26/04 全希望者の仮設入居、お盆の頃までに…菅首相

　衆院予算委員会は２６日、東日本大震災後初めて震災をテーマにした集中審議を行った。

　菅首相は被災者向けの仮設住宅について、「遅くともお盆の頃までには希望者全員に入っていただけるよう、全力を挙げる」と述べ、８月中旬までの入居を目標とする考えを示した。自民党の小野寺五典氏の質問に答えた。

　大畠国土交通相は同委で、５月末までに３万戸、８月までにさらに３万戸を整備し、計６万戸を提供すると説明した。細川厚生労働相は原則２年間の入居期間について、「更新して住めるようにする」と述べた。

（2011年4月26日14時39分 読売新聞）

06/05 Vụ bin Laden qua lời kể của những người sống sót

Đồ đạc trong căn nhà nơi Osama bin Laden trú ngụ khá giản dị, chứ không phải xa hoa như phía Mỹ thông báo trước đây. (Nguồn: GEO).

CÁC TIN LIÊN QUAN

"Cái chết của bin Laden sẽ hồi sinh cuộc nổi dậy"
Nhóm Taliban nói cái chết của Osama bin Laden sẽ chỉ giúp làm sống lại cuộc chiến chống lại những kẻ xâm lược tại Afghanistan.

Mỹ giết hụt giáo sỹ cực đoan al-Awlaki ở Yemen
Chưa đầy một tuần sau khi Mỹ giết bin Laden, các máy bay không người lái đã cố tiêu diệt giáo sỹ cực đoan Anwar al-Awlaki ở Yemen.

• Mỹ “nhắm” thủ lĩnh Taliban tiếp theo bin Laden
• Pakistan bắt 40 người bị ngờ liên quan bin Laden
• Al-Qaeda chính thức xác nhận bin Laden đã chết

Con gái của Osama bin Laden đã ôm lấy cái đầu đầy máu của người mẹ trong căn phòng nơi thủ lĩnh Al Qaeda bị giết chết.

“Tôi là người Arập,” cô bé nói với các quan chức an ninh Pakistan sau khi lực lượng đặc nhiệm Mỹ rời đi mang theo thi thể của cha mình. “Osama bin Laden là cha tôi”. Cô gái 12 tuổi cũng bị thương vì những mảnh tường vỡ rơi vào mắt cá chân trong cuộc vây ráp vào ban đêm nơi ở của Bin Laden tại Abbottabad, miền bắc Pakistan, nhưng cô đã ở lại để chăm sóc mẹ mình, Amal Ahmed al-Sadah - 29 tuổi, và là vợ thứ năm của Bin Laden - người bị biệt kích Mỹ bắn vào chân khi xông lên làm lá chắn cho chồng.

[Bin Laden bị bắt sống trước khi bị bắn chết?]

Người phụ nữ nằm bất động trong tay cô gái nhỏ, theo lời các quan chức Pakistan kể lại với báo Anh Guardian. Bên kia căn phòng là một phụ nữ khác, bị trói và miệng bị dán bằng băng dính, khoảng 30 tuổi và có lẽ là bác sĩ của Bin Laden đến từ Yemen. Cảnh tượng sau cái chết của Bin Laden đã được hoàn chỉnh hơn cho thấy cuộc vây ráp hoàn toàn chỉ là một chiều so với những tuyên bố ban đầu của phía Mỹ.

[Người vợ đã ở bên Bin Laden đến phút cuối đời]

Những “cuộc đọ súng” thực ra chỉ là việc lính đặc nhiệm hải quân nổ súng và nhanh chóng tiêu diệt tay súng Al Qaeda duy nhất có mặt tại hiện trường đã tìm cách chống trả. Các bức ảnh chụp cho thấy ba người khác nằm trong những vũng máu, hai người mặc đồ Hồi giáo truyền thống và một người mặc áo sơ mi.

[Dựng lại hiện trường Bin Laden bị bắn chết]

Các binh sĩ Mỹ rời đi để lại bốn thi thể, những người sống sót bị trói bằng dây nhựa và một số phụ nữ cùng trẻ em bị thương. Vụ tấn công xảy ra vào một đêm không trăng và binh lính được đưa tới bằng loại máy bay tàng hình tối tân bay ngang qua những nông trại ở thung lũng Orash trên vùng trời Pakistan. Trên máy bay là các lính đặc nhiệm từ đội đặc nhiệm hải quân số 6 (ST6).

Các quan chức an ninh Pakistan chỉ có mặt tại hiện trường sau cuộc bố ráp. Trong căn nhà, mỗi phòng ngủ đều có một nhà vệ sinh và nhà bếp riêng. Ngoài ra còn có một phòng ở tầng trệt được dùng làm lớp học, có bảng trắng và giấy viết có chữ Arập, sách giáo khoa. Những hàng xóm của căn nhà nói trẻ em sống trong đó không đi học. Đồ ăn tìm thấy trong nhà cho thấy cư dân ở đó đã có một thực đơn rất giản dị, bao gồm quả chà là, dầu ôliu, quả hạch, thịt khô và trứng.

Đội đặc nhiệm Mỹ được chia làm hai tốp. Họ gặp rắc rối khi một chiếc trực thăng quật phải bờ tường trong lúc hạ cánh, nhưng các tay súng đã thoát được ra ngoài và hoàn thành nhiệm vụ. Nhóm thứ nhất tấn công căn nhà cho khách nhỏ ở lối vào và là nơi duy nhất họ gặp phải sự chống cự. Nhóm thứ hai xông thẳng vào nhà chính và lục soát từng phòng một cho tới khi tìm thấy Bin Laden. Hai cận vệ thân tín của Bin Laden đều thiệt mạng, cộng thêm một người thứ tư, có thể là con trai của Bin Laden, Hamza, trong cả cuộc vây ráp.

