Fukushima, Two Years Later

     I came across a post while scrolling through tumblr the other day. The post said that a group of elderly people in Japan had gotten together and had volunteered to help clean up contamination that occurred when the Fukushima nuclear power plant had a meltdown as a result of the tsunami that occurred in March of 2011. They wanted to replace younger workers who were at risk of getting cancer from radiation. They (the seniors) felt that they wouldn't be cheated of life if they did in fact develop cancer or any other disease from the radiation.
     I was naturally curious. Stories of human selflessness in times of trouble hold a special place for me ( as they do for most people I should like to think). So I looked it up. Sometimes tumblr (trying to be helpful) can blow "news" stories out of proportion. I was worried that this might be a case of tumblr trying to do good, but not quite telling the truth.
     Thankfully, my worry was misplaced. It turns out there is a group of about 400 to 500 seniors have signed up for the job. One volunteer, Kazuko Sasaki stated her reason for volunteering as, "My generation built these nuclear power plants. So we have to take responsibility for them. We can't dump this on the next generation."
     What I found even more interesting is that apparently Japanese media seems to be paying them no great deal of attention while other news outlets (especially those in the US) have been paying them a great deal of homage.
    Whatever does end up happening, I think the hope that is inspired by the fact that these seniors, these grandmother and grandfathers are willing to go in and work in contaminated areas to give others a better chance at living is incredible and well worth being taken seriously and being commended.

Photo credit: Ko Sasaki for the NY Times

For more information:
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/12/140402430/japanese-seniors-send-us-to-damaged-nuclear-plant
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/world/asia/28fukushima.html?_r=0