誰かが言わなきゃならない

1. “Radiation levels being stable or lowered” answers to refugees?

Most media report, “The radiation levels are stable or being lowered.” They don’t understand at all what the refugees want to know. They want to know, “Does it mean we can return home immediately?” or “How many months do we have to wait before return, if the situation continues as it is now.” Media are in competition with each other in their reporting technique using NPP models, explanatory charts and “nuclear experts.”
Hearing the news on the INES Level 7, the same level with Chernobyl, people want to know, “How big was the evacuation zone in Chernobyl?”, “What occurred to the evacuees afterward?”, or “Can it be compared with out case of Fukushima?”, “What are the same and what are the difference between the two?” No useful reports are seen in media, in newspapers, either.
The refugees are listening to the reports in strong nervousness and anxiety, “Can we return home?”, “How soon?”, or “Do we have to abandon our rice pads and fields?” and “Do we have to start a new life somewhere else from the scratch?” They have nothing else to think but
to think such things all day long very seriously.

2. Causes of anxiety

“How soon can the accidents be terminated?” This is the most concerned subject of the refugees. The other big subject is the compensation. The counter actions of the government and TEPCO seem always following from behind.
Radioactive materials migrate to inland (west) on wind. High dose rate or soil
contamination in I-idate-mura and nearby mountainous areas could have been easily predicted.
Contaminated water release to outside and flooding on site is, too, when that enormous amount of water is charged into the reactor building from above. Incredible mistakes with no due consideration happen one after another: radiation over exposure of the workers by skipping radiation monitoring at the working place; work assign without dosimeters for them; or discharge of contaminated water to the Pacific with no prior notice causing complaints
from fishery associations and the government of South Korea.
As soon as some progress is seen for terminating the accidents, new issues are reported. Repeated incidents like these cause fears among the people whether the government and TEPCO are really capable of terminating the accidents. Everybody has fears of radiation and fears of future life. Their
psychological stresses are really strong.

3. “I-idate-mura is better!”

The government designated I-idate-mura as one of the “scheduled evacuation” zones. The village mayor and the villagers exchange views in each settlement. The villagers expressed their wishes concerning the location of evacuation camps and the compensation. It seemsmuch, much better than the people here in the Big Palette.
“We had to evacuate immediately. We did not even know where to evacuate. We heard nothing about compensation. If we had one month notice, we could have brought much more items together. The town people could have moved together, not being scattered here and there. We have sympathy to the people of
I-idate-mura why their radiation level is unusually high, why they have to be confused by the government decision of regulation. But they are much better than we are.
We had to evacuate here with no belongings.” They are not allowed to return home, being blocked by the invisible barricade of the “evacuation zones” and not able to check their own properties.

4. Pets (2)

Many walkers with dogs are seen among the refugees in the morning. Many people have them at home as watchdogs. The surroundings are good for having them. But they need daily exercises. Those who had to leave their dogs behind upon evacuation are reminded of them, and feel sorry when they see such walkers with
dogs.

5. Something questionable

Some Koriyama people escaped to Niigata (to the next northwest prefecture) in fears of radiation. Young people in Koriyama are resigned to escape in fears of radiation. Such news is really embarrassing. There are some people outside the evacuation zones who left their hometowns and stay at resort hotels for whom the prefecture or the authority in the resort areas pay.
The refugees from Minami-Soma-city (“indoor sheltering” zones), who stay at a ryokan, cost-free, in a village in Gunma Prefecture, are supported with US$25 per each daily. Such news causes the refugees in the Big Pallet to come up with angers, rather than a question why, why such unfairness can happen.
Why are we left behind? We should have a higher priority to get such awards. No clear explanations are given. What the prefecture or the town office respond is simply, “We are making our efforts.” Frustrating!