["Mỹ lộ bí mật quân sự trong cuộc tấn công bin Laden?"]

Lính đặc nhiệm đã làm bị thương một số phụ nữ và trẻ em trong cuộc tấn công, nhưng không làm ai thiệt mạng trước khi tìm thấy bin Laden, mà Nhà Trắng đã thừa nhận là không được vũ trang, dù có hai khẩu AK-47 trong tầm tay. Leon Panetta, Giám đốc Cục tình báo trung ương theo dõi trực tuyến cuộc vây ráp từ Mỹ, nói rằng Bin Laden đã “có động thái đe dọa những binh sĩ của chúng ta. Nên họ mới nổ súng.” Dù cho Bin Laden có làm gì, lính đặc nhiệm đã bắn ông, một viên vào ngực và một vào đầu, ở phần mắt trái, theo tiết lộ của CIA.

Sau đó, những người sống sót được lính Mỹ dồn đến một khu vực an toàn trong tòa nhà để họ không bị thương khi chiếc trực thăng phát nổ. Họ quay ra đưa thi thể của Bin Laden và con trai đi cùng rồi cất cánh, trở về Afghanistan. Vào lúc 11 giờ ngày thứ Hai, thi thể Bin Laden đã được liệm trong một tấm vải trắng và đưa lên chiếc hàng không mẫu hạm USS Carl Vinson để đem đi táng ở phía bắc biển A-rập.

Hiện tại, cơ quan tình báo Pakistan ISI đang tạm giữ 12 người còn sống sót từ căn nhà đó. Lời khai của những người này giờ sẽ được phía Pakistan xem như bằng chứng để phản bác lại cáo buộc của một số quan chức Mỹ rằng Pakistan đã bao che cho bin Laden trong suốt thời gian ông này ẩn náu tại thành phố quân sự Abootabad, chỉ nằm cách thủ đô Islamabad hơn 50km.

["BIn Laden không rời căn phòng mình ở trong suốt 5 năm"]

Những lời khai của các thành viên gia đình bin Laden cũng được xem như là bằng chứng để làm rõ hơn chi tiết về cái chết của trùm khủng bố, sau khi Nhà Trắng tỏ ra bất nhất trong việc cung cấp thông tin cho báo chí, nhất là chi tiết bin Laden có mang súng khi bị bắn chết, hay có sử dụng vợ làm bia đỡ đạn hay không./.

Video dựng lại hiện trường vụ tiêu diệt bin Laden qua lời kể của người sống sót (ABC News):

H.Minh (Vietnam+)

15/04 被災者へ「負けないで」 妻子失った市職員がメッセージ

西城卓哉さんのメッセージ。今は市役所内の安否確認の掲示板にある＝宮城県の名取市役所

西城卓哉さん（左）と由里子さん、直人ちゃん。昨年１０月２０日、卓哉さんの誕生日に外食した店で撮影した＝卓哉さん提供

宮城県名取市役所に張られた西城卓哉さんのメッセージ。安否確認を求める他の張り紙と一緒にある＝３月１７日、小玉重隆撮影

　「被災されたみなさん、苦しいけど負けないで　職員Ｓ」。東日本大震災で被災した宮城県名取市役所に張り出されたメッセージが、人々を励ましている。書いたのは市職員の西城卓哉さん（３０）。津波で７カ月の一人息子の直人ちゃんを亡くし、妻由里子さん（２７）は今も行方がわからない。「２人にとって誇れる夫、父親であり続けたい」と自分を奮い立たせて仕事を続けている。

　３月１１日午後２時４６分。市役所庁舎の自分の机にいた卓哉さんは、揺れを感じるとすぐに由里子さんの携帯に電話をかけた。呼び出し音がして一瞬、通じたと思ったが、１秒も経たずに「ツーツーツー」と切れた。激しい揺れの中で何度もかけ直した。携帯の画面には「発信できません」の表示。不安だったが「直人を守ってくれているはず」と自分に言い聞かせた。

　卓哉さんが所属する保険年金課は、災害時には被災者の受け入れ態勢作りをすることになっていた。すぐに、避難所の食料調達の仕事が回ってきた。作業中に傷がつかないよう、結婚指輪を外してスーツの胸ポケットにそっとしまった。

　仕事を終えて、名取市内の自宅マンションに帰ったのは１２日午前２時ごろ。海岸から約３キロ離れていたが、あたりは水と泥でぐちゃぐちゃだった。ドアを開けて「由里子」と呼んだが、２人はいなかった。「どこかで寒い思いをしているはず」と、毛布や食べ物、オムツなどをいっぱい積んで車を走らせた。一晩中、近くの避難所を回り、駐車場に由里子さんの銀色の車を捜した。

　早朝、自宅から約３．５キロの由里子さんの実家を目指した。直人ちゃんを連れてよく遊びに行っていた。途中から道路ががれきと泥で寸断されていた。車を降り、がれきをつたって歩いた。海岸から約１キロの２階建ての実家は、なくなっていた。

　１３日、避難所で由里子さんの母に会えた。由里子さんは、直人ちゃんを抱いたまま実家で津波にのまれたと聞いた。

　１５日、卓哉さんの父と妹が、避難所で仕事をする卓哉さんを訪ねて来て「安置所に直人に似た遺体がある」と教えてくれた。仕事を終え、市役所近くの安置所へ向かった。大きな棺がいくつも並ぶ中、小さなピンク色の棺。ふたをあけた。直人ちゃんがいた。眠っているようだった。紫色の肌着は泥で茶色になっていた。寄り添って、頭とほっぺをなで続けた。

　１６日も、市役所は身内や友人の安否を確認しようとする人であふれていた。由里子さんも行方不明のまま。卓哉さんは１日に何度も何度も、避難所と犠牲者の名簿を目で追った。

