Aujourd'hui je vais m'exprimer en français, pour changer !
Mes réservations sont faites, je rejoins les filles à Perth, départ mercredi soir, via HK (mais pas de stopover, désolée les amies).
Je rebondis sur une remarque d'Ines, depuis son hotel d'Osaka, qui fait un travail d'information immense auprès de la communauté française tout en occupant ses enfants, mais qui note que sa décision de ne pas quitter le Japon est condamnée par l'AFJ et l'AFe.
La question que l'on pose nous de façon directe ou indirecte, nous les gaijin qui sommes encore à Tokyo ou au Japon: pourquoi rester si votre présence n'est pas nécessaire? C'est en gros la teneur des messages que nous recevons de nos ambassades depuis le weekend dernier, nous enjoignant à quitter la région de Tokyo/Yokohama et les provinces de Nagano et Niigata, et nous offrant une assistance de départ, que ce soit par des vols de ligne pour les Suisses, ou des charters sur Paris au frais de l'état pour les Français. Ces décisions ont été prises sur la base du "principe de précaution", c'est à dire la nécessité d'éviter tout risque, si minime soit-il. Apparemment les assurances du gouvernment japonais, les données des scientifiques qui depuis le début nous répètent que cet incident gravissime ne ressemble en rien à Chernobyl et que Tokyo n'est pas dans la zone à risques, tout cela ne pèse pas lourd.
Pour Steve, c'est simple: le bureau continue de fonctionner "normalement", il tient péniblement la barre (pas tout seul, heureusement), il dirige des équipes encore fragiles suite au traumatisme qu'elles ont vécu - sa présence est indubitablement nécessaire.
Pour moi, c'est différent: mon travail est portable, et je ne suis nécessaire à personne ici sauf à mon mari et ma chienne, ma famille et mes attaches sont ailleurs. Je consomme inutilement des ressources. Et je pourrais tout a fait continuer d'être solidaire depuis l'étranger!
Sans aucun doute, si j'avais des jeunes enfants, j'aurais fait assez rapidement le choix de quitter Tokyo. Bon nombre de Tokyoites sont également partis chez des parents à Nagoya ou Osaka; mon amie Ana, par exemple, est chez des amis Japonais à Kyushu avec ses deux jeunes enfants. N'ayant pas d'amis ou de connaissances ailleurs au Japon, la solution d'un retour au pays aurait été plus pratique que l'hotel indéfiniment à Osaka.
Ma présence n'est pas nécessaire, soit, mais fort appréciée par mon mari (surtout la nuit pour le réchauffer sous la couette car nous ne chauffons plus, par civisme, et il fait 10 degrés dans la chambre le matin!). La chienne, quant à elle, pourrait très bien etre placée chez une amie en attendant que Tokyo revienne à la normale.
Ma présence n'est pas nécessaire, mais elle est fort appréciée par nos amis Japonais, qui sont déroutés et décus par les départs précipités de leurs "foreign guests". Certaines entreprises ont carrément fermé leur bureaux tokyoites. Des ambassades évacuent leur personnel (et non seulement les familles). A un certain niveau, ces décisions officielles communiquent un manque de confiance et de solidarité envers les autorités et le peuple japonais. Ces derniers sont bien trop polis pour le clamer ouvertement, mais commencent à murmurer leur déception.
Quant à l'argument que je consomme inutilement de précieuses ressources, il faut savoir que la population étrangère de Tokyo de pèse pas très lourd: environ 2.5%, et ce chiffre inclut un grand nombre de Coréens ou Chinois de souche de la 2eme ou 3eme génération.
Le principe de précaution, finalement. J'y adhère en partie, dans la mesure ou j'ai décidé de faire partir les filles. Mais j'ai aussi fait l'effort d'essayer par moi-même d'évaluer les risques que je cours en restant ici, en lisant, en m'informant, en écoutant les infos japonaises, les briefings du premier ministre sur NHK, en consultant mes amies japonaises...
Nous avons une tendance naturelle à surévaluer les risques les plus anxiogènes (le rapt d'enfant, le vol en avion) alors qu'il sont statitisquement moins probables, et de sous-évaluer les risques de tous les jours (traverser la rue, prendre le volant, faire du vélo sans casque). Si c'était le contraire la vie serait impossible.
Donc voici mes raisons pour rester à Tokyo (mais seulement jusqu'à mercredi soir!):
Je suis utile, sinon nécessaire, à mon mari qui m'en est bien reconnaissant.
