March 21st, 2009	

Disaster Recovery and Disaster
Memory Transference-Cases of Turkey and Japan-

Mayumi SAKAMOTO
Research Center for Disaster Reduction Systems,
Disaster Prevention Research Institute,Kyoto University

Disaster Recovery	
“The restoration, and improvement whereappropriate, of facilities, livelihoods and living
conditions of disaster-affected communities,including efforts to reduce disaster risk factors”
UNISDR terminology of disaster risk reduction (2009)

üImportance of integrating future disaster risk
reduction strategy in recovery process.
üNatural Disaster has strong relation withgeographic location, thus strategy to mitigatelocal disaster risk is required in recovery process.
üNot to forget the event and transfer the memory
could be a way to mitigate future disaster risks.

Does thesetransfer memoryof disaster?	
Earthquake Cultural Museum(Turkey, 2005)	

Aceh, Indonesia, 2004 	

Southern Leyte,
Philippines, 2006

9.11 Earthquake Museum,Taiwan, 1999	

Tsunami height
memorial poll,Aceh, Indonesia, 	Contents	
Focus on the Memory of Disaster1. Concept of Memory and Its Transference.
2. What memories to be transferred?
-case of 1995 Kobe Earthquake (Japan)3. Who is transferring memory?
-case of 1999 Marmara Earthquake (Turkey).
4. Results and Recommendations

Memory of Disaster	• Disaster is a transient event.
• The disaster as a fact remain in memories
of people/place that have experienced it.
The memory is easily to be forgotten.

The Concept of Memory
Local memory

Personal memory

Memory remains inpeople who has
Experienced it.

Collective Memory

Socialized Memory

If the event like disasteroccurs common memory
remain people who haveexperienced it. (subjective)

Put some social meaning to
the common memory.
(objective)

People who have experienced theevent

Museums, monuments,
books, annual eventsetc.

Meaning of the memory and transference• memory transference is influenced by whatmeaning memory has.
Meaning of Memory

Transference action

Disaster as tragedy
which took their family,friends, houses away

Condolence for lostfamily, friends etc.

Disaster as anexperience which
destroyed urban city
showing its vulnerability

disaster mitigation

2. What memory to be transferred?
-Kobe Earthquake Jan. 17th 1995Memory collection by victims started right after theearthquake.

l Transfer all disaster related memories
ü

collection of notes, hand outs, journals, photos,
papers, voice records, videos etc.
ex) Kobe Univ. Library, Digital Archive.

l Transfer memory with its meaning.
ü Transfer memory of their lost family, friends, houses.
ex) disaster/person/place related monuments	ü Transfer lessons learnt through the earthquake.
ex) Disaster Reduction Institute	Does the museum transferring
all disaster memory?	
• “The museum seems
like transferring entire
memory, however, it istransferring certain
aspect of theevent” (Kasahara, 2009.
p.10)• Memory focus more on
disaster lessons.
Visitors receive justcertain memory but notentire memory ofDoes monument transfer memory?
• 285 monuments were established after disaster.
“Monuments don’t speak. Each monuments could
be forgotten. “• In order to transferüMonuments map: mapping location of all monuments
üMonument communication walk: Both victims andvisitors visit monuments remembering the event.

Local people initiative for memory transference(victims ⇔ non victims)

Life Recovery of Citizens	• Life Recovery: The condition which disastervictims feel their life to be recovered.
• Critical Elements for Life Recovery (based ongrassroots stakeholder assessment workshop of 1995Kobe earthquake)	

1. Housing
Housing	(2003)	
1.
2. Social Ties	
3. Community Rebuilding	
4. Physical and Psychological Health	
5. Preparedness	
6. Economic and Financial Situation	
7. Relation to Government
8. Change of Values (2003)
9. Transfer Memory/ Lessons of Disaster (2003)		

Memory transference ofKobe Earthquake• Collect personal memory(story, photo, note,papers, etc.,) and create local memory.
• Many monuments and museums.
• Many memories, however, there were wide
recognition that monuments, museums focus
on certain aspect of memory and sometimes donot talk.
• In order to transfer memory, participation oflocal people who have experienced the event
is important.

3. Who is transferring memory?
Marmara Earthquake,Nov.12th, 1999,Kaynaşlı,Turkey	 Marmara Earthquake• August 17th, 1999
• November 12th, 1999

Photo : Acil Destek Vakıf	

Kaynaşlı
• Epicenter of Nov. 12th earthq.
North Anatolian Fault crossthe city.
• Population: 22,000
Killed: 316 wounded:543

Kaynaşlı Earthquake Memoryand Information Center	

Kaynasli Women’s Center	

The center started Nov. 12th, 2005 by local women’s
initiative with a support from Kaynaşlı municipality. It is apart of women’s center.

Memory inside the center	
1 Memory of building
damage	3 Memory of people	

2 Memory of naturalhazard	How to transfer memory?
Memory of all the victims,with story	

Narrative volunteer (victim, women) accompany
visitoractivate the memory	Better understanding on Natural Hazard Risk	

“It is not earthquake but the building who killed thepeople.”ünot only damaged photo, but detailed hazard riskof the area they live in, and easy disaster risk
mitigation information are provided.

Easy access for school children	school	Center	Mother	Case of Turkey	
Memorize disaster as community’s local memoryüCollect hazard, disaster, personal memory to create
local memory.
üprovide disaster information in relation with their
daily circumstances → make people conscious.
ü women volunteer try to transfer the memory.
→ facilitate children participation→ better disaster preparation in their house.

Results and Recommendations	• To keep disaster ruins, make disaster relatedmonuments, disaster museums do not always
transfer disaster memory.
• In order to transfer memoryü people’s-who own the memory- participation isimportant.
üTo place disaster memory close to daily life.

• For disaster risks reduction intoüTry to integrate information of hazard risk of theirliving place and easy disaster risk reduction
methods as part of memory transference.