　同じように名簿を探しても相手を見つけられず、がっかりする人を何人も見た。「つらい思いをわかる人間が、ここにいます」と伝えたかった。「自分に何ができるだろう」と自問した。被災者にメッセージを書こうと思い立った。

　１７日、いつもより早く職場に着いた。机の引き出しにしまってある、家族３人の写真を取り出した。

　由里子さんと出会ったのは３年前。いつも笑顔で話す、明るい職場の後輩だ。一目ぼれし、その年の６月１４日、由里子さんの誕生日にプロポーズした。由里子さんの実家で飼うラブラドルレトリバーを連れて海岸をよく散歩した。昨年７月に直人ちゃんが生まれた。カメラを向けると、いつもにこにこ笑っていた。何千枚も写真を撮った――。

　思い出を胸に、ペンを手にした。一文字ずつ、丁寧に書いたが、線がゆがんだ。「負けないで」と書き上げた。

　「あの文章を書かれた方ですか……。実はうちもなんです」。数日後、家族を亡くした人たちが卓哉さんに声をかけてきた。無事に過ごせているかどうか、お互いのことを話した。卓哉さんは「何か困ったことがあれば、相談し合いましょう」と約束した。「苦しいのは自分だけじゃない。一人一人の支えになりたい」と願う。

　「妻と息子が生まれ育ったこの町を、またみんなが笑って暮らせるようにしたい」。職場の机の引き出しには、いつものように３人の写真が入っている。（滝沢卓）

　　　　　◇

〈西城卓哉さんのメッセージ全文〉

　最愛の妻と生まれたばかりの一人息子を大津波で失いました。

　いつまでも二人にとって誇れる夫・父親であり続けられるよう精一杯生きます。

　被災されたみなさん、

　苦しいけど

　負けないで！

　　　　名取市職員　Ｓ

11/04 東日本大震災：計画的避難区域指定（その２止） 住民ストレス重く

　◇見えぬ放射線に不安－－浪江

　全域が計画的避難区域に指定された福島県浪江町。海に近い中心部はこれまでも福島第１原発から２０キロ圏の避難指示区域だったが、西端は退避の必要のない３０キロ圏外だった。とはいえ当初から放射線量は高く、住民は恐怖と闘ってきた。

　「べこ（牛）らの鳴き声が『早く処分してくれ』と訴えているように聞こえる」。そう話す紺野英治さん（６０）は、浪江町津島地区で黒毛和牛を育てる畜産農家。親牛１８頭に子牛１４頭。うち４頭は、震災後生まれた。

　同地区は、福島第１原発の北西約３０キロ。屋内退避圏（原発から２０～３０キロ）の境界線上にある。紺野さん宅はぎりぎり圏外だが、８日に行われた県の調査によると、３０キロ圏内にわずかに入った町立津島小で毎時２３・０マイクロシーベルトと、県内で最も高い放射線量を観測した（避難指示区域除く）。

　紺野さん宅近くの幹線道路脇にはカッパや衣類が散乱している。３０キロ圏の境界にあたるため、圏内に一時帰宅した人々が放射性物質を防ぐために着ていたものを脱ぎ捨てていくらしい。地元住民にもマスクもしない普段通りの格好で農作業をする人がいる。「３０キロ圏から外に出ればすぐ安全になるのか」と、ずっと疑問だった。

　津島小は避難指示区域で見つかった遺体の安置所にもなっている。そこからの放射線も気になる。

　地区は８００～１０００メートルの山に囲まれた谷筋。福島第１原発近くで海に注ぐ請戸（うけど）川の源流域だ。原発ができた４０年ほど前、知り合いの原発作業員に「放射能漏れがあったら、お前の所は危ない。山に阻まれた放射性物質が落ちてくる」と言われたことがある。真偽は不明だが、その言葉が何度も頭に浮かぶ。

　「そういう一つ一つのことが重なって、時々どうしようもない不安に襲われる。雲の中を突き進んでいくような気持ちだ」。ストレスのせいで体重は地震以降、１８キロ減った。標準値だった血圧も最高値が１８５まで上がったという。

　紺野さんは毎日、約２０キロ離れた避難所から牛舎へ通っている。慎重を期し、タイベックと呼ばれる防護服、カッパとゴム手袋、防護マスクを付ける。飼料を与え、ふんを片づける。早朝から夕方まで、ぐっしょり汗をかきながらの作業だ。

　だが、おそらく牛にはもう商品価値がない。「いろんなことが後手後手で、振り回されるのは結局住民だ」と憤る。「べこもだいぶこけ（やせ）てきて、かわいそうだ。でも、放射線量は日によって違う。せめて最後までうまい餌を食べさせてやりたい」【市川明代】

　◇準備区域指定３町村「全住民避難、まだ続ける」

　屋内退避指示圏内が緊急時避難準備区域となる福島県広野町、楢葉町、川内村は、役場が町村外に移転する「全町・全村避難」を続けている。

　内陸部の同県会津美里町に役場を移した楢葉町は「住民が安心して住める状況になったわけではなく、避難は継続する」（企画課）と説明。川内村の井出寿一総務課長は「名前が長くなっただけで今までと変わらない。村としてはこれまで通り村民に自主避難を呼び掛ける」と語った。

　広野町の自宅が屋内退避指示圏内にあり、同県いわき市の施設に避難している高木幸一さん（６１）は「何も説明を受けておらず、よく分からない」と困惑した様子。自宅は住める状態にあるが「放射能汚染の状況が不明なので、今すぐには戻れない」と話した。

