TOKYO (BP)--It took six days for Southern Baptist disaster relief specialists from Alabama and South Carolina to gain access to Japan's tsunami- and earthquake-stricken Tohoku prefecture.
It only took a few minutes, however, for them to understand the intense fears surrounding the nuclear crisis and how it affects disaster response.
Hardly anyone was at the Tokyo airport when John Hayes of Birmingham, Ala., and Eddie Pettit of Sunset, S.C., arrived March 19. With no traffic, the bus trip into town took only an hour that Saturday, a ride that normally takes two or more. Even the busiest crosswalk in the country only mustered 15 to 20 people. Normally this corner is a sea of hundreds dressed in black business suits, jockeying for space to cross the street.
Despite living more than 200 miles from the failing Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo residents stayed home, creating a "ghost town" atmosphere. In a city of nearly 13 million people, most venture out only to purchase bottled water and toilet paper.
"The fear of radiation is really the biggest obstacle in responding to Japan's disaster," Pettit admits. "It's not only affected the Japanese but it's dominated the media and created fear throughout the world.
"We have to convince the people in the States that it's safe to work here," he adds. "I want Southern Baptists to know that the radiation scare is a lot worse in the States than it is here now."
Tokyo and surrounding areas are slowly coming back to life three weeks after the nightmare began. People are venturing back to work and restaurants reopening. The fear, though, is still hidden just below the surface. It comes out in simple things like wondering if the fruit or vegetables you buy came from Fukushima or if the tap water has radiation contamination.
The possibility of radiation is always at the back of people's minds, especially when members of Tokyo Baptist Church sit around a table to talk with Hayes and Pettit on ways to launch a disaster relief ministry amid Japan's triple disaster. Read More
Source: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=34953
Reprinted with permission from BAPTIST PRESS
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