ID :
172614
Sat, 04/02/2011 - 18:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/172614
The shortlink copeid
Foreign quake survivors seek multilingual info on relief, nuke crisis
TOKYO, April 2 Kyodo - Foreign survivors of last month's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan and their supporters are seeking information in multiple languages in order to avoid uncertainties about the nuclear plant crisis and food-rationing in shelters for evacuees.
A 40-year-old woman from the Philippines who evacuated the city of Date, Fukushima Prefecture, recalled the fear and anxiety she felt in the wake of reports of accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station run by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
''The nuclear power station exploded. I was really worried and scared. But I cannot catch what people say on TV,'' the woman said at a shelter in Tokyo. She fled from the city with her 12-year-old daughter.
Her husband, a 55-year-old Japanese man, tried to help her understand the terminologies related to nuclear power generation, only to see her baffled.
''I've been studying Japanese. But I hope somebody will give me information in my mother tongue, Tagalog, in such a serious circumstance,'' she said.
The woman and her daughter eventually chose to leave Japan and stay in the Philippines until the situation stabilizes at the nuclear power complex, after her brothers asked her to do so from their homeland.
''I need to keep my child in a safe place until the nuclear station regains control,'' she said.
The number of foreign people who left Japan, including interns and vocational trainees, rapidly increased after the March 11 disaster, according to Japanese authorities. The figure was 140,000 for the week through March 11 but jumped to 240,000 the following week.
Some foreigners in disaster-ravaged areas said they become particularly anxious when they overheard shocking conversations, although they eventually become aware that most of them proved to be wrong or utterly groundless.
Such false rumors include: ''The mess in Fukushima was caused by a nuclear missile'' or that the inland prefecture of Gifu ''could be hit by a tsunami next.'' They say they simply have no way to confirm whether those rumors are true because of the language barrier.
In Sendai, one of the areas hit hardest by the quake and tsunami, volunteer staff members of the Miyagi International Association have begun responding to inquiries from foreigners in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese -- even after midnight. How to leave Japan or the whereabouts of residents are among the most commonly asked questions.
Andrea Matsubara from Brazil and Marlene Shoji, a Filipino, voluntarily provide support trying to alleviate the uneasy feeling spreading among their countrymen. Shoji fields roughly 70 inquiries a day at the association -- even after the massive tsunami engulfed her home.
''I know many people turn to me on an occasion like this because I've been in Japan for 36 years,'' Shoji said. ''There's no time for tears.''
Masae Omura, chief planner and coordinator of the association, said she has been heartened to see foreign people helping not only their compatriots but also many others.
''While a number of foreigners are rushing to leave Japan for fear of possible radioactive contamination, there are many who have decided to stay here and help people around them,'' she said.
Angelo Ishi, a Musashi University associate professor on ethnic matters and mass media, refers to a need to create a system in which crucial information can be translated quickly into multiple languages.
The Japanese-Brazilian said the key to preventing panic is to thoroughly explain the dangers of the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant or to what extent it could pose a threat.
Also frustrating foreigners is uncertainty about the schedules for the rolling power outages by plant operator TEPCO in Tokyo and its vicinity.
Lilian Terumi Hatano, a Japanese-Brazilian college tutor, calls on the utility to use Roman alphabets in providing detailed information on the areas covered by its outage plans.
TEPCO's information on rolling blackouts has an English version on its website, but it has no detailed information on the affected areas.
Hatano said there should be a need to provide information in other languages to help ease the anxiety of foreigners from non-English speaking countries.
''There are a lot of non-Japanese who cannot prepare for blackouts with the English information alone. A lack of information makes people insecure, and that prompts them to go back to their home countries.''
A TEPCO spokesperson said the company has no plans to add other languages, noting that the company has yet to receive such a demand.
A 40-year-old woman from the Philippines who evacuated the city of Date, Fukushima Prefecture, recalled the fear and anxiety she felt in the wake of reports of accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station run by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
''The nuclear power station exploded. I was really worried and scared. But I cannot catch what people say on TV,'' the woman said at a shelter in Tokyo. She fled from the city with her 12-year-old daughter.
Her husband, a 55-year-old Japanese man, tried to help her understand the terminologies related to nuclear power generation, only to see her baffled.
''I've been studying Japanese. But I hope somebody will give me information in my mother tongue, Tagalog, in such a serious circumstance,'' she said.
The woman and her daughter eventually chose to leave Japan and stay in the Philippines until the situation stabilizes at the nuclear power complex, after her brothers asked her to do so from their homeland.
''I need to keep my child in a safe place until the nuclear station regains control,'' she said.
The number of foreign people who left Japan, including interns and vocational trainees, rapidly increased after the March 11 disaster, according to Japanese authorities. The figure was 140,000 for the week through March 11 but jumped to 240,000 the following week.
Some foreigners in disaster-ravaged areas said they become particularly anxious when they overheard shocking conversations, although they eventually become aware that most of them proved to be wrong or utterly groundless.
Such false rumors include: ''The mess in Fukushima was caused by a nuclear missile'' or that the inland prefecture of Gifu ''could be hit by a tsunami next.'' They say they simply have no way to confirm whether those rumors are true because of the language barrier.
In Sendai, one of the areas hit hardest by the quake and tsunami, volunteer staff members of the Miyagi International Association have begun responding to inquiries from foreigners in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese -- even after midnight. How to leave Japan or the whereabouts of residents are among the most commonly asked questions.
Andrea Matsubara from Brazil and Marlene Shoji, a Filipino, voluntarily provide support trying to alleviate the uneasy feeling spreading among their countrymen. Shoji fields roughly 70 inquiries a day at the association -- even after the massive tsunami engulfed her home.
''I know many people turn to me on an occasion like this because I've been in Japan for 36 years,'' Shoji said. ''There's no time for tears.''
Masae Omura, chief planner and coordinator of the association, said she has been heartened to see foreign people helping not only their compatriots but also many others.
''While a number of foreigners are rushing to leave Japan for fear of possible radioactive contamination, there are many who have decided to stay here and help people around them,'' she said.
Angelo Ishi, a Musashi University associate professor on ethnic matters and mass media, refers to a need to create a system in which crucial information can be translated quickly into multiple languages.
The Japanese-Brazilian said the key to preventing panic is to thoroughly explain the dangers of the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant or to what extent it could pose a threat.
Also frustrating foreigners is uncertainty about the schedules for the rolling power outages by plant operator TEPCO in Tokyo and its vicinity.
Lilian Terumi Hatano, a Japanese-Brazilian college tutor, calls on the utility to use Roman alphabets in providing detailed information on the areas covered by its outage plans.
TEPCO's information on rolling blackouts has an English version on its website, but it has no detailed information on the affected areas.
Hatano said there should be a need to provide information in other languages to help ease the anxiety of foreigners from non-English speaking countries.
''There are a lot of non-Japanese who cannot prepare for blackouts with the English information alone. A lack of information makes people insecure, and that prompts them to go back to their home countries.''
A TEPCO spokesperson said the company has no plans to add other languages, noting that the company has yet to receive such a demand.