　一部が準備区域になる田村市には１１日、松下忠洋副経済産業相が訪れ方針を説明。屋内退避指示圏内に９４１人が住むが、市が用意した２カ所の避難所に移った人はいない。

　準備区域にならなかった、いわき市の災害対策本部職員は「政府から事前に説明はなかったようだ。会見後、対応を検討しようとしたら震度６弱の余震が起き中ぶらりんの状況」と話した。【北村和巳、福永方人、堀智行】

英訳

12/04 避難所いかず自宅２階暮らし…行政の目、届かず 石巻

１階が水没し、２階で暮らす阿部純子さん家族。津波で１階の窓が割れた＝４日、宮城県石巻市、小宮路勝撮影

２階で暮らす阿部純子さん（中央）と娘の智子さん（右）、日向子さん姉妹＝４日、宮城県石巻市、小宮路勝撮影

水没した阿部純子さん宅の１階＝４日、宮城県石巻市、小宮路勝撮影

　市街地の広い範囲で住宅の１階部分が水没した宮城県石巻市。被害を免れた自宅２階に戻ったことで、支援の手が届かない被災者が続出している。持病があったり、避難生活で体調を崩したり、事情はそれぞれ。行政は避難所だけで手いっぱいのようだ。

　市中心部から西に約３キロ離れた新館地区。北田照明さん（６６）、幸子さん（６２）夫妻は先月２４日に避難所の中学校を出た。食料や毛布を受け取るために３階の教室と校庭を往復しなければならず、ひざの弱い幸子さんにはこたえた。体調を崩し、他人に気を使い続けるストレスも募った。

　夜は懐中電灯とろうそくが頼り。炊き出しが来るわけでもなく、自衛隊にもらった水や１時間以上歩いてスーパーで買った食べ物でしのぐ。物資の配給など避難所で得られた情報は入らない。幸子さんは「とりあえず住んでるけど、どうしたらいいか分からない」と途方に暮れる。

　その近くでは、阿部純子さん（４１）が娘の智子さん（１４）、日向子さん（１０）と２階で暮らしていた。

　地震後、４日間は２カ所の避難所で過ごしたが、娘が相次いで胃腸の調子を悪くした。数日前に電気が回復し、テレビだけは見られるようになった。

　３人で寝る８畳間の子ども部屋には、教科書や雑誌に交じって友人から分けてもらった食料や調味料が並ぶ。「全部流されちゃったけど、ここに住むしかないんだろうな。乳児もいないし、すぐには仮設住宅にも入れそうにない」。純子さんは涙ぐんだ。

　地区には同じような住宅があちこちにある。１階部分を含む一帯ががれきに覆われたため、市職員も当初は近づけず、存在が見逃されがちだった。

　海岸沿いの渡波（わたのは）地区の自宅２階で夫と息子と暮らす高橋訓子（のりこ）さん（６７）は、２年前に股関節の手術をした。地震後にはひざの痛みも悪化し、杖が手放せなくなった。家の中でも壁をつたって歩く。

　１週間ほど友人宅に身を寄せたが、自宅に戻った。避難所で床に座ったり、和式トイレを使ったりするのは無理だと思ったからだ。骨粗鬆症（こつそしょうしょう）の薬は流され、もう３週間飲んでいない。２階のトイレで用をたし、津波で風呂にたまっていた水をくんで流す毎日だ。

　周囲には倒壊した家も多い。余震で激しく揺れるたび、「次はつぶれてしまうのではないか」とおびえながら暮らしている。

　救援物資を届けた青年会議所の真下法久さん（３９）は「台所のある１階が津波に襲われ、食事が満足にできない人が多い。避難所の統合が進むと増えるだろう」と心配する。

　石巻市は、こうした被害の少ない２階部分で避難生活を送る人を含む自宅避難者が旧石巻市だけで一時は５万人以上いて、現在も約１万８千人いると推定するが、市全体の状況は把握できていない。市の担当者は「避難所に戻れとは言えないが、地区の方々で協力して避難所に顔を出す機会をつくってほしい」と呼びかけている。（根岸拓朗、上田真由美）

09/04 Tens of millions of 'lost' cash found in tsunami-hit areas

Safes are placed on the ground, as they were found by Japan's Self-Defense Force members at a destroyed house by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan Thursday, April 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

SENDAI (Kyodo) -- Rescue workers and citizens have turned in to police tens of millions of yen in cash found in the rubble in mud-covered coastal areas in Japan's northeastern region, hit hard by the killer quake and massive tsunami last month, police said Saturday.

While police and local governments are pessimistic about finding the original owners, unless the money was found with the original owners' identifications, survivors are calling on authorities to use it to help in the reconstruction of the ravaged areas.

Under Japan's law, people who find money can keep it if the original owners do not come forward within the three-month custodial period. When people who find it give up their claim or fail to show up to receive it within two months after the expiration of the custodial period, ownership will be transferred to prefectural governments or the owners of the property where the money was discovered.

According to the police in Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures, police stations receive everyday on average several hundred items containing cash. The areas were hit hard by the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami waves.

The Miyagi prefectural police said the money has only been returned to the owners in less than 10 percent of the total cases. A senior officer of the police force said, "It is impossible to return cash unless it is found inside a wallet together with an ID."

Shigeko Sasaki, 64, who is in a shelter in Miyagi's Minamisanriku, said, "I want anybody picking up money to donate it to disaster-hit areas instead of keeping it for themselves."

Kenji Sato, 65, in Onagawa, also in Miyagi, said it is acceptable for people who find money and report it to the police to eventually keep it "because it means they have goodwill." Sato said he spotted many empty bags being dumped in devastated areas.

Takehiko Yamamura, head of the Disaster Prevention System Institute, urged authorities to set new measures to handle the matter, such as extending the three-month holding period and special permission to open a safe to determine the owner.

(Mainichi Japan) April 9, 2011

10/04 Disaster victims' kin to get 350,000 yen

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The families of victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake will receive 350,000 yen for each member who was killed or is still missing, according to a decision by the Japanese Red Cross Society and three other organizations that have been accepting cash donations.