Je fais un geste de solidarité avec les Japonais, si petit soit-il.
Mon évaluation des risques est qu'ils sont gérables et je les accepte: le risque 0 n'existe pas.
Je suis en mesure d'informer et de rassurer quelques personnes de mon petit cercle d'amis et de connaissances sur la situation dans un petit coin de Tokyo.
En retour, les Japonais me donnent une belle leçon de vie: le sens du devoir et du sacrifice, le refus de baisser les bras, la volonté de continuer à vivre, travailler, aller à l'école meme après un événement traumatisant, le respect de soi et de l'autre y compris dans les circonstances les plus difficiles.
A vous qui en France, à Hong Kong, Singapour, ou autre part, vivez dans le temporaire et l'attente: gambatte!
P.S. ce soir nous nous offrons un bon resto! On n'est pas des saints, quand meme...
jeudi 17 mars 2011
Radiation A Concern For Plant Workers, Not Others (NPR)
I heard this reassuring report last night on NPR (via ABC news Australia).
The workers battling the reactors at Fukushima are making a huge sacrifice in order to keep us safe, and we are infinitely grateful for their sense of duty and their selflessness. The samourai spirit lives on !
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/17/134608139/radiation-a-concern-for-plant-workers-no\ t-others?sc=tw
The workers battling the reactors at Fukushima are making a huge sacrifice in order to keep us safe, and we are infinitely grateful for their sense of duty and their selflessness. The samourai spirit lives on !
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/17/134608139/radiation-a-concern-for-plant-workers-no\ t-others?sc=tw
Radiation levels in Tokyo on March 16th (yesterday)
A French graduate student at University of Tokyo is keepng the French community updated with the radioactivity readings carried out by the university, independently of figures reported by the government. Here they are:
As part of university-wide measures against radiation, the University has established
the Environmental Radiological Countermeasures Project Team, as a unified University
entity, in order to tackle the current radioactive-related issue facing Japan.
The Project team will be led by Professor Yoichiro Matsumoto, Executive Vice
President.
Latest Radiation Readings(Provisional values)
Date: 3/16Time Dose-Rate (micro Sv/h)
0:00 0.09 - -
1:00 0.08 - -
2:00 0.1 - -
3:00 0.14 - -
4:00 0.17 - -
5:00 0.17 - -
6:00 0.18 - -
7:00 0.13 - -
8:00 0.16 - -
9:00 0.13 0.07 -
10:00 0.09 0.08 -
11:00 0.1 0.07 -
12:00 0.09 - -
13:00 0.10 - -
13:30 0.06 -
14:00 0.09 - -
15:00 0.10 0.06 -
16:00 0.09 - -
[Reference]
Radiation dose rate in natural environments; 0.1 – 0.3micro Sv/h
The value in natural environments varies depending on areas or weather conditions.
Areas around some natural spas or granites rocks could show readings of relatively
higher dose rates even though such areas are a natural environment.
There is no need to take any emergency measures at the moment.
As part of university-wide measures against radiation, the University has established
the Environmental Radiological Countermeasures Project Team, as a unified University
entity, in order to tackle the current radioactive-related issue facing Japan.
The Project team will be led by Professor Yoichiro Matsumoto, Executive Vice
President.
Latest Radiation Readings(Provisional values)
Date: 3/16
0:00 0.09 - -
1:00 0.08 - -
2:00 0.1 - -
3:00 0.14 - -
4:00 0.17 - -
5:00 0.17 - -
6:00 0.18 - -
7:00 0.13 - -
8:00 0.16 - -
9:00 0.13 0.07 -
10:00 0.09 0.08 -
11:00 0.1 0.07 -
12:00 0.09 - -
13:00 0.10 - -
13:30 0.06 -
14:00 0.09 - -
15:00 0.10 0.06 -
16:00 0.09 - -
[Reference]
Radiation dose rate in natural environments; 0.1 – 0.3micro Sv/h
The value in natural environments varies depending on areas or weather conditions.
Areas around some natural spas or granites rocks could show readings of relatively
higher dose rates even though such areas are a natural environment.
There is no need to take any emergency measures at the moment.
mercredi 16 mars 2011
Thursday afternoon: cold, clear, quiet
My mood is much more serene now, so sorry for being snappish about emails in my last post. Conversations with friends today have given me a lot of relief.
It's windy and cold, the sky is clear, and there are flowers blooming in all the gardens: plum, peach, magnolias.
