No more Fukushima

While all of urban India gears for a blockbuster World Cup Cricket final showdown, some of us continue to share the pain and show solidarity with the people of Japan. Messages are being exchanged among writers and intellectuals voicing concern for the plight of the people of Japan. May the world  never see another Fukushima or Chernobyl.



Renowned authors Mridula Garg from India and Yuko Tsushima from Japan have shared this deeply moving message

Dear Dear Mridula,

I want you the voice from India "No more Fukushima!".
I believe we have to now cooperate against Nuclear power plant
and also of course, nuclear weapons for our planet with deep,strong anger.

I know your own philosophy, and I learned from you the