never seen as Indonesian by Indonesian people. Mostof Indonesians remember some Japanese words. It is just like Japanese can use English words, “Thankyou”, “How are you?” and “Good”.
c. About morals
Immediately after the earthquake at Ishinomaki City, Miyagi prefecture in 2011, I have seen and heard
the reality of such as high-theft that opposes to the media report “well-ordered Japanese people”.
However, at Palu, despite the collapse of three prisons and more than 1,200 prisoners had been
escaped, even I visited various affected sites so far, I never heard worries about the theft of personal
properties. Believing that Japan is the safest place is same wrong common sense that believes nuclear
plants are the safest in the world.
It is just like a dream that there is no water to drink, and sweat to work. Japanese were used to thinkthat water is free. It seems that money is useless in current Palu. There is no place to use money. If
you ask the child whether to choose chocolate or gold coin, the child would choose chocolate. It ispremature to think that because the child cannot decide the value. Adults probably judge children
immature because children don’t know the fact that if there is more money, they can buy morechocolate. However, even though money is important, adults must learn a point of view that children’s
sensitivity is sometimes better than being a slave of money, gold coins and wealth.
After the disaster, water is more valuable in Palu. Especially your throat feels dry when you walk toaffected areas to areas on foot under the terribly hot sun. Something I learned in the Middle East, I
found a small pebble and put it into my mouth like a candy, for try not to let my mouth become dry.
While walking for many kilometers, my breath become naturally fast and naturally I keep opening
my mouth. Then, thirst feeling increases. Even you drink a water bottle at once, our thirsty feelingwill be never healed. At such time, the local victims give compassion to visitors from Japan and theyshare their precious water without saying anything. In Vanuatu, Nepal, Vietnam and the Middle East,4

I did not drink water until I had boiled it. However, I could not use electricity at Palu, so I could not
use the coil-type kettle that I brought from Japan. So we had drunk unboiled water with thanking it.
Since we had only one meal a day, so we didn’t suffer for
diarrhea. The water inside us became sweat and emitted
immediately. The times to relieve nature extremely reduced.
Toilets were not able to use anywhere. If we could eat one
rice ball per a day, we were lucky. We always head tooverseas volunteers with preparedness for fasting for aweek. However, in the mountains, jungles and deserts, atsuch unknown foreign places, we use cautious mind morethan necessary so that we continuously suffer for tension
and physical severe wasting. Once the situation gets easier,we suddenly hunger and thirst. It was awakenings ofinstinct that human have. Then you encounter the limits that you face hardness to endure like the third
day after starting a fasting. But still, if a poor child looks at me, it is natural to share food together.
Such a smile of a child gives power to us. In other words, the “En (=relationship)” with people will
be a power to endure adversity than food and drink. The principle of “Volunteer- Do” is based on “En”
of “me and you”, and “God’s kingdom” is fulfilled there.
Since the water does not flow anywhere at hand-wash stations, terrible smells are going around theplace nearby. At the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the situations at Tohoku Expressway Michinoku
Izumi service area, the first medical supplies delivery site the Saito Hospital, Ishinomaki City, andthe Kama Elementary School that we met at evacuation shelter, were all same.
However, what the most depressing strong smell is a human dead body. You cannot compare withthe dead smell of dogs, cats and other animals. It is a strange smell that you feel pain from the noseto the top of your head. Indeed, we don’t have enough food to eat, but our appetite goes away for awhile once you smell it. “’Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of thedead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’” (John 11:39). Even thedry area of the Middle East, the bad smell starts in “four days”. The time we do rescue volunteer ataffected place Palu was the third, fourth and fifth days after the disaster. Damage of the dead bodies
were terrible and the damage due to the earthquakes and prominences cannot be seen directly justsame as Tsunami effect.