A committee established to distribute the donations--comprising the organizations and prefectural governments of 15 disaster-affected prefectures--decided Friday how the first 50 billion yen in donations would be used. The committee is chaired by Tsutomu Hotta, president of the Sawayaka Welfare Foundation.

The money was to be first transferred to relevant prefectural governments and then to victims' families via municipal governments by the end of the month. As of Friday, about 27,000 people had died or were still unaccounted for due to the disaster.

Households whose residences were destroyed by the earthquake, tsunami or resulting fires--about 46,000 as of Friday--will receive 350,000 yen each. Households whose homes were severely damaged--about 10,000--will get 180,000 yen each.

The about 65,000 households located within 30 kilometers of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant that have been told to evacuate or stay indoors will receive 350,000 yen each. The committee is treating these people as if their homes were destroyed, irregardless of any damage actually sustained.

The organizations involved are the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Central Community Chest of Japan, as well as NHK and the NHK Public Welfare Organization, which are under the jurisdiction of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

Donations so far have totaled 128.4 billion yen and are expected to exceed the record 179.3 billion yen given after the Great Hanshin Earthquake. The second distribution will address people who were seriously injured or whose houses were flooded, according to the committee.

Because of the wide extent of the damage caused by the March 11 earthquake, the committee was set up so donations could be distributed in an integrated manner, instead of leaving it up to individual organizations and local governments. This is the nation's first attempt to handle a fund of this size and the central government has been helping with management.

Following the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the first distribution of 45.6 billion yen was made 12 days after the disaster. Families received 100,000 yen per family member who died or was missing.

After the March 11 earthquake, many people evacuated to other prefectures and several municipal governments ceased to function, which could make it difficult to get the money to disaster victims.

(Apr. 10, 2011)

05/04 Ingenuity used to rebuild shattered hometowns

2011/04/05

A firefighter takes the first bath in a waste drum 10 days after the Great East Japan Earthquake at a temple ground in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. (Soichiro Yamamoto)

Fishing and farming families who chose to remain behind in their tsunami-devastated communities are slowly moving forward.

Using scraps picked from the endless amount of debris, fishing out equipment from the rubble and holding onto a sense of sharing, they are steadily rebuilding their shattered communities.

At an evacuation center in Toni district in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, 120 residents from the Kerobe community take turns dining under lights formerly used for squid fishing. More than 90 percent of them are from fishing families.

Twenty-two volunteer fire brigade members of the Hirota branch in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, continue to search for missing people while staying alert for possible emergencies.


Evacuees collect wood from collapsed houses for fuel in Minami-Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture. (Shogo Koshida)

After their fire station was submerged, the volunteer firefighters set up a tent at Jionji temple, now an evacuation center, and will soon offer something long taken for granted before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami: a bath.

They have found a waste drum for that purpose.

"I would like evacuees to take a bath after we improve this drum bath," one member said.

Evacuees in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, recently found a few stores open in a shopping district that had once been submerged in about 1.5 meters of muddy water.

Shop operators said their decision to reopen was in response to the evacuees' huge desire to change their clothes. The owners recovered items from the mud and washed them thoroughly.

Despite the enormous demand, price-gouging is nonexistent here.

Each article of clothing is priced at about 10 percent of the normal price.

"I want to offer as cheap prices as possible," a store operator said.

In Minami-Sanriku's Togura district in Miyagi Prefecture, evacuees collected wood and other material from the collapsed houses.

"Gas is running short. I do not know who this wood belonged to, but we will burn it for heat because it is useful for all of us," an evacuee said.

Also in Minami-Sanriku, the operator of a gas station that reopened the day after the earthquake continues using a manual pump to provide fuel.

He lost his parents and house in the tsunami.

"My father is still missing," he said. "But he would say, 'You don't have to search for me. Help your neighbors first.'"

04/04 Young children taken under uncle's wing after losing parents in tsunami

Young children taken under uncle's wing after losing parents in tsunami

RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate -- Three children orphaned by a tsunami that devastated the town of Rikuzentakata on March 11 have found a new home with their uncle.

Masanori Matsuda, a 41-year-old resident of Rikuzentakata made the decision to take his sister's three children into his home after learning of her death. He remains uncertain how the new family will survive, but was adamant not to leave the children by themselves.

Matsuda found the siblings -- 8-year-old Mitsuho, and Mitsuho's 7-year-old twin sisters Akari and Minori -- after he fled from the tsunami on March 11.

Shortly before the tsunami struck, a frantic voice warned of the impending disaster over the town's loudspeakers.

"The tsunami is going to break the levee. Flee immediately."

Matsuda got his mother and quickly drove with her toward a shelter in the town. Behind him he could see the tsunami knocking down telephone poles as the spray of waves rose into the air. As he sped toward higher ground, he saw his 4-year-old daughter Honomi being led barefoot uphill by a nursery worker. He pulled her into the car through the window. At the shelter he found his 7-year-old daughter Yukina and his sister Kaoru's three children.

After taking the five children to his aunt's home, he continued to search for his sister. The following day he met a person who reported his sister heading toward a gym designated as a shelter, along with his sister's 46-year-old husband Tomoyasu, a volunteer firefighter, directing traffic in front of the gym. But the gym was engulfed by the tsunami, leaving hardly any survivors. His sister's home was also struck by the tsunami, and after the waves receded, only the foundations remained.

On March 18, one week after the tsunami, Matsuda found the body of his sister in a morgue. Her husband and her husband's parents remained missing.

Matsuda's nephew and nieces attended the same school as his daughter and the children often played together. He knew how much his sister loved her children and it was heartrending when he thought about what had happened to her. Matsuda couldn't bring himself to tell the children about their mother's death.

