For the last several months, I've been struggling to write what I found during my December 2012 visit to Fukushima, Japan, devastated two years ago by earthquake, tsunami and an accident at the nuclear power plant in the area. Recently, someone asked me whether I heard any stories from people affected by the triple disaster. Here are three that I believe outline the dimensions and effects of what happened in March 2011:
Mr. M was working at the Fukushima nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011, when the earthquake and tsunami damaged one of the reactors there. He felt the tremor and he and his crew stopped what they were doing and ran through smoke, dust and water to don protective gear and help out. He was exposed to radioactive particles which he brushed off his clothing and skin. He is confident that the amount of radiation he received will not cause him any harm. When he returned home, his wife and children had been evacuated from the area. Mr. M eventually located his wife and children at a school gymnasium used as an evacuation center. Concerned about his parents and unable to locate them, he left to search for them; when he returned, all of the evacuees had been moved to another location, and it took Mr. M hours to learn their whereabouts. He was eventually reunited with his wife, children and parents. They spent weeks in a refugee center, where the lights were always on and the only privacy was cardboard screens separating them from other families. Eventually, they moved into temporary housing, still a tight fit but with better privacy. The government of Japan provides about $980/month in support which does not go very far. Because Mr. M is licensed to operate heavy machinery, he was able to find occasional work in clearing debris and reconstructing roads and bridges but work is harder to find now. Two years after the earthquake and accident, he and his family remain uncertain about their future, since they cannot return to their home because of radiation levels, cannot find employment, and are required to pay back the mortgage on the house they can no longer occupy.
Mr. I is in his sixties, a fisherman all his life, based in Iwaki City. He and his family survived, but he has not been able to take his boat out for the last two years because the Japanese government has prohibited fishing there due to radiation contamination of the fish. Mr. I has had a difficult time earning a living, doing odd jobs and sometimes relying on help from other family members. He does not understand why the government was quick to rebuild roads and bridges but has not done anything for him and his fellow fishermen. He says the worst part of his situation is the uncertainty, since no one in authority will tell him when, or even whether, the ban on fishing will ever be lifted.
Mrs. T is a pastor's wife in Aizu, a city about 100 kilometers west of the site of the nuclear accident. The day of the earthquake, her husband left home to help with relief efforts on the coast. Initially, she felt her duty was to remain in Aizu and help the church community deal with the tension and uncertainty. Soon after, she found herself helping shelter people fleeing from the Fukushima area, including anti-nuclear activists, who convinced her that the fulll extent of the radiation dispersion and intensity was not being revealed by the government. Mrs. T's first concern was for her children, whom she initially took with her to a relative quite distant from Fukushima. She did return home, moved to act on behalf of those who could not or would not flee; with like-minded people she founded the Aizu Radiation Information Center, which engages in fact-finding, education and advocacy; she also helped establish a program of family vacations for those with young children to allow the children to play outdoors without protective gear and is active in seeking independent medical counsel for families of children exposed to radiation.
And here is a link to recent update. The story continues to unfold.
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