Heavy hearted
On July 19th the people of Fukushima asked the government in a meeting to answer their questions and organise the further evacuation of the radiated areas since the radiation level has increased in the last months. (Later it should turn out that the government had lied to the people all along and downplayed the real level of radiation.)
When one of the people asked: "Don't the people of Fukushima have the right to live a life free of radiation exposure?" the official said: "I don't know if you have that right."
The official refused to answer more questions saying: "That is all I can say." instead he and the others left. Packed up their papers, got up and fled the room.
One man tried to stop them: "Please speak to us. Don't run away." At one point he physically blocked the door to the stair case: "You must not run away. You have to tell us!"
And another official told him: "We're not in charge."
The irony is that the official who said: "We're not in charge," is right. They aren't. It doesn't matter much that one of them is Akira Satoh, "Director of the Local Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters". He was after all the one, who didn't know if people had the right to live a radiation free life.
The people who made the decision to misinform the public and withhold crucial information were of course not present at the meeting. Instead they sent their lackeys to the meeting, who were possibly bullied to confront the angry public and warned not to "give out sensitive information".
This, too, was an intentional or unintentional humiliation: In sending these employees who were incapable for whatever reason-ignorance or lack of permission-of answering any of the people's questions they sent a message that said: "You are not important or powerful enough for us to care."
Later when all is said and done, in the years to come, they might appear, offering profound words of apology, bowing into the camera.
When one of the people asked: "Don't the people of Fukushima have the right to live a life free of radiation exposure?" the official said: "I don't know if you have that right."
The official refused to answer more questions saying: "That is all I can say." instead he and the others left. Packed up their papers, got up and fled the room.
One man tried to stop them: "Please speak to us. Don't run away." At one point he physically blocked the door to the stair case: "You must not run away. You have to tell us!"
And another official told him: "We're not in charge."
Click to viewThe irony is that the official who said: "We're not in charge," is right. They aren't. It doesn't matter much that one of them is Akira Satoh, "Director of the Local Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters". He was after all the one, who didn't know if people had the right to live a radiation free life.
The people who made the decision to misinform the public and withhold crucial information were of course not present at the meeting. Instead they sent their lackeys to the meeting, who were possibly bullied to confront the angry public and warned not to "give out sensitive information".
This, too, was an intentional or unintentional humiliation: In sending these employees who were incapable for whatever reason-ignorance or lack of permission-of answering any of the people's questions they sent a message that said: "You are not important or powerful enough for us to care."
Later when all is said and done, in the years to come, they might appear, offering profound words of apology, bowing into the camera.