(2) Hell of the disaster affected area
a. Asian GamesThe 18th Asian Games held from August 18th to September 2nd, 2018, and the games were held at
Jakarta–Palembang, the capital city of Indonesia. This time, Palu, where suffered for heavily damage,locates at middle of Indonesia. It is located at the fourth largest island in Indonesia, Sulawesi(formerly Celebes). The island has the shape of the alphabet “K”.
5

Exhumation of a body Roa Roa Hotel. October 3, 2018

A month before the big earthquake occurred, whole Indonesia was filled with enthusiasm. Prior to
the games, President Joko Widodo expected “16 of gold medals and within 10 in total rank”. And at
the end of the games, Indonesia had 31 gold medals and 98 medals in total. Ranking was the fourth,following to China, Japan and Korea. Among other things, even Indonesia was the badminton
kingdom, it weakened in recent year and they were humiliated to finish in last place at the last time
convention. However, they had revived with a gold medal, so the country just has become so fantastic
triumph.
The Jakarta Airport is not only as an international airport to welcome visitors from all over the world,
but also an ultra-modern building that utilizes the enough comfortable space. Japan was the top until
1982 when China entered full-scale competition, but recently we are following to China and Korea.
Although it was the second place in this year, what I think that if the Korean Peninsula will be unified
in the future, the competition become more complicated and I don’t know how far Japan can keep its
second place.
One of the first events adopted at the Asian Games is a hang gliding. It is said that the sky diver ofEurope began to descend a mountain from the top with a parachute in 1978 was the beginning. It has
wings that shapes like with that very close to real bird wing, and it uses the ascending air to fly in thesky without using an engine. The score will be determined with accurate landing point.
b. Scouting
There are three Indonesian who have become close while I was volunteering. One of them said that
he is interested in the hang gliding. His volunteer cloth had a print of “MIMI”. That was his nickname. Mr. Amir Mahmuy is not only a hang gliding athlete, but also a superviser of Boy Scout’s Palu
headquarters where gather people from all over the country for rescue.
Left: Mr. Mimi, Right: Doctor Husam Ahmad

Indonesia has the most scout population in theworld. Compare to about 5.97 million haveregistered in the United States, 8,103,835 people
have registered in Indonesia. Boy Scouts began inIndonesia from the Dutch rule era in 1912.
Scouting has also adopted into school education.
Through scouting, moral consciousness has beencultivated since childhood. Even in the disaster
affected area Palu City, I received a kind act manytimes. For example, when I drop off my things,
6somebody always make me notice about it immediately. I think that it is the influence of the scouting
to shoe the concern that really attentive to others needs. I saw a scout uniform everywhere in thedisaster affected area.
The Scout Association of Japan (SAJ) has decided not to use “B” of Boy in recent years so that evengirls can participate. Once it was called BSJ (Boy Scout Association of Japan). It is said “Scout
movement”, the principle of scout activity is “movement”. On the other hand, at Kobe International
Sustaining Organization, “activities” is the center of our action. The point becomes a line, and it
eventually spread to be surface of “movement”, and its emphasis is on not only in youth activities,
but also in the field of enterprises, education and politic. According to Mr. Soichi Ooya, he mentionedthat “most of the things that has name of movements originate in Toyohiko Kagawa” in Japan. His
movement has no end once you start to count it, such as Peace movement, social work, labour
movement, Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, and Consumers' co-operatives4).
