誰かが言わなきゃならない

1. NHK report, too late!

NHK reported in its morning news of April 16 on its survey results of evacuation environment. Surprising! It reported: 44% complaining cold meals, imbalanced menus; and 50% a bath once a week, 4% never, etc. The impact of a nationwide report is big! But already one month since evacuation started. Why couldn’t it covered and made known earlier? NHK could and should have warned earlier.
The Ministry of Welfare and Health seems not very concerned, either. The Central Emergency Headquarters in Tokyo do not grasp the local situations. They do not have the philosophy of the minimum level of QOL to secure, either, for the refugees. People here want to say to them: Eat yourself what we eat; Spend days yourself without a bath, etc.
The prefecture officials look sorry when they say, “Our meals are normal as before,” responding to our question. The town officials live in the same conditions with us. The Emperor and Empress were reported to live a frugal life in sympathy with the people in hardships. Those government people who went back to suit styles from working costumes, are they taking quality meals, as before?

2. School life of children: A story of a grand-kid of my friend

The boy started to go to a junior high school in Koriyama, 15 minutes walk away. He had to change the school from Tomioka-cho to Koriyama. There are 500 pupils in total at the school, 20 are from Tomioka-cho, and about 4 per each 30 pupil class are from Tomioka-cho. His younger brother, too, goes to a primary school by a school bus. Two boys come back from school before lunch. From next week, afternoon classes will start.
School bags were provided, used ones by their senior graduates, but almost new: Brand new indoor sneakers, too, as well as uniforms for the elder boy. The boy was induced to join club activities of his favorite, but he did no make his decision yet. Back in Tomioka-cho, he was active in basket ball, but now he is in the highest grade (Grade 3) and has to prepare for the next year entrance exams to a high school.
Today two boys received a message of Prime Minister Kan and Minister Takagi of MEXT. The message is printed on both sides of an A4 sheet. The content encourages the children, but not in children’s language. School started, but
the Big Palette is not a good place for study. The boy is seeking for a possibility to move and live with his grand parents.3. Cardboard houses
People here in the Big Palette are keen on enclosing (holding) a place for their living.
When a family leaves its place for some reason, the place is immediately occupied by somebody else. The first question to newcomers at the reception is, “Have you found your place to stay in the hall?” Without the space for sleeping, nobody is accepted. From the very beginning, the Big Palette is over populated, “beyond design basis” if such a number is pre-defined.
Like in a big town or a city, there are downtown and uptown areas in the Big Palette.
The first class spots are in the small rooms. Space in the dining hall is gone first. In the big room (ground and second floors), the wall side apace is also popular, because the wall can be used as a back rest. Space near the vending machines or big TV screens is also popular to some people. Latecomers have to start from an inferior spot, e.g., along dusty pathways. They try to find a better place when someone moves.
It was so terrible that the emergency headquarters forbid occupying any space on narrow pathways. Nevertheless, some space is enclosed for sleeping. The congestion seems mitigated a bit in recent days, but still remains much worse
than that of other evacuation camps, the one in Tokyo, for instance, as seen on TV.
If someone leaves the space, a poster may be placed there, saying “This space is reserved for a person who needs nursing cares.”Most aged people simply place a blanket on the floor of their space. Many other people enclose their space with cardboard walls. Cardboards can be obtained, free of charge, at the
material storage. Boxes of aid supplies received can be recycled, too.
Certain heights are needed in order to block external eyeshot. Some“cardboard houses” have even roofs and seem tall as though they can reach the ceiling. They look like a tall toy house. They have a disadvantage, too: too little light
inside. Some “houses” on the terrace area on the first floor are covered by “blanket roofs” for warmth. Some “houses” have even hand-made cardboard drawers, a post or shoe cupboard.
The big hall seems an exhibition arena for cardboard craftwork. The Prefecture owns the Big Palette. The director allows us to stay as long as we need. But
a new concern comes up: air conditioning in hot summer?