The Great East Japan Earthquake：Medical support report No8 by Fukushima SOUSOU
We report the activity by the nurse, named Yoko Ochiai, who is in charge of psychological therapy in the Minami-Soma office which belong to the ” Psychological therapy NAGOMI in Soma wide area.”
Staffs of Minami-Soma office makes a variety of support, for example, visits to each house, operating gathering in temporary housing area, making communities for bereaved families, and supporting mothers and children. In these activities, I am in charge of visits to each house. Regarding to this activity, in addition these 160 cases which continuing visits to bereaved families and who needs mental care support, we visit the people who need some kind of support by requests from the welfare center and supporters of provisional housing area.
Minami-Soma has been sustained damage both from Tsunami and the nuclear accident. The earthquake sufferers there live in many kinds of places, such like the house in which they has lived from before the disaster, temporary housing, social apartments, new houses on the disaster area or new area. In the future, disaster restoration housing will be built up more and more, dwelling environment will be changed. And there are many differences about the timing of going back to home and the amount of compensation be dependent on from where you are, in the area people is prohibited to come in , or not to live in, or ready to go back in Minami-Soma. As described, some things are unfair, and the people lived there are not satisfied.
” We lost the 50 years of effort in the moment”
,said 70-year-old married pair who lived in the area I visited. They lost all of the house and the field they had fertilized for long time by the Tsunami. Not only they lost the things but also they lost the time with their children and grandchild because they moved to other prefecture. Because of effect of radiation, they don’t come to Minami Soma. As the old married pair will move to the disaster restoration housing, the apartment is not started to build up.
“Nobody comes back to the house”
, said the person who had reformed his house visited by Tsunami and came back from the provisional housing. Despite he has gone back, no neighbor comes back home. The neighbor view is changed a lot because of the Tsunami. He realized he cannot return to his old life despite his house is reformed.
From a variety of cases which I experienced, I realized the people have trepidation three years and four months later. There are many cases which they cannot find resolutions to dissolve these concerns, I hope we can help them to find the ways by regular visiting.
We have not find the completion of psychological care in the disaster area. We will continue to support them in the long term.
Nurse Yoko Ochiai
