Fukushima victims are desperate, angry, homeless

[smile72]

Fukushima, Japan — At last, victims of Japan's nuclear crisis can claim compensation. And they are angry.
They are furious at the red tape they have to wade through just to receive basic help and in despair they still cannot get on with their lives seven months after the huge quake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

Shouts fill a room at a temporary housing complex where seven officials, kneeling in their dark suits, face 70 or so tenants who were forced to abandon their homes near the Fukushima nuclear plant after some of its reactors went into meltdown after the March 11 quake struck.

"We don't know who we can trust!" one man yelled in the cramped room where the officials were trying to explain the hugely complex procedures to claim compensation.

"Can we actually go back home? And if not, can you guarantee our livelihoods?"

About 80,000 people were forced to leave their homes by the nuclear crisis.

While the owner of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, has made temporary payments to some victims, it was only last month that it finally began accepting applications for compensation.But the procedure is so complicated that it seems to just make things worse.
After claimants have read a 160-page instruction manual, they then have to fill in a 60-page form and attach receipts for lodging, transportation and medical costs.

"It's too difficult. I'm going to see how it goes. I don't want to rush and mess up," said Toshiyuki Owada, 65, an evacuee from Namie town, about 20 km (12 miles) away from the plant.

Owada is one of many who still has not applied for compensation even though they have lost jobs or businesses and are running out of cash.
Complex and unfair
The complexity of the task is one deterrent.

There is another — the perception that Tepco is not playing fair.

Confidence in the authorities is low. The government is seen as having bungled its early response to the crisis and being secretive about what was really happening.

Tepco is accused of failing to take sufficient safety measures at the Fukushima plant even though it knew the risks and then deliberately underplaying the extent of the accident.

It is also seen as insensitive.

One clause in the original instruction booklet telling victims they would have to agree to waive their right to challenge the compensation amount in order to receive payment provoked a public uproar.

Chastised by the government, the company promised to drop the clause, issued a simplified 4-page instruction booklet and assigned 1,000 employees to Fukushima prefecture to help victims with the process.

"There may be times when the content is difficult to understand or in some cases our employee in charge may not grasp it fully, but we would like to explain and respond as carefully as possible," said Tepco spokesman Naoyuki Matsumoto.

Source:MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn...c/#.Tp4rPJviGU8

Opinions?????

 

[geminisama]

I feel bad for those victims, as such needed aid shouldn't be so hard to get.

 

[ZAFDeltaForce]

This is bullshit. All these guys want is to get back to their lives.

It's amazing to see how selfish and low humans can get some times

 

[Zetta_x]

Just wait until some of them starts mutating; the owners of the nuclear plant would not be very happy if a human fireball showed up at their steps.

 

[Densetsu]

Chances are very high that I'll be going there on a medical volunteer trip this summer. I'll post live from the scene if and when I do go.

 

[Thesolcity]

Is the U.S. still sending aid there?

 

[smile72]

I'm planning on going to Japan during the summer, I plan on stopping in Aomori, Fukushima and Sendai. I won't be able to help though .

 

[sputnix]

Is the U.S. still sending aid there?

I doubt any country is sending aid anymore [and besides could the states really afford it]
Once the problem left the media to the next disaster governments stop sending aid as it's out of the public's mind [an unfortunate truth]. Look at Haiti it's been over a year since the earthquake yet no one seems to care that the situation hasn't improved much