Saturday, January 7, 2012

Donation via German Red Cross Used to Build Library, Nursery School for Evacuees in Koriyama City in Fukushima

I'm not really sure that's how German people who donated to the German Red Cross for the disaster relief for the March 11 earthquake/tsunami wanted the money to be spent.

The library and the nursery school are for people evacuated from Kawauchi-mura in a planned evacuation zone to Koriyama City. Koriyama City is in high-radiation "nakadori" (middle third) of Fukushima Prefecture, where pre-schoolers were found with 0.11 millisievert external radiation in one month in November 2011, with the maximum 0.66 millisievert. Certainly not a place where any nursery school should be.

But the donation from Germany was used to build a facility to keep the villagers from Kawauchi-mura in Koriyama City together.

(The photo is the German embassy official Claus Eilrich with Kawauchi-mura's village chief in the tape-cutting ceremony.)

From Kyodo News (1/6/2012):

原発事故を受け全村避難している福島県川内村の住民が身を寄せる同県郡山市の仮設住宅に、図書室や保育所などを備えた交流施設が6日、オープンした。ドイツの赤十字社に寄せられた義援金約4千万円を使い建てられた。

A facility with the library room and the nursery school opened on January 6 in the temporary housing in Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture where the residents from Kawauchi-mura lives after having evacuated from their home after the nuclear accident. The facility was built with the money of about 40 million yen (about 408,000 euro, US$520,000) donated via the German Red Cross.

 住民同士の交流の場を作ってほしいとの村側の希望と、義援金で日独友好の記念にもなる支援をしたいというドイツ側の要望が一致し実現した。

The village wanted a place where the residents could mix, and the Germany side wanted to provide a support that could symbolize the friendship between Japan and Germany.

 施設は広さ約265平方メートルの木造平屋建て。村の教育委員会が管理し、村営の保育所や学習塾のほか、住民の健康相談などに使われる。住民が村に帰還する際には、分解して川内村に移設する予定。

The facility is a single-story wooden building of about 265 square meters. It will be managed by the village's Board of Education, and will be used as the nursery school, the tutoring school, and a place for health consultation for the residents. When the villagers go back to Kawauchi-mura, the facility will be dismantled and brought to the village.

The happy result that satisfied both the village people and the German Red Cross was to build a "box" (hakomono in Japanese, a construction project) that will be managed, of all entities, by the Board of Education.

Ever since the nuclear accident started in March 11, 2011, the Board of Education in many cities and prefectures in Japan has done everything in their power to expose children to radiation - having them eat beef and drink milk with radioactive cesium, making them harvest green tea in the rain, making them gargle with green tea, making them clean the yard of dead leaves and sludge, taking them to summer schools in the high radiation areas in northern Kanto.

Of nuclear experts, only Professor Kunihiko Takeda of Chubu University spoke against these school "traditions" mindlessly carried out all over Japan.

The night is deep.

15 comments:

Viola said...

You're absolutely right - that was not intended!
I'll write a letter of protest to the German Red Cross and the German Embassy.

I can understand the need for people to have a place where to conduct a social life, but this must not be in a place that's unsafe!

Chibaguy said...

I spent two days here yesterday and and the day before and was in awe that they are building a village within a city that needs to be evacuated.

I am not German nor Japanese so I cannot really complain to anyone but this is not how relief money should be spent.

I used to live in Sukagawa and worked in Koriyama, Fukushima, Nihonmatsu, Motomiya and Yabuki and was sadden to see that there is very little evidence that anything happened in this prefecture. Right over the mountains, towards Iwaki the most significant nuclear disater occured and most are convinced it is over.

In Fukushima they used to have a news crawl re radiation levels on TV but that is gone now so they think it is over I guess. I have no idea how to explain half-lives to them.

Apolline said...

Please read the last video from Arnie Gundersen :
http://fairewinds.com/content/tepco-believes-mission-accomplished-regulators-allow-radioactive-dumping-tokyo-bay

At the end, he talks about AIEA to be fighted. He is right.

Anonymous said...

2011年12月28日の報道ステーションSPより 東電は地震で福島原発が損傷した可能性をひた隠しにしてきた。そうだとすると他の全国の原発も同じように危険だということになるだからだ。これはその可能性を検証したもの­の2/3。

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYpK7N5AQl0&feature=related

Anonymous said...

German living in AREWA-country, again.
This becomes unsupportable to me. For months I am considering the purchase of a dosimeter to wear it on the street, in solidarity with the children of Fokushima... let's better say: The children of Japan... or...

But now, I want to take action. Cannot somebody with enough background that I am lacking unfortunately, -maybe Greenpeace or whoerver-, begin to distribute simple gadgets which at least *resemble* dosimeters?

A this very moment, while I type this, I remember the story of the Danish who wore yellow stars, to make their jewish neighbours blend in with the masses of those who wore the stars voluntarily...

Skip that thought if it is out of scope or else misplaced, I am overwhelmed with the events.

I want a Dosimeter to wear everyday in France, central Europe or the other country, where they consume the nuclear energy produced all around me.

Anonymous said...

"Ever since the nuclear accident started in March 11, 2011, the Board of Education in many cities and prefectures in Japan has done everything in their power to expose children to radiation - "

Anonymous said...

Why is the Red Cross concerned with symbolizing friendship between Japan and Germany? I thought they were in the disaster relief business not public relations. It will be a cold day in hell before they get even one dollar of my money again in donation. Seems that stupid mindless decisions and actions are not exclusive to the Japanese nor unique to their government and their organizations.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:20 thank you for that link

Maureen said...

I gave $200 CAD to the Red Cross and that will be the last time. They tried to divert the money donated to the 9-11 victims and the first responders still can't get medical aid. They are sitting on the money donated to Haiti. The administration gets most of the money which seems to be the case with most charities from what I've learned. This is the first sign that I have seen of the Red Cross doing anything in Japan and I've been watching for them since the disaster. I would rather find out the name and address of a resident affected and send them the money directly than donate to one of these charities that only seem to use these disasters as fund raisers.

Anonymous said...

This is a good thing for families who live in the shelters. I find it hard to fault charity organizations for doing this. You can argue that the families shouldn't be there in the first place, but this is unfortunately a political argument, and doesn't help the families who are there now.

Anonymous said...

@Anon at 1:05PM, I disagree. To have them stay where they are is nothing but political and economical decision by the government, and the German Red Cross is party to that by building a library and nursery school. The Japanese government must be really very happy.

Anonymous said...

So we have dispensable politicians,
dispensable industrialists,
dispensable charity organizations.

I thought about many many movements of solidarity that have been created over the years, as being mainly talk-clubs. Now I wonder if it is not just *all*, that's left to us. Let us cross borders on our own and let us try to understand each other around the globe, not let the media or dispensable idiots do it in our place.

Unknown said...

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Unknown said...

It's really good work happening for the country child.. it's developing the child mind at small age..

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Unknown said...

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