"When the phones start working I want to call mom right away," one of the children said. The siblings were longing for their mother's comfort and Matsuda was seized with emotion.

Still, he wanted the children to be able to say a final farewell to their mother, and on the evening before her body was cremated, he decided to tell them about her death.

"What, what?" the children innocently asked as Matsuda prepared to break the news to them. He gathered his courage.

"Your mom and dad have both died. Today you can cry, as much as you want."

The room was filled with sadness. At that moment Matsuda's 41-year-old wife Aya spoke up.

"From now on Yukina's dad and I will be your dad and mom," she told the three.

An Iwate Prefectural Government survey of 350 shelters in the prefecture, conducted between March 25 and 31, found that the parents of 50 children under the age of 18 had either died or were missing. However, like the three children that Matsuda took into his home, there are believed to be many children who are being looked after by relatives after having lost their parents, and the total number of orphaned children remains unknown.

Click here for the original Japanese story

(Mainichi Japan) April 4, 2011

東日本大震災：津波で亡くなった姉、残された３児　弟一家迎え入れ－－岩手・陸前高田

　◇みんなのパパになるよ
　東日本大震災の津波で自宅や勤め先の会社を流され、避難所生活を送る岩手県陸前高田市の会社員、松田雅範さん（４１）が津波で亡くなった姉、新沼薫さん（４５）の幼い子供３人を新しい家族として受け入れる決意をした。松田さん自身も妻と２人の娘をもち、生活の見通しはまったくない。だが「震災遺児」となったおい、めいだけにするわけにはいかなかった。【沢田勇】

　松田さんが家族として迎え入れたのは薫さんの長男実歩（みつほ）君（８）と双子の姉妹の朱莉（あかり）ちゃん（７）、美尭（みのり）ちゃん（７）。薫さんは遺体で発見され、夫友康さん（４６）や友康さんの両親は行方が分かっていない。

　　　　■

　「津波が堤防を越えます。今すぐ逃げてください」。３月１１日、松田さんは母を連れて車で避難所に向かった。拡声機から聞こえる防災無線の絶叫にも近い声は、事の重大さを物語っていた。背後で電柱がなぎ倒され、水しぶきが見えた。急いでハンドルを切って高台を目指すと、保育士に連れられ素足で坂を駆け上る次女穂乃実（ほのみ）ちゃん（４）を見つけ、運転席の窓から車内に引き入れた。その後、避難所を訪ね歩き、長女由希菜（ゆきな）ちゃん（７）と、薫さんの子供３人の無事を確認した。

　叔母の家に５人の子供を預け、薫さんらを捜し続けた。翌１２日。避難所の市民体育館に向かう薫さんと、消防団員として体育館前で交通整理をしていた友康さんの姿を目撃したという人に出会った。体育館は、津波にのまれ生存者がほとんどいない避難所だった。薫さんの家も基礎が残るのみだった。

　震災１週間後の１８日、松田さんは遺体安置所で薫さんと再会した。薫さんの子供たちと自分の長女は同じ小学校。一緒に遊ぶことも多かった。どれだけ子供たちを愛していたか、よく知っている。姉の無念さを思うと、やるせなかった。

　薫さんの死を子供たちに告げられなかった。「電話が通じるようになったら、早くお母さんに電話したいな」。甘えたい盛りの子供の気持ちを思うと、胸が締め付けられた。それでも「最期の別れだけは立ち会わせたい」と火葬前日の２３日夜、事実を告げることにした。

　「なに、なに」。無邪気な子供たちを前に、声を振り絞った。「お母さんもお父さんもみんな死んじゃいました。今日はいっぱい、いっぱい泣いていいからね」

　悲しみに包まれる部屋。そして松田さんと妻あやさん（４１）は、こう告げた。

　「これからは由希菜のパパとあやちゃんが、みんなのパパとママになります」

　　　　■

　岩手県が３月２５～３１日、県内約３５０カ所の避難所で行った調査によると、幼児～１８歳未満のうち、両親が死亡・行方不明になった子供が約５０人確認された。しかし、薫さんの子供のように親族に引き取られ避難所にいない子も多いとみられ、全体像は分からない。

　陸前高田市教育委員会が各小中学校を通じて行った調査では、市内の小中学生だけで２７人（２日現在）が震災遺児となっている。市の担当者は「まだ増える可能性もあり、実態を早急に把握する必要がある」と話す。

　　　　■

　松田さんは自らも家や職を失った。「正直、この先どうしていいか分かりません」。表情には不安も漂うが、姉の愛した子供たちをどうしても見放すことはできなかったという。

　「逆の立場だったら姉も同じことをしてくれたと思いますよ」

03/04 夫のジャンパー着て、不明の夫捜し続ける妻

夫のジャンパーを着て、夫を捜す三浦富士子さん（宮城県石巻市で）＝大塚美智子撮影

　東日本大震災で津波による大被害を受けた宮城県石巻市のがれきの中で、同市南浜町の三浦富士子さん（７０）が、行方不明の夫、政行さん（７５）を毎日捜し続けている。

　羽織っているのは、津波から逃げる際に政行さんが手渡してくれた緑色のジャンパー。「夫が抱きしめてくれているみたいで温かい」――。今年７月には金婚式を迎える予定だった。

　三浦さん夫婦は自宅で地震に遭った。政行さんは神棚を押さえ、富士子さんはストーブの火を消し、玄関のドアを開けた。「早く外に出ろ！（孫が通っている）小学校へ行け」。政行さんは富士子さんにこう叫び、着ていたジャンパーを脱ぎ、手渡した。「寒いからこれを。後で追いかけるから」。これが２人が交わした最後の言葉になった。後で近所の人に聞くと、政行さんは自宅で別れた後、近所の家を一軒一軒回って避難を呼びかけていた。

（2011年4月3日02時27分 読売新聞）

02/04 Final Miyakejima evacuees return home

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Eleven years after volcanic eruptions forced the evacuation of Miyakejima island, residents of the eastern district--the sole area still closed due to lingering fears of sulfur dioxide in volcanic gas--returned to live in their homes again Friday.

