Rotary International 2530district community service committee
The Earthquake, NuclearAccident, and the Women of Fukushima
Return to Menu| Women and the Earthquake Chieko Hamada(Fukushima City) | |
Recorded June 10th, 201 1 On March 1 1th, Fukushima City was forced into a series of austerities, including cut off lifelines, and shortages of daily necessities such as food, gasoline, and kerosene. Some have seen their houses damaged or collapsed. Isn't this what it means to be a victim of the Great Earthquake? However, the degree of influence greatly differs from the many people who are forced to live as evacuees. In the same prefecture, people lost everything in the tsunami, including their homes and property. They were forced to run from the radiation caused by the nuclear plant disaster with nothing but the clothes on their backs. (It is different for the people in Fukushima City- 1 wonder if there is a more inclusive word to use, other than "refugee".) After the great earthquake, I saw horrible scenes being reported by the media. I was in awe at the power of nature. Unable to deal with these feelings, I began to wholeheartedly participate in volunteer activities. By chance, I happen to be a member of a local international volunteer group. In cooperation with other members, we inspected the current state of an evacuation shelter, and delivered a large amount of relief supplies. Understanding the status of the evacuees at the shelter (such as region, gender, age, or medical condition) was not enough; larges amount of supplied food was being discarded, while there were not enough necessary relief supplies, and almost no daily supplies necessary for women. I felt that it was important for us to focus on choosing relief supplies for the evacuation shelter from the perspective of women. I discovered that the mutual support system does not work smoothly, and does not work in favor of the evacuees. Sectionalism still persists, even in such an urgent situation. For example, there is a difference in shelters depending on whether the shelter is designated by the city or by the prefecture. It seems as though if shelters are suffering a shortage of goods, that it would be effective to share with other shelters. However, when I asked city officials about the circumstances of a prefectural shelter, they told me that they knew nothing about it, and to please talk to the prefectural government. Communication between the different levels of government is not smooth. Because the support system in not refugee-oriented, I felt strongly that a quick and seamless support system should be built in case of emergency. The other day, I had the chance to talk to the Mayor of Iidate, Norio Kanno. He said he is asking the government about evacuee issues. Except for the areas directly affected by the nuclear power plant, many evacuees assume they will be able to return to their beloved hometowns. To that end, they wish to be issued a certificate of residence for their hometown, even while evacuated to other areas. The mayor hopes that, in the end the government will consider utilizing the wisdom, passion, and thoughts of the inhabitants for recreating their familiar communities. Although we had been involved with the supply of relief supplies to evacuees, these days, we provide independence support to those who face an unpredictable future, living in temporary and rented housing. In cooperation with Namie, we continue participating in social welfare help hotlines with the Seiai Medical Law Association. Working in cooperation with officials at Fukushima University, we continue independence counseling, yoga, dispatching active listening volunteers to combat loneliness, and exchange activities for the health of the evacuees. In the middle of an activity, W, one of the evacuees, said "I worry about the Fukushima junior high school students who worked together to help hand out water during times of high radiation". My heart was moved by his caring, noble spirit. These days, the words "Gambaro! ", Let's do our best!" may feel empty, but we should still continue to support the independence of the evacuees, while also expanding the circle of government mutual assistance. |