I went out to walk the dog this morning, stopped by the Seijo Ishi supermarket for my favorite coffee and took some pictures of the well stocked shelves: bento, milk, meat, delicacies from all over (below). I treated us to some smoked salmon in addition to the Italian roast. The fridge is full and I really need nothing more.
I then dropped in on Mitsuko for a tea and we talked dogs, families, and the difference in mood and attitude between the different communities. We are both members of the same women's group, which has been a wonderful source of support, sending around news articles, communiqués from various embassies, suggestions for ways we can help the families up north who are barely surviving. I then met Keiko for lunch (our comfort food: pad thai!) and more talk about the Japanese /western ways of dealing with a crisis such as this. I'll try to gather my thought on this later.
Jiyugaoka was as you would expect on a thursday noon: the restaurant was full, shops were open, and there were no queues. Perhaps yesterday was particularly perturbed because we had two announcements of power cuts that did not eventuate.
Trains were running on the Toyoko line, including express trains. Some workers appeared to be inspecting the tracks, but to far away to see what exactly they were doing.
On the way back I took pictures of the two shops I photographed yesterday: sans queues. Toilet paper was still a popular item, but no one was waiting for it today. Apparently hoarding of toilet paper occurred also during the oil shock. Our Toto toilets are so high-tech, however, that they wash and dry our bums with any need for paper, so we are fine even without the soft fluffy stuff, as long as the power stays on.
Now I'm going to do something I've been procrastinating for several months: get my hair cut.
I went out to walk the dog this morning, stopped by the Seijo Ishi supermarket for my favorite coffee and took some pictures of the well stocked shelves: bento, milk, meat, delicacies from all over (below). I treated us to some smoked salmon in addition to the Italian roast. The fridge is full and I really need nothing more.
I then dropped in on Mitsuko for a tea and we talked dogs, families, and the difference in mood and attitude between the different communities. We are both members of the same women's group, which has been a wonderful source of support, sending around news articles, communiqués from various embassies, suggestions for ways we can help the families up north who are barely surviving. I then met Keiko for lunch (our comfort food: pad thai!) and more talk about the Japanese /western ways of dealing with a crisis such as this. I'll try to gather my thought on this later.
Jiyugaoka was as you would expect on a thursday noon: the restaurant was full, shops were open, and there were no queues. Perhaps yesterday was particularly perturbed because we had two announcements of power cuts that did not eventuate.
Trains were running on the Toyoko line, including express trains. Some workers appeared to be inspecting the tracks, but to far away to see what exactly they were doing.
Now I'm going to do something I've been procrastinating for several months: get my hair cut.
Thursday morning
D'abord mes excuses aux francophones - je continuerai à m'exprimer en anglais, que vous lisez tous étant des personnes cultivées...
The children are in Sydney, much to my relief. The airport was very busy, with queue forming at least an hour before check-in, but orderly, and flights were leaving on schedule. Many people looked like they had been sleeping in the airport waiting for their flight. They have now arrived in Sydney. I hope to join them in Perth next week.
The Filipinos as usual were returning home with all their worldly possessions in blue and white striped "chinese samsonite" bags (see photo).
Radiation levels in Tokyo are still normal. These readings are being closely monitored by IAEA so they are trustworthy.
I finally got a chance to have a frank conversation with Steve last night. He is under huge pressure at work: markets are melting, people are melting, the building is shaking at least once an hour. The Japanese staff are like us trying to resist the terrible panic that has spread through the foreign staff, but being irresistibly infected. He spends his time listening to people's worries, trying to support them, but also has to make very tough business decisions. He is coping, and has some strong people working with him, but he cannot cope with the barrage of non-work related emails. So please refrain from emailing him or others in the same situation with your concerns or "get out of there" messages.
Similarly, I am finding it difficult to respond to "how are you coping?" "what are you planning to do?" emails. I know you mean well, but if you really want to help you will not communicate your worry for us, but only your love, trust and support. If you pray, then do so, we are grateful.
There is a huge and inexplicable divide between the messages we are getting from the Anglo-Saxon embassies and the message we are getting from the European embassies. The former are basically repeating that the situation is serious but this is not Chernobyl, the radiation levels in Tokyo are normal, and at worse we will be told to stay home for a few days. People who lived in Berlin during the Chernobyl crisis remember this is what they were asked to do.