This marked the first time since the island was evacuated in September 2000, following a series of eruptions of Mt. Oyama, that all the islanders have been able to resume life in their original homes.

The eastern district, formerly the island's hub, was home to a village office and had a population of about 300. On Friday, 39 residents from 29 households returned to their homes on the condition they install desulfurization equipment.

Some compared their experiences as evacuees to people left homeless by the March 11 earthquake that hit the Tohoku and Kanto regions. Several had words of encouragement for the disaster victims, saying: "Don't give up. You'll definitely be able to return to your homes."

Kimiyo Yamamoto, 70, and her husband Mitsuharu, 75, returned to their home, part of which they used to run as a guest house before the eruptions made them leave the island. "It took a long time to return. I want to fill our garden with flowers," Kimiyo said.

The Yamamotos lived in public housing in Tokyo before returning to Miyakejima three years ago. The lingering fear of volcanic gas, however, meant they had to live in another part of the island. But they planted a cherry tree and camellia plant in the garden of their original house, dreaming of the day they could finally return.

When the Yamamotos see people from the Tohoku region who lost their homes and families on the news, they remember their lives as evacuees. They donated 10,000 yen from their pensions to people affected by the disaster.

"People from across the country supported us warmly. Now it's our turn," they said.

Moriyuki Hayashi, an official at the local municipal branch office of the Tokyo metropolitan government, also returned to his home Friday. He had been living in a teachers' residence elsewhere on the island.

"I want to tell the Tohoku evacuees, 'Never give up.' They have to keep up hope they'll be able to return to their hometown," said Hayashi, 54.

(Apr. 2, 2011)

25/03 Disaster victims need to be 'matched' with 2nd hometown as rebuilding will take time

Disaster victims need to be 'matched' with 2nd hometown as rebuilding will take time

People sit in a closed junior high school being used as a shelter following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, in the Iwate Prefecture city of Kamaishi on March 17. (Mainichi )

A staff member from a nursing home in Saitama Prefecture was at a loss for words upon visiting Saitama Super Arena, a stadium where many evacuees from the disaster in northeastern Japan are taking shelter.

Elderly refugees and their families packed the facility, with those requiring nursing care getting their diapers changed in the hallway. Staff from the Saitama-based nursing home brought five of the elderly -- showing such symptoms as dehydration caused by fevers and decreased consciousness levels -- along with two family members back to their nursing home.

The following day, local government officials began transferring evacuees in need of medical treatment and other care to welfare facilities with availability. When evacuees first arrived in Saitama, however, the provision of "care" involved doctors, lawyers and administrative scriveners just listening to the problems and needs voiced by the displaced.

Learning of such distressing conditions, an operator of nursing homes and home-visit nursing care centers in Chiba Prefecture offered to take in evacuees via prefectural authorities. While a survey by the Chiba prefectural government found that facilities across Chiba are capable of accepting some 600 evacuees, such facilities have been unable to get in touch with communities affected by the disaster. Little progress has been made thus far by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to coordinate matches between disaster victims in need and those offering their assistance.

Many of those affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are elderly. Although their lives were spared by the natural disaster itself, their health can easily deteriorate if shelters are unable to provide adequate food and water, endangering their lives once again if they lack the care they need. Many facilities across the country are offering their help, but that goodwill goes to waste if they cannot come in contact with the victims.

Kameda Medical Center in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture, is hosting all 184 of the elderly residents and staff from Onahama Tokiwaen, a nursing care facility located in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki, which was severely affected by the earthquake, tsunami and the subsequent nuclear power plant accident. Doctors and other staff from Onahama Tokiwaen are staying -- along with the facility's elderly residents -- at a Kampo no Yado resort inn near Kameda Medical Center, providing residents with daily care.

Volunteers prepare to give out food to people in a school gymnasium acting as a shelter for those whose homes were damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Sunday, March 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham )

The Iwaki local government says it considers the inn a temporary enclave of the city and plans to foot the expenses of nursing care insurance the same way it did when residents were physically ill in Iwaki. Meanwhile, Kameda Medical Center has provided assistance not only in medical care, but also in maintaining contact with the Fukushima Prefecture and Iwaki City governments.

Under current circumstances in which municipal governments in affected areas have yet to resume regular functions, relocating entire welfare facilities or evacuation shelters, with the host facility or hospital cooperating with local governments to set up a system for providing care, is an effective alternative. Why not consider having local governments far away from the disaster split the task of hosting entire communities from the disaster areas?

The aforementioned nursing home in Saitama took in elderly refugees from evacuation shelters without any personal identity verification. Moreover, the nursing home is currently footing the expenses of the families accompanying the elderly they accepted. The system must retroactively complement what is taking place, and the national government must provide its full support in realizing it.

Due to the sheer magnitude of the disaster, many victims are expected to be living in shelters for a long time to come. We must take part in relief efforts as if we are creating a second hometown for the victims.

Click here for the original Japanese story

(Mainichi Japan) March 25, 2011

30/03 Survivors fete miraculous return to life / Stories emerge of heroism, luck, quick thinking amid tsunami's furious onslaught

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Some people's miraculous return to life from the brink of death in the March 11 earthquake-tsunami disaster was a result of their desperate desire to emerge alive, combined with layers of lucky coincidence.

One person survived by holding onto wooden pillars as if surfing on the surging tide, while another managed to breathe in the narrow space between a building ceiling and rising floodwaters. All their narratives attest to the tsunami's real horror.

