“We won’t leave here!!”
Filipino and Indonesian nurses choose to remain in the disaster area in Tohoku.
Many medical teams are working for 24 hours in the disaster area. These teams include Filipino and Indonesian nurses and trainee nurses who come to Japan under EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement).
“I cannot leave the elder people behind,” “I am not afraid of the earthquake. I want to help everyone,” said some of these heroic nurses. Their home countries have praise them as “the pride of the country” (Indonesia government), and “heroin of nurses” (Philippine Media) for their devoted attitudes. Their patients are equally impressed and proud of them.
When many foreigners started exiting Japan because of the Fukushima Nuclear crisis, 4 Filipino student nurses stayed on in an old folks’ home in Fukushima where 12 elderly persons had passed away after the Tsunami. They are nurse Mercedez Akino (27) from Nueva Vizcaya province; former NGO staff Ms. Juliet Tobai (27) from Baguio city in Luzon Island and another 2 Filipino nurses.
“I will protect them”
Ms. Akino’s family who is in the Phillipines has called her repeatedly to urge her to return home but she said “the grandmothers have always been kind to me and always giving me chocolates or note books to study Japanese all the time. We cannot just leave without them”
“Ignoring instructions to leave, from the Indonesian Embassy”
Ms. Rita Rutonanintias (35) is from Semarang, Java province in Indonesia and she has been working and studying to be a nurse in the Miyagi Hospital located in Yamamoto-cho. She had refused the instructions by the Indonesian Embassy for them to immediately go to Tokyo. She has remained and working in the area for 1 week since the earthquake had struck.
On March 11th, she has a day off and had stayed at home when the big earthquake hit. She ran to the hospital and together with others witnessed the 10 meter high Tsunami smashing through their town. She also helped lead 120 patients to the higher floors of the hospital. 
As there is a hill in front of the hospital it was not directly hit by the Tsunami. Right after the tsunami waves had hit the hospital, more than a hundred evacuees came to seek refuge in the hospital. There were no electricity, water and no communications with the outside world for a week.
Presently Ms. Rita has already been evacuated back to Indonesia to be with her husband and two children who has been very anxious and worried about her. But she has decided to go back to Yamamoto-cho in April.
“Each day after work, everyone teaches me Japanese language. They have shown me their kindness in so many ways. They are suffering now so I want to help them back.”
“Repay an obligation from Sumatra.”
Indonesian nurse Ms. Suwartie (32) came to Japan in 2008 and has been working at the Himeji Red Cross Hospital in Himeji-city, Hyogo prefecture and at the same time studying for the state nursing examination 8 hours a day. She managed to passed the examination this year (announced on 25th March 2011).
After the announcement she held a press conference in the Hospital and said “please send me to the disaster area” with tears in her eyes. She was a member of the medical team during the Sumatra Aceh earthquake and tsunami in 2004.
“When Indonesia suffered from the disaster, many Japanese people came and helped us. So this time I want to repay them even though in a small way”
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