悪夢のような東日本大震災から早くも4か月近くになろうとしています。死者・行方不明者２万３千人。避難所生活の限界は3ヶ月といわれますが、未だに４万人が被災地や全国の避難所で暮らしており、避難所生活の長期化が危惧されます。福島の原発事故はいつ収束するのか見えない状態です。支援のボランティアも阪神・淡路大震災に比べて3分の１しか入っておらず、改めて今回の被災地が広域にわたり、支援の困難さが痛感されます。
こうした中で、5月29日に復興7原則、６月20日に東日本大震災復興基本法が成立し、そして25日には復興構想会議による「復興への提言悲惨のなかの希望～」が出されました。
驚いたことに、ここには被災実態も示されず、また今回の災害を拡大させた「人災」の指摘もなく、とりわけ未だに衣食住を欠いた状態で苦しんでいる多くの被災者への救済が「希望」をもって語られた内容ではないことです。
「来たるべき時代をリードする経済社会の可能性を追求」「新たな農業」「復興を契機として日本が環境問題を牽引」「世界に開かれた復興」等、地域の生産・生活・文化の継承とはかけ離れた文字が躍っています。「特区」の導入は、地域経済と生活の再建とは矛盾・対立する内容になっています。一連の国の復興方針が、低迷していた日本経済の「復興」を、大震災の「復興」の名に借りて成し遂げようとする計画に読み取れるのです。ある被災地域には集中して資本が投下されるかもしれませんが、遠隔地や小集落、そして放射能で汚染された地域は取り残されることが懸念されます。そういえば、復興構想会議には福祉分野がおらず、女性委員が極端に少なく、経済政策にかかわるメンバーが中心になっています。復興過程のあらゆる場にもっと多くの女性の参画が不可欠ではないでしょうか。
私たちは、まず何よりも現在被災し困窮する人々、特別な支援が必要なために支援から取り残されがちな女性・子ども・高齢者・障害者・外国人等に手を差し伸べたいと思います。その中から、地域の気候風土、生産と生活に根ざした、誰もが安心して暮らせる復興の道筋を定めるという意味で、「世界に誇れる」復興への支援を行いたいと思います。また、私たちは政府に対して、このような意見を反映するよう要望書も提出します。
Reconstructing Decent Living Part 1 Response to Reconstruction Council Proposals
Four months have passed since the nightmare of the Great East Japan Earthquake hit on March 11, leaving at least 23,000 dead and missing. People say that three months is the longest they can withstand living at evacuation shelters. But some 40,000 people are still living at these shelters in the disaster-stricken prefectures and across the country, creating a mounting concern that the difficult living conditions would prolong more than expected. The crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant shows no signs of settlement. The number of volunteers helping the recovery process has reached only a third of those participated in the Great Hanshin Earthquake. We are reminded of the vastness of devastation and the complexities in assisting recovery from the catastrophe.
The seven principles towards reconstruction were enacted on May 29, followed by the June 20 basic law for the post-disaster reconstruction. The Reconstruction Design Council also submitted on June 25 the report titled, "Fukko e no Teigen -- Hisan no naka no Kibo (Proposal toward Reconstruction -- Hope wiTo our surprise, the report does not indicate the scale of damages nor point out the human errors that contributed to worsening the catastrophe. Above all, the report fails to speak with hope on relief of many survivors who still suffer from shortage of food, clothing and housing. thin Despair)."
Seeking economic potential to take a leading role in the coming years," "agricultural innovation," "using reconstruction as an opportunity to take the lead in tackling environmental issues," "reconstruction open to the world," etc. - the report is varnished with terms that do not give the slightest hint of local products, life or culture. Introduction of the "special zone" framework both contradicts and conflicts with recovery of local economy and people's lives. From a series of government reconstruction policy, we can see an underlying scheme to rebuild the stagnant Japanese economy in the name of post-disaster reconstruction. While some devastated regions shall benefit from heavy capital investments, other areas -- remote, less populated or polluted by radiation -- may end up being left out of the recovery process. The council lacks members from the welfare fields and is staffed with members committed to economic policymaking. We propose that more participation from women is essential in every step of the way to reconstruction.
First and foremost, Rise Together for Women in East Japan Disaster aims to bridge this glaring lack of respect for a more local-led recovery program. We would like to extend our support to people who are in the midst of post-disaster hardships - especially women, children, elderly people, disabled people, foreign nationals, and others who tend to be left behind in receiving assistance due to their special needs. We aim to engage in reconstruction that we can truly "be proud to show the world" by setting the right direction. We need to foster a community where citizens can feel safe and build their lives on local production and culture. We also plan to submit a proposal that represents our view to the Japanese government.
Akiko Nakajima