The European embassies (the French and Germans foremost, but now Swiss as well) are organising repatriation flights and basically telling their nationals not only to leave Tokyo but to leave Japan, which is ludicrous.
A reminder: the bombs that fell on Hiroshima did not affect people in Osaka (same distance as we are from Fukushima). Even in the worst case scenario, it is impossible for deadly levels of radiation to be experienced in Tokyo. Longer term effects in terms of contamination are a far greater worry and not solved by leaving for a few weeks.
There is a negative feedback loop at the moment with shortages in Tokyo (fuel, food) making it increasingly difficult to send supplies to the areas affected by the tsunami. We are asked to reduce our consumption. Certain shelves in shops are bare, but there is still plenty of fresh food, meat, vegetables. We are not going to starve. Long queues in front of the corner drugstore: people are hoarding toilet paper and tissues. Queues form also outside Tokyu supermarket, which has limited trading hours because of announced power shortages, which in fact have not occurred in our neighborhood.
Going to walk the dog, admire the plum blossoms blooming everywhere under a blue Tokyo spring sky.
The children are in Sydney, much to my relief. The airport was very busy, with queue forming at least an hour before check-in, but orderly, and flights were leaving on schedule. Many people looked like they had been sleeping in the airport waiting for their flight. They have now arrived in Sydney. I hope to join them in Perth next week.
The Filipinos as usual were returning home with all their worldly possessions in blue and white striped "chinese samsonite" bags (see photo).
Radiation levels in Tokyo are still normal. These readings are being closely monitored by IAEA so they are trustworthy.
I finally got a chance to have a frank conversation with Steve last night. He is under huge pressure at work: markets are melting, people are melting, the building is shaking at least once an hour. The Japanese staff are like us trying to resist the terrible panic that has spread through the foreign staff, but being irresistibly infected. He spends his time listening to people's worries, trying to support them, but also has to make very tough business decisions. He is coping, and has some strong people working with him, but he cannot cope with the barrage of non-work related emails. So please refrain from emailing him or others in the same situation with your concerns or "get out of there" messages.
Similarly, I am finding it difficult to respond to "how are you coping?" "what are you planning to do?" emails. I know you mean well, but if you really want to help you will not communicate your worry for us, but only your love, trust and support. If you pray, then do so, we are grateful.
There is a huge and inexplicable divide between the messages we are getting from the Anglo-Saxon embassies and the message we are getting from the European embassies. The former are basically repeating that the situation is serious but this is not Chernobyl, the radiation levels in Tokyo are normal, and at worse we will be told to stay home for a few days. People who lived in Berlin during the Chernobyl crisis remember this is what they were asked to do.
The European embassies (the French and Germans foremost, but now Swiss as well) are organising repatriation flights and basically telling their nationals not only to leave Tokyo but to leave Japan, which is ludicrous.
A reminder: the bombs that fell on Hiroshima did not affect people in Osaka (same distance as we are from Fukushima). Even in the worst case scenario, it is impossible for deadly levels of radiation to be experienced in Tokyo. Longer term effects in terms of contamination are a far greater worry and not solved by leaving for a few weeks.
There is a negative feedback loop at the moment with shortages in Tokyo (fuel, food) making it increasingly difficult to send supplies to the areas affected by the tsunami. We are asked to reduce our consumption. Certain shelves in shops are bare, but there is still plenty of fresh food, meat, vegetables. We are not going to starve. Long queues in front of the corner drugstore: people are hoarding toilet paper and tissues. Queues form also outside Tokyu supermarket, which has limited trading hours because of announced power shortages, which in fact have not occurred in our neighborhood.
Going to walk the dog, admire the plum blossoms blooming everywhere under a blue Tokyo spring sky.
queuing for toilet paper
queuing in front of the supermarket, waiting for it to open at 12.
mardi 15 mars 2011
Children leaving this evening
I forgot to mention it in my last post, Amira and Laure are leaving at 20.00 this evening (Wednesday) to Sydney, where they will be staying with the Willems (Amira and Alice are over the moon to see each other again). Laure will fly Perth on Saturday and stay with Grandma and Grandpa and the gang of cousins. Amira will stay in Sydney and visit art schools (which was the plan anyway for Spring break, week after next) then join her sister in Perth midweek. I hope I can come and join them around the 25th for a much-needed holiday.
Steve has gone to battle again this morning on the financial markets. The big worry apart from the crash of the Japanese market is the strengthening of the Yen - completely counter-intuitive. He has explained to me why, but it's a little like nuclear science, in one ear, rattled around a bit in the brain setting off a few dim sparks of comprehension, and out the other ear, leaving total darkness behind.