The spirit of Toyohiko Kagawa, who devoted to salvation activity, is inherited in our organization.
The reason why our organization emphasizes individual “activities” rather than “movements” isbased on self-initiative, gratitude and dialogue “to stand alone” 5).
Rather than becoming a number one, each one is irreplaceable only one and it is natural to be with
one person by one. Kenji Miyazawa wrote to the suffering people, “strike into one by one, and go
into them with putting fire on yourself” 6). We seek for a sheep even left 99 other sheep.
c. Eight floors Hotel, Roa Roa HotelOn October 3, Mr. Denny, general manager of the eight floor high Roa Roa Hotel was watching overthe debris whether there were any survivors.
I heard that 48 people were kept in among 50 rooms. One day before, seven people were found in aday. However, five of them were already dead. On the day of the earthquake, among guests, Korean
hang gliding national athlete Lee Dongjin (39 years old) was staying at the hotel, and he was foundfrom under completely destroyed building. He was the only victim of foreigner. Mr. Mimi and Dr.
Husam from Jakarta who I met on October 1, they also came on the site. Both of them were proficientin English. From South Korea, not only media officials, but also mother of Mr. Lee came over to Palu
to confirm Mr. Lee's safety. The possibility of Mr. Lee’s survival was hardly any left. Mother’s
heartbreaking painfulness Korean expression “Aigo” gave sadness to the people around.
Rescue dogs in Indonesia are also looking for survivors. Although the numbers of unidentified
person are many, the local rescue team responsive person Mr. Kresna Riyanto Chandra (32 years old)
said that they will make effort at least two weeks.
We could do our activity together with rescue team because of Mr.Chandra’s consideration.
Indonesians are generous.
Professor Takashi Irifune [1934 -2001], who spent his time in Indonesia, was my professor at Kobe
Reformed Theologinal Seminary. He had been hospitalized due to a terminal cancer at the Hirano
Hospital of Kobe University. The visiting time was limited to 5 minutes. There many visitors were
waiting in line to meet with him. When I entered by myself, he strongly grasped my hand and did not7release me. That was the power of all his strength. I could not even break free my hand and 45 minutes
had passed. He had clear beautiful eyes that I could not believe that he was 66 years old. I heard on
next day that immediately after my visit, he fell down from his bed because of severe pain. And heleft to heaven. At that time, I had ended the controversy with heretics in doctrine and was full ofanxiety because of that I was trying to step in a new path of consensus of the Christian churches as aecumenical movement. Professor Irifune always encouraged me warmly. He concerned about his
student and left him to me. He knew that I was confused by too much expectation. Therefore, hegrasped my hand by the power, which cannot be regarded as a sick person, and I just could answer“Yes” by his tremendous power. It was a mysterious relationship that I go to the place where Professor
Irifune had spent nine years of his life. Professor Irifune touched the pious spirituality of theIndonesian and kept his whole life to live with the presence God. It was a pleasure to serve for
returning the courtesy to Indonesian who raised my professor.
(3) Encountera. Encounter with President Joko Widodo and Minister Basuki Hadimuljono
Although President Joko successfully completed the Asian Games and the next election is close,
when he saw the reality of over 2,000 deaths in Palu, he immediately made his decision to act as soon
as possible. He reached the site to encourage rescue teams, police officers and relative people to beable to rescue survivors within rule of 72 hours after the disaster. He stated at the government damage
response meeting, “the highest priority was evacuation of the victims”. When we arrived at Palu on
October 3, that was the same day that president made his second visit on site.