===

Car floats to 2nd-floor height

Yuko Ono, 39, of Yamadamachi, Iwate Prefecture, was driving a minivan when the tsunami hit the town. Her quick decision to drive her car into a narrow path saved the lives of three people.

Ono was on the way home with her son, Kento, 8, and his classmate sitting on the backseat, when she witnessed a tsunami breaking down the several-meter-high waterfront dike and heading toward them.

"I thought we'd be washed away," Ono recalled.

She put the car into reverse gear and entered a narrow path just wide enough for her car.

Water surged into the U-shaped area, which was enclosed by houses. Within seconds, the van floated to a height equivalent to the second floor of the adjacent buildings, just like an elevator.

The van was pushed up quickly and roughly, but walls of the surrounding houses prevented her car from tipping over.

Ono's van drifted on the water like a boat for about 500 meters, getting stuck on a tree that stopped it from being washed away.

When the water receded, the vehicle "landed on" the debris without losing its balance. Many cars were washed away, lying around her van.

Ono and the two children smashed the car windows to escape, and dashed uphill. "We survived because of the surrounding walls," Ono said. "The wave hit the van not from the side but the front, and we didn't move. These factors might've kept my van from overturning.

"When I almost gave up [on our lives], my son cheerfully said, 'We'll survive.' That helped me gain some hope," Ono said.

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Surfing on the flood

Fifty-six-year-old firefighter Junnosuke Oikawa and five or six of his colleagues were swallowed up by the tsunami floodwaters quickly roiling up to the ceiling of the second floor of their workplace in Minami-Sanrikucho, Miyagi Prefecture.

"I thought to myself, 'I can't make my wife a widow; I have to survive for my family,'" said Oikawa, recalling when the water nearly engulfed him.

He said the tsunami came at about 30 kph and pushed him about 500 meters. Then the backwash dragged him toward the sea for about two kilometers.

Oikawa heard roaring and rattling sounds, and saw cars and gas cylinders in the water. He grabbed a nearby pillar to raise himself up to get a breath of air.

Then the next wave hit him. Oikawa reacted by swiftly holding wooden posts in both hands and pulling them together to his chest, managing to ride out the wave in a way akin to surfing.

In his childhood, Oikawa said, he used to tie a plank to his waist to ride the waves for fun at the nearby beach.

"It was popular [among kids growing up] in a seaside town. If I hadn't known to do that, I would've been swallowed up by the water," Oikawa said.

He was rendered unconscious a bit, but was rescued in the town's Togura district, about five kilometers south from where the tsunami first hit him. "Tsunamis are a killer. I thought I died many times," Oikawa said.

===

Stuck between ceiling, water

When the massive earthquake struck the Unosumai district in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, Norikichi Ichikawa, 41, and his mother were evacuating to the district's disaster management center, where 54 people died in the ensuing tsunami.

Water broke the windows and entered the building, soon roiling up to the ceiling. Ichikawa's body floated on the surface, with his left side touching the ceiling.

He almost was squashed by the rising water, but held his mother's hand tight.

"I couldn't breathe. I thought I'd die. But I thought I had to save my mother's life at the very least," Ichikawa recalled.

He gradually fell unconscious and thought, "This might be it." In the next breath, water receded to create a slight gap between the ceiling and water surface. He rose up to breathe as much as possible.

The water kept receding, but his mother died, and many bodies were lying around him.

Furniture blocked the center's entrance. For two nights until being rescued, Ichikawa and 25 other survivors remained in the building. Ichikawa said he swallowed too much muddy water and passed black urine for three or four days.

"I will live the rest of my life thinking of my mother, whose life was extinguished without mercy," Ichikawa said.

===

Using sunlight as a beacon

Fisherman Yoshinori Yamazaki, 62, was in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture when the tsunami struck, and was violently tossed about in the water. While submerged, he tried to calm down and opened his eyes looking for the sunlight, to indicate the direction of the water surface to try to reach for air.

Yamazaki struggled to break the surface but soon was dragged away by the water. He kept searching for the sunlight.

When the tsunami surged toward him, Yamazaki hopped on the bed of a light truck and held the vehicle's rollover bar. He and the truck immediately were swallowed by torrents of water, and the high-pressure flow pulled his hands away from the post.

The water current apparently was forming whirlpools, and it quickly and forcefully dragged Yamazaki down as he tried to emerge on the surface. He kept looking for the sunlight that would indicate the surface direction. "I remember I tried doing that three times," Yamazaki said.

But he then fell unconscious when his feet touched the ground as the water receded. He was rescued by local residents.

===

Wheelchair sits on table

On the first floor of Riverside Shunpo nursing home for the elderly in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Norie Kanno, 86, was singing karaoke at an event at the facility when the tsunami hit the building.

Kanno, who was wheelchair-bound, and the others evacuated to the kitchen. In less than five minutes, the kitchen was filled with water, which rose higher than Kanno's head. "I thought I should focus on not swallowing water," said Kanno, who covered her mouth with a scarf and closed her eyes in the water.

Kanno nearly fell unconscious from a lack of oxygen. A few minutes later, another big wave hit the kitchen, making her body float. The next thing she knew, she and her wheelchair sat on the one-meter-tall table, on which she used to dine with her housemates. "I survived. It's a miracle," Kanno said.

With the help of nursing home staff, she evacuated to the building's rooftop.

Waiting for rescue, Kanno saw houses being pushed out to sea, driving her to tears.

About 50 people died at the nursing home.

Like Kanno, two other elderly people in wheelchairs survived by floating onto the table merely by chance. "I'd like to live a healthy life for my friends," Kanno said.

(Reported by Hiroshi Uesugi, Masanori Yamashita, Hironori Kanashima, Yosuke Honbu and Kenichiro Tashiro)

(Mar. 30, 2011)