 JCP organizes volunteers to help quake victims reconstruct their lives A month has passed since a major earthquake hit the central region of Niigata Prefecture. With the snow season approaching, quake victims will experience additional hardships. Many volunteers from around the country are working with the Japanese Communist Party National Relief Center in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. Hayashi Michifumi, JCP National Relief Center chief (JCP Executive Committee member), told Akahata about the present situation in the quake-hit areas and how the center is operating. The following is the gist of his remarks: Damage on houses and people The disaster areas and victims have two major problems. One is anxiety many quake victims have concerning how they can rebuild their lives, in particular, regarding housing. Victims who live in shelters will begin to move into temporary housing from November 24. However, the headache for evacuees about life in the future is: Can they count on public financial assistance? What are the conditions for the loans? Can they repay loans if they are granted them? They have lost or are losing their jobs because many workers were dismissed. As the earthquake caused fissures on farmlands, some farmers are afraid they will not be able to continue farming. Mountainous areas are apt to be left out of rehabilitative programs. 7,000 people live in shelters The other aspect is that evacuees are not sure even of their daily livelihood. According to a survey, about 7,000 evacuees still have to take shelter in evacuation centers, tents, and in their cars. Official centers are beginning to be closed. With administrative authorities thinking that need for help has decreased, the influx of food and other aid materials will diminish. At the JCP relief center, however, 300 cardboxes of aid materials arrive every day. They contain oranges, bananas, apples, vegetables, underwear, toys for children, and charcoal to substitute gas for cooking. We have received more than 6,000 volunteers in total from the JCP and democratic organizations. On weekends, more than 200 volunteers a day come to offer help. Their action is an expression of the Japanese people's wishes for offering help to people in difficulty. The JCP is working as a hub to collect and deliver their energy and goodwill to victims. Cooperation with administrative authorities The JCP wants to cooperate with public offices and their employees, who are also affected by the quake, to resolve many questions concerning reconstruction. For example, laws impose certain restrictions in applying for temporary repairs. We demanded that the emergency repair system be flexibly applied in this snow-ridden region. I believe that even under the present system, we can push local and central governments into applying the law practically to meet the needs, if the Diet, the prefectural assembly, local assemblies, and the calls of evacuees become one in the movement. Young people on their own Young volunteers on their own have formed themselves into groups for clean-up, delivery, and cooking miso soup with pork and vegetables. Volunteers have many backgrounds: Some are JCP members, others accompany their friends; some find on the Internet the JCP center to be the best, and some others say they applied to administration authorities only to be dismissed. (end) |