Antinuclear

Japanese women in Sydney host holidays for Fukushima children

In Japan they cannot go outside without masks, without worrying about radiation. Even in school at PE time, they have to stay indoors.

“So [here in Sydney] they are so happy to walk around, go to the beach, and be free without radiation.”

Fukushima children swap fear for fun, ABC 702 Sydney, Monique Ross, August 17, 2011  A Japanese woman living in Australia is helping children living in the shadow of the Fukushima nuclear crisis forget the worries plaguing their region – if only for a little while.

Many parents sent their children away from Fukushima in the aftermath of the March disaster and life has also changed for those who remain, with outside play heavily restricted. While watching the continuing crisis unfold from her home in Sydney, Yukiko Hirano decided to form the Sydney Rainbow Stay Project.

The program takes children away from the nuclear fears that hang over their lives in Japan and brings them to Sydney for a home-stay holiday.

“My friend, who lives in Sydney, her nephew actually came across after the disaster and she was taking care of him so he didn’t have to stay in a shelter in Japan,” Ms Hirano told ABC News Online.

“He stayed about one month. In the beginning he was very nervous, and suffering from trauma, and after one week he was smiling and talking to his aunt. He started to become normal again.

“In Sydney he wasn’t worried about any earthquakes or radiation.

“I wanted to give other children in Japan [the chance to] escape their radiation fears.”

A handful of other Japanese women in Sydney volunteered their time to help turn the project into reality.

The first group of children brought to Sydney’s shores by the project is from Iwaki city, about 40 kilometres from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant……..

In Japan they cannot go outside without masks, without worrying about radiation. Even in school at PE time, they have to stay indoors.

“So they are so happy to walk around, go to the beach, and be free without radiation.”

‘Tremendous stress’

Children aged 12-17 with a disaster certificate are eligible to apply for the all-expenses-paid holiday, while those without a disaster certificate can apply but must pay their own way.

Run by volunteers and funded by donations, the project has attracted the support of several local organisations.

It also caught the eye of the councillor for Iwaki city, Azusa Fukujima, who says residents still suffer “tremendous stress from fear of radiation”.

Ms Fukujima says her worries for the children of Fukushima are “endless”.

“Currently all childcare centres, primary and secondary schools are restricting outdoor activities,” she said in a letter on the project’s website.

“Air circulators in each classroom are monitored carefully to prevent radiation entering the building.

“The children are unable to lead the normal life. I only wish we can allow our children to run outside without having to worry about radiation…..

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-17/japan-kids-swap-fear-for-fun/2843396/?site=sydney

August 19, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, New South Wales