(Reblogged from)
(Translation by WNSCR team)
An explanatory meeting about
thyroid gland by Fukushima Medical University was held at my child's
kindergarten today. Mothers that are concerned about
radiation, including me, didn't attend the meeting. We feared we
might be brainwashed to accept that radiation is not dangerous, and we
also realized we might get furious just by listening to
them. I’ve made a decision never to attend seminars on radiation
that are organized by municipalities and other authorities, to avoid the
brainwashing.
This is an appeal from a mother with two children in Iwaki-shi, Fukushima prefecture. She watched the interview
film of Ruri Sasaki who lives in Nihonmatsu-shi, and sent the
letter (below) to a member of World Network for Saving Children from
Radiation, an Iwaki native who lives in
Montreal.
I would like many people to read
my e-mail because it describes a present situation.
[...]
A mother who has children in the
same kindergarten where my children go has lately gone for evacuation;
she is very frustrated to see people living there in
peace with no thought about the current situation in Fukushima. Why
do people in Fukushima need to suffer so much? My family was forced to
split up.
Sasaki’s description of how she
had to put up with her child playing outdoors is painful “Gradually I
became numb, told myself not to think about it. I must
let my children play but for short times only. I really wish I could
allow them to play for entire days.”
There are some people who are
not concerned about the radiation and who think Iwaki-shi is safe. In
reality, most of those people have simply given up, the
only way for them to keep living here is to ignore their feeling
about the hazards.
People who are concerned about
radiation have their thyroid checks performed at sanatoriums. They
cannot count on having the examinations carried out by the
prefecture. Those who don't care much about radiation feel secure,
because they believe the prefecture will examine their health properly,
and because the radiological dosage at Iwaki-shi is low.
The attitude to thyroid problems is the one matter that divides
people’s opinions most.
[...]
------------
The earlier information to the
public about thyroid issues has usually been given on the lines of “no
health concerns”, but lately I have noticed a change of
tone, and there seems to be a feeling that there are possible
chances of increasing onsets of thyroid
cancers. I
have heard that the thyroid examinations in Iwaki, where there was
massive fallout of
radioactive iodine, have been getting a lot of attention. Still,
most mothers seem to be unaware of this fallout and its impact.
I once had a chance to put a question to
a member of the municipal assembly at community and asked, “I have
heard from people in Nakadoori area that
the prefecture’s manner of making thyroid examinations is not
considered trustworthy. I should like the examiners to give the mothers
proper explanations, at the
time when the ultrasound is being performed, and to give them copies
of the ultrasound results on the examining spot.” Immediately, other mothers changed the subject
to more positive topics, saying, “It is not good to be worried about it too much.” This happenedinJanuary this year.
There are many people who actually believe that no one will get thyroid cancer. They choose to believe in the news that says that the recent onset of thyroid cancer is not related to the nuclear incident. To be honest, the most troublesome at the moment is not the government and TEPCO, but the mothers who don't want to believe the impact of the accident. There are especially many of those in Iwaki, mothers who believe this way because the air dose radiation rate is low.
People at Nakadoriare more seriously concerned, due to the fact that their screening examination is already finished. Many people
there feel tired of even thinking about it. I guess that many will not start taking action until their children are in serious condition. However, they will have reached the point of total exhaustion by the time
that they realize their kids' problem.
I think that the reason why the thyroid examinations in Iwaki have been postponed was not merely the doing of the national,prefectural and municipal government. A part of Iwaki city is even located within the 30 km zone.
Nevertheless,thyroid examination here will not be done until after Nakadori. I guess that one of the reasons for this is that a great number of mothers, myself included, have not taken any action. A vast majority of mothers have been thinking
like, “Nakadori must be prioritized due to their high
radiation levels” , or “The level of health hazards in Iwaki is
surely very low, due to the low radiation
level”.
Mothers also think “I feel guilty about partaking in recuperation programs because the radiation level in Iwaki isn't that high, and people at Nakadori should have a
priority”. Mutual concessions are certainly important, but should we do it in this emergency situation? How can we impose an order of priority when our own children are at stake? Are mothers fine with the fact that their childrenare left for later?
People in Iwaki tend to hold themselves back because of
the low radiation level, feeling like “There are much worse places”. But they are desensitized. Although the radiation dose is said to be low, most of the parks show more than
0.2 mSv/h because decontamination has not been done. On the lawns, the radiation levels are about 0.3 mSv/h .
The people who are best suited to start taking action are the mothers. However,many mothers blindly believe that their children will be fine. Some of them have been striving to take action in citizens's groups. Nevertheless, most of them don't even know of these activities.
I admire mothers who have the guts to raise their voices in such conditions. It takes so much energy to do so. I know that this situation won't get better until we all stand up and
do our best against it. But for my part,
I haven't been able to join any such activities because I have been busy to
deal with my child. In addition to taking care of my child I recently became a member of my child's
kindergarten parents’ board.
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