This afternoon we will be either travelling to or waiting at the airport. My Baba (grandfather) used to insist on getting to the airport at least 3 hours before the flight; after laughing about this quirky habit for decades, I think today I will follow his sage advice.
Steve has gone to battle again this morning on the financial markets. The big worry apart from the crash of the Japanese market is the strengthening of the Yen - completely counter-intuitive. He has explained to me why, but it's a little like nuclear science, in one ear, rattled around a bit in the brain setting off a few dim sparks of comprehension, and out the other ear, leaving total darkness behind.
This afternoon we will be either travelling to or waiting at the airport. My Baba (grandfather) used to insist on getting to the airport at least 3 hours before the flight; after laughing about this quirky habit for decades, I think today I will follow his sage advice.
Wednesday: all quiet but still shaking
We had a rather strong shaking last night 22.32. If you want to know exactly when and where we are being rumbled by mother earth, check the website of the Japan Meteorological Agency,
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/quake_singen_index.html
As you can see it doesn't ever really stop. We don't feel them all. But once in a while the floor sways and you stop to listen for the telltale creaks in the walls.
None of us still sleeping in Tokyo are getting more than about 6 hours (I can tell from the time-stamp of the emails!). But we have shelter, electricity, hot showers, pantries full of food, electricity all day long (no cuts in my neighborhood so far), plenty of toilet paper (don't laugh, this is what everyone seems to be buying in truckloads - nothing worse for human dignity than having to wipe your backside with old newspapers).
Hundreds of thousands around Sendai do not enjoy these comforts, and are grieving for their dead, their lost homes, and all the memories they contained.
The climate I feel is shifting from shock to fear to sadness. We have been so preoccupied with particles of radioactive dust that might fall on us (and by the way, that can be dealt with by showering) that we have lost perspective on the real human tragedy. If I am just trembling each time a tremor shakes our solid, earthquake-proof house, then I am one of the lucky ones.
I watched a Japanese new program last night, which attempted to explain the issues at the Fukushima plant and the information about radiation measurements in Sieverts (Sv). As always, once we venture into numbers with a lot of zeros it becomes a challenge to anyone but an engineer who has this hardwired in her brain. The confusion is compounded by the fact that the radiation recorded over Tokyo was in microsieverts, whereas near the plant it recorded in millisieverts, simply because numbers like 0.0004 are unwieldy:
1 Sv = 1000 mSv (millisieverts) = 1,000,000 μSv (microsieverts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert
It helps to draw up a simple table, like the one you would use to convert cubic meters to cubic cm or cubic mm. If this is wrong, engineer friends, then please correct me!
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/quake_singen_index.html
As you can see it doesn't ever really stop. We don't feel them all. But once in a while the floor sways and you stop to listen for the telltale creaks in the walls.
None of us still sleeping in Tokyo are getting more than about 6 hours (I can tell from the time-stamp of the emails!). But we have shelter, electricity, hot showers, pantries full of food, electricity all day long (no cuts in my neighborhood so far), plenty of toilet paper (don't laugh, this is what everyone seems to be buying in truckloads - nothing worse for human dignity than having to wipe your backside with old newspapers).
Hundreds of thousands around Sendai do not enjoy these comforts, and are grieving for their dead, their lost homes, and all the memories they contained.
The climate I feel is shifting from shock to fear to sadness. We have been so preoccupied with particles of radioactive dust that might fall on us (and by the way, that can be dealt with by showering) that we have lost perspective on the real human tragedy. If I am just trembling each time a tremor shakes our solid, earthquake-proof house, then I am one of the lucky ones.
I watched a Japanese new program last night, which attempted to explain the issues at the Fukushima plant and the information about radiation measurements in Sieverts (Sv). As always, once we venture into numbers with a lot of zeros it becomes a challenge to anyone but an engineer who has this hardwired in her brain. The confusion is compounded by the fact that the radiation recorded over Tokyo was in microsieverts, whereas near the plant it recorded in millisieverts, simply because numbers like 0.0004 are unwieldy:
1 Sv = 1000 mSv (millisieverts) = 1,000,000 μSv (microsieverts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sievert
It helps to draw up a simple table, like the one you would use to convert cubic meters to cubic cm or cubic mm. If this is wrong, engineer friends, then please correct me!
SV | mSv | μSv | ||||||
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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