Second person from right: The Indonesian President
Joko Widodo.
Second person from left: Ms. Puan Maharani,
Coordinating Minister of Human Development andCulture. (Grandchild of the first President of Indonesia
Sukarno)A tide embankment at Taro district at Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture was called “Great Wall”. That
was the world’s most symbolic existence of Tsunami disaster prevention, so visitors from overseas
were also frequent. However, the X-shaped of 10 meters high and 2433 meters in total length tideembankment was broken down at 3:25 pm on March 11, 2011. According to eyewitness testimony,8

“The height of Tsunami was twice the height of the embankment”. The city was fully destroyed, andout of the 4,434 population in the district, nearly 200 people were died and missing.
There was also a testimony that “Because of the sense of security that a great tide embankment ishere, so a lot of people had failed to escape”7).
In the case of Palu in Indonesia, since there was no worldly proud tide embankment, so they didn’t
have any technical confidence to be bloated with pride, and that is different from Tarou town case.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami experience, which 227,898 people lost their lives,
did not become a lesson. Natural disasters will challenge themselves with laughing silently against
the functions of human beings’ technology, economy and politics.
b. I lost my family
Mrs.Dian (38 years old), who lost her parents and her husband after 7pm on September 29, was left
behind with her 3-year-old daughter. Since she was with full of scratches, so even she covered herself
with chador, she looked very painful. She said to me in a weak voice, “I lost my family.”The Indonesian rescue team has gathered from all over the country voluntarily. They ride on thetruck by a unit of 20 people from the place where they are sleeping on the floor, and they engage inurgent care, dead body confirmation and transportation at Petobo area from early morning until 8 pm.
Mr. Chandra introduced me to the members from all over the country and accepted me as a colleague.
We involved in urgent care. We devoted ourselves to do “care”, not “cure”.
All of the rescue team sleeps on the floor at night. Since there is no enough water, we minimize to
use toilet as much as possible.
While I was having a meeting with responsible person Mr. Chandra, a man named Steffen Limboki(43 years old) visited me because he wanted to invite me to his house. I negotiated with responsible
officer at the rescue headquarter, and I left from theteam and visited Mr. Limboki’s house. His family
is one of the only few families that was able toescapefromtsunami,earthquakes
andprominences. Even under the emergency time ofblackouts, his wife agreed to welcome guest fromJapan, so his family is very kind to Japanese. It wasalso an adventure to be away from the rescue teamand Mr. Chandra, I decided to follow without any
anxiety that I would be isolated at somewhere.
When we arrived at Mr. Limboki’s house, four children welcomed me and my tension was gone. I
recalled the situation at Ishinomaki City that flies appeared abnormally after the Tohoku earthquake
and tsunami. Huge flies clung around the table. Those flies were big as same as one in the SF world.
But I saw them rarely in the following year. In Palu, flies, mosquitoes and small creatures are movingaround even in the house. The family provided me an instant noodle. After the meal, I had a relaxedtalk with junior high and high school children.
9Land surveying of many vacant places is a big issue, because it is prominence and liquefied. Mr.
Limboki talked with his family and children. Amount of time, physical strength and responsibilities
are required for raising children. It seems that they shared and discussed own views each other on
how to express gratitude to God because they could escape from crisis of this time disaster. As a result,it was agreed that KISO provide one million yen from Japan as construction fund, including land
price and maintenance fee will be covered by local according to the agenda of KISO.
They also agreed to receive the full amount of educational expenses from the foster parents in Japanthat 3,000 yen every month per a child from “Kayoko Fund” until they will be adults.
I came to know on the next day, all of the Limbokis were praying to God together. They reached tothe conclusion that taking care of orphans is originally from the Bible, so they are willing to do it.
Everyone was a Christian.
c. The Exodus or go out Palu
Even I want to eat, but nothing to buy. Compare with Japan, Indonesia is very cheap in price and thecountry is easy for Japanese to live. However, in Palu, every store is destroyed, and there is nothing.
There is even no water. The line of cars that waiting for refueling gasoline is endless. People started
to wait on a 1km long line from 7 pm, and finally we could purchase gasoline at 4 am in early morning.
However, one person only can get 1 liter. It is reasonable enough that we cannot go far from Palu
because every road is damaged.
Therefore, during the first three days after I arrived, no matter how much money I have, it wasabsolutely worthless. I heard information that the prisoners escaped from the prison through thejudgment of the guards so that they did not die under broken building. And if the escaped-prisoners
return themselves to the original prison, they will get a reduced sentence. Robbery is not done byprisoners, but parents are in need to steal groceries for their hungry children and old people. It can behappened anywhere in the world, including Japan. Journalists should write about huge evils ofpoliticians, business community and bureaucrats, rather than focus on small bad behaviors of victims.
I had my responsible for returning to Kobe by 5 pm on October 5 because of press conference ofArticle 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Friday. Last year, I went out for overseas volunteering, so I
caused troubles to other standing committee members.
However, on both October 1st and 2nd, the foreign presses had to cancel all the planned airplanes. It
was because that Indonesians who are unstable to survive by losing their homes, families andhousehold properties must be transported to the big city Makassar in Sulawesi, Jakarta preferentially.
Evacuation of Indonesian was the top priority. Money does not help anything at the airport. Tens of
thousands of people were waiting at the vacant space of the hot airport where was like a burning ironplate. That was a situation feeling like boiled for infants, torture for elderly people, and wounds ofhandicapped people were spreading. Since people must wait on the line for toilet, many people don’t
go to the toilet so people were discharging own things everywhere. It evaporated quickly. There is no
shading, trees and the shade of the buildings. The only thing to protect oneself from the burning sun
was a piece of corrugated board that each one has. I was kept waiting at the airport for 22 hours with
10

Australian reporters whom I became familiar with. Everyone had nothing to eat and drink. Looking
at Indonesians who are enduring under the burning sun, I could not complain to airline company for
unilateral cancellation. Only among us, we whispered each other “Damn it!” I saw the Japanese forthe first time. I was able to distract myself by interchanging words in Japanese with NHK’s Fujishita
Asia General Director and the excellent NHK reporters living in Jakarta.
There were operations to transport about 200 people per one time by Indonesian Air Force aircrafts,
but it was only for Indonesians.
What happened was that even other foreign journalists were not allowed, but only me was led tooutside of the airport with other Indonesians
It was a piston transportation of about 10 flights to Makassar. Only 255 people can escape from Palu
at a time. It took about a hour by taking 5 minute intervals to reach the place where C-130 Hercules
locates. And we received a green light to ride on. Then, everyone who got turn to ride on felt in safe
and started crying. The emotion that finally had a moment to be released from the hell came up.
Elderly people and young people, all together cried out. Some people got severe sun burn because
they had stayed under the burning sun, and it looked like that they got a skin disease.
There was an elderly woman who was pleased and walking lightly for 500 meters from the place
where she was waiting to the airplane. It was just like watching a drama that the ancient Israeli people
who were suffering in Egypt were led to a land flowing with milk and honey. Boarding ramp came
down from the back of the airplane, and it became like a rush hour that the whales were pushed inside
the whaling ship. There were no air conditioners, electric fans and seats, so people set down on thefloor. The inside was unstable, and I was holding the hand of an old woman who was dying for anhour and a half. I felt the first 30 minutes like 30 hours. When Albert Einstein [1879-1955] explained
the theory of relativity, he used an example, “Please try to put your hand on a hot stove for one minute.
You would feel like an hour. However, when you take a seat next to a pretty girl for an hour, you justfeel like a minute. That is the relativity”8).
I imagined about the old woman's young time while I was holding her hand to support, so I didn't
feel time so long.
When the airplane arrived at the military base in Makassar, sweated every people came out all at
once and inhaled tasty air to full of breasts under the blue sky. Not only local people, but also womengroups, Moslem religious groups and members of Boy Scouts from all over the country welcomed
victims with a smile. I could see and feel from their face expressions that people were telling inIndonesian language, “You survived so well”, “You have not eaten for days, haven’t you?”, and “You
tried so well”. Even I was a foreigner who did not look like a refugee even I did not take a bath for aweek and smelly, people welcomed me too. As soon as we got on the military truck, everyone was
happy to have the first meal in a week. Everyone was a family, a companion, and a friend. We sharedsame hardships of the hell of Palu, hot iron plate like airport and extremely hot sauna together. Tears
were coming down my cheeks naturally when I taste the feelings of compassions to receive homecooked lunch boxes, fruits, cookies and other things. That was a utopia where there was no differencein occupations, social positions and religions. Crustal movement, liquefaction, prominence, and11fluidization in Palu cannot be solved even how much AI (artificial intelligence) will be developed andpromoted.
I smiled to my wife inside of my heart, “It is delicious, isn’t it?” The heart of the Indonesians thatcare about own friend moved my heart. It is written, “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but
motives are weighed by the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:2). “Spirit” (Hebrew ruwach <<Spirit>>) is spiritual.
In other words, it can be said that health is related not only to physical, mental, and social but also to
the satisfaction of “spirit”. Whether it is Islam, Buddhist, or Christian, “spiritual” joy had a power tomove that transcend the words. Egbert Schuurman, Dutch thinker, said about the crisis of natural
disasters is, “Fundamentally, it is not a matter of neither technical nor economic problem. It is areligious matter more than anything else. Therefore, we should seek solutions in the direction in thatway”.
In Japan, the image of “religion” is functioning negatively. “It’s a religion”, “It looks like a religion”,“Are you going to be be under mind control?” and so on. However, in Indonesia, it is natural thateach person believes in God. Rather, non-religious Japanese are heterogeneous people. Therefore,
human beings will be aware to focus on other parts than visible parts such as the traces of tsunami in
Palu, cracks of earthquakes and prominence.
<Conclusion>
People did not commit suicide, even they were the sport of massive earthquakes, gigantic tsunamis
and huge crustal prominence, and lost their precious families, houses and properties. Why did notPalu people choose self-death as the right to die? I was made to think while I was walking throughthe disaster affected area that people might have sensed the will of the transcendental existence
intuitionally. Suicide is the way to do the last revenge to oneself. In some cases, it may be selected asa card for trying to make beloved one to have a feeling of remorse. However, when we experience
the roar of the crazy earth and frightened of aftershocks, we deeply think about the missions, roles
and purpose for surviving. Own emotions, desires and ambitions had been completely denied, andeven the way of live to curse the meaningless life was denied. A song for a life has come to bloom.
The mind was prepared to harmonize purely with the will of the universe. The theology of Eros thatis full of compassion on the birth of life, “Just live is enough” became clearly. It is Eros of the life,
not the male and female Eros. Animals learned the instinctive intimidation to protect own child fromthe enemy. I pray peace for those who survived as missionaries who reconcile nature and humans.

Reference
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⑨“Konondesakewo nomubekarazu.”⑩ “Sangakyuseki shitashikutazune hairubeshi. Aratani watashinonawo tukubekarazu.”
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