Feb. 20, 2012
March 2011 disaster unfolds quest by activists for better style of support for survivors
The catastrophe of March 11, 2011, notably the earthquake-triggered tsunami waves and the ensuing nuclear plant accident, represented not only the beginning of ordeal for survivors but also the start of struggle by civic activists to better their style of support for disaster-hit people across Japan.
The devastating earthquake and the killer tsunami waves as well as the radioactive leakage accident are believed to have caused a population shift of almost a million from northeastern and eastern Japan to the rest of Japan.
At least 3,000 to 4,000 people have evacuated from the affected regions and neighboring areas to Fukuoka Prefecture, the most populous region in Kyushu, southwestern Japan, according to Shinichi Iida, a Fukuoka City-based NPO activist. About 70 percent of the evacuees have come from the greater Tokyo area. This reflects fears of radioactive contamination following the explosion of three of the six reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s No.1 Fukushima nuclear power station, whose cooling water system was damaged by the tsunami waves.
“We must be aware that the whole of Japan has become a disaster area,” said Iida, 35, a native of Tokyo. He represents the Fukuoka Citizens’ Network established as a nonprofit organization after the disaster to support the evacuees and other affected people. The network loosely links NPO groups and other interested organizations for support to disaster-hit people who need help. Efforts to support the affected people should be carried out in a comprehensive manner in a long-term perspective, Iida said in a recent interview.
Support activities by Iida’s group are divided into outward, direct jobs in disaster areas and inward jobs, such as counseling, mental care and nursery service for evacuee families. The number of member entities involved in these jobs has increased to about 70 from eight at the start, said Iida, who himself works as a business consultant and a food education adviser.
Kazuhiko Imamura, an NPO activity leader in Fukuoka, also believes that support for the disaster areas must be continued in the long run.
He inaugurated local supporters’ conference and helped organize workshops and various other events from just after the disaster. But he now focuses on a longer-term approach for finding an effective means of supporting the livelihood of the affected people. “We have to question ourselves if our life has been truly sustainable” following the latest disaster, he said. What is questioned now is the way of life in unaffected areas, not in affected areas, Imamura said.
Imamura, 53, a veterinary surgeon, questioned, “Whether can we, those who consume massive amounts of electricity, truly support people suffering from radioactive contamination in the areas around the Fukushima nuclear plant?“
The natural disaster claimed approximately 19,000 lives and, combined with the nuclear plant accident, dislocated hundreds of thousands of people mainly in the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan.
Iida and his staff are busy sorting out life-related goods donated by supporters every time before supplying them to the evacuees in Fukuoka. Iida’s NPO group stores used refrigerators and other contributed big products in a warehouse, but small items, mainly those for kids, are piled up at a corner in his office.
The donated items are provided on a first-come-first-served basis free of charge to evacuees. So far, thousands of pieces of goods have been provided to 50 families. “The donated items we see here in today are limited, but we have lots of items in this office before putting them up on our web album” for supply to the evacuees, he said.
(MORE)
March 2011 disaster unfolds quest by activists for better style of support for survivors
The catastrophe of March 11, 2011, notably the earthquake-triggered tsunami waves and the ensuing nuclear plant accident, represented not only the beginning of ordeal for survivors but also the start of struggle by civic activists to better their style of support for disaster-hit people across Japan.
The devastating earthquake and the killer tsunami waves as well as the radioactive leakage accident are believed to have caused a population shift of almost a million from northeastern and eastern Japan to the rest of Japan.
At least 3,000 to 4,000 people have evacuated from the affected regions and neighboring areas to Fukuoka Prefecture, the most populous region in Kyushu, southwestern Japan, according to Shinichi Iida, a Fukuoka City-based NPO activist. About 70 percent of the evacuees have come from the greater Tokyo area. This reflects fears of radioactive contamination following the explosion of three of the six reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s No.1 Fukushima nuclear power station, whose cooling water system was damaged by the tsunami waves.
“We must be aware that the whole of Japan has become a disaster area,” said Iida, 35, a native of Tokyo. He represents the Fukuoka Citizens’ Network established as a nonprofit organization after the disaster to support the evacuees and other affected people. The network loosely links NPO groups and other interested organizations for support to disaster-hit people who need help. Efforts to support the affected people should be carried out in a comprehensive manner in a long-term perspective, Iida said in a recent interview.
Support activities by Iida’s group are divided into outward, direct jobs in disaster areas and inward jobs, such as counseling, mental care and nursery service for evacuee families. The number of member entities involved in these jobs has increased to about 70 from eight at the start, said Iida, who himself works as a business consultant and a food education adviser.
Kazuhiko Imamura, an NPO activity leader in Fukuoka, also believes that support for the disaster areas must be continued in the long run.
He inaugurated local supporters’ conference and helped organize workshops and various other events from just after the disaster. But he now focuses on a longer-term approach for finding an effective means of supporting the livelihood of the affected people. “We have to question ourselves if our life has been truly sustainable” following the latest disaster, he said. What is questioned now is the way of life in unaffected areas, not in affected areas, Imamura said.
Imamura, 53, a veterinary surgeon, questioned, “Whether can we, those who consume massive amounts of electricity, truly support people suffering from radioactive contamination in the areas around the Fukushima nuclear plant?“
The natural disaster claimed approximately 19,000 lives and, combined with the nuclear plant accident, dislocated hundreds of thousands of people mainly in the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan.
Iida and his staff are busy sorting out life-related goods donated by supporters every time before supplying them to the evacuees in Fukuoka. Iida’s NPO group stores used refrigerators and other contributed big products in a warehouse, but small items, mainly those for kids, are piled up at a corner in his office.
The donated items are provided on a first-come-first-served basis free of charge to evacuees. So far, thousands of pieces of goods have been provided to 50 families. “The donated items we see here in today are limited, but we have lots of items in this office before putting them up on our web album” for supply to the evacuees, he said.
(MORE)
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