Chan Kuei-E “Coming back to Iitate－Long way for Resurrection －”

I joined the “Iitate Study Tour” for three days and I became aware that it is irresponsible and simply whitewashing to say lightly, three and half years after the horrendous Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station 1 disaster, that “let’s go for resurrection as we are behind you” to former Iitate villagers who lived in government-declared “difficult-to-return zone” where they spend sleepless nights.

 

There was a good reason, though it was not entirely clear in my mind for joining this tour, all the way from Taiwan. I wanted the Taiwan people, particularly university students to know the extent of damages from radioactive contamination wrought by nuclear accident and to share the feeling of pain and suffering of the surviving victims – from which they have not yet recovered. The “scenery” which I saw with my own eyes just after I arrived in Iitate was entirely different and completely tragic, from the scene which I have seen in beautiful Tohoku where I visited very often when I was studying in Japan. There were lot of empty houses, alongside otherwise remarkable streets, weird shadows of loose black vinyl bags in what was erstwhile a beautiful rural “SATOYAMA” (undeveloped woodland near populated area). Even under such dire circumstances, I noted that autumnal color was starting to bloom. However, also noticeable were stumps of dead “Igune” (grove of trees surrounding a residence) which should have been rising now into the blue sky of early autumn; corpus of bugs on spider web in deserted cowsheds, and other evidences of death and destruction.

 

I came here to Itate, though I am foreign to this area, recalling the past when I visited Fukushima as a tourist, but I could not stop suffering from the dreary and tragic scene in front of me. And I was at a loss for words, imagining the pitiful and helpless heart-rending cries of the victims in the midst of the disaster. I also thought of how to give comfort to the inhabitants whose ancestors settled here since a few hundred years ago, and who had continued to keep their land and dearly oved dense forests I also pondered how these venerable ancestors would consider the total loss of their homeland which was their proud legacy to their descendants. I was utterly overwhelmed by such scenes. In my musing, I regretted and blamed myself for not being able to do anything and of my thoughtless arrogance for not clearly understanding the purpose of my visit here.

 

However, in the midst of such a whirlpool of self-hatred, I was able to meet the heroes who risked life and limb in the post-disaster rescue and resurrection effort and who provided a lot of dazzling lights of hope.

 

These heroes include members of the “Fukusima Saisei no Kai (Resurrection of Fukushima)” team, headed by Mr. Yoichi Tao, who are undertaking head-on the fight against radioactive contamination, with persistent challenging spirits using the latest available high-technology; Mr. Muneo Kanno who leads an activity of resurrection communities, with a cool and collected judgment and strong leverage, though he has been irritated at the situation whose ending nobody can predict; Mr. Hideya Terashima, journalist, who runs the media front in order to send messages to the world global network about the progress of the effort at radioactive contamination control/eradication in Fukushima. It is noteworthy that the contamination is fading away with the passage of time. Other noteworthy heroes are: Ms. Yuiko Oishi who embraces people around her with affection, keeping the faith of “Madei” which is originated in the Soma area and means “slow life”, by which men live together with nature, wholeheartedly; and Mr. Kenta Sato who has a youthful spirit and keeps up his thoughts and memories of home lands even as he despairs of his loss. Not to be forgotten are the volunteers who frequently visit the contaminated areas, at the risk of their lives, to render moral and physical labor support to the grief-stricken folks. This compassionate outpouring of support for the people of Fukushima will be long-remembered for the next fifty or hundred years.

 

As I watched the volunteers and the villagers doing their resurrection and rebuilding tasks calmly and vigorously, I began to think what I can do to help, instead of whining uselessly. Seeing such brave effort and determination by these people to confront difficulties even with possible tragic consequences, and overcoming personal fears, I was filled with the feeling to join and go with them and help in whatever way I can.

 

I might have joined this tour without fully understanding the situation at the Itate village and relied mainly on my emotion. But, when I saw the sincere and courageous effort of the villagers and volunteers, I got a chance to face my own weakness, especially the fear of radioactive contamination. I came back to Taiwan with a big issue, as a small gift to myself, that I cannot help anybody in their resurrection project in Iitate if I cannot get over my personal weakness. At that time it was still difficult for me to say what I could do specifically. But, after returning to Taiwan, I took every opportunity to speak to university students about what I saw and experienced in Iitate and I shared information with interested people about how the Iitate villagers were going about their resurrection activities.

 

There is a long way to go to continue sharing the pain of the people in the Soma area and the Iitate village. But we cannot and must not give up. It is important to dispatch to the world a cry of the soul of the Fukushima sufferers. I deeply realized in this tour that we have to shift our eyes to their down-to-earth activities and support their effort for resurrection. Taking advantage of a little change in the minds of each participant, including myself, I hope that our activities would lead to practical results.

 

(Assinstant Professor, Department of Japanese Language and Culture, Sooohouw University)

 

Translated by Kazuo Kawamura

English checked by Mac Maquito

 

SGRA Kawaraban 435 in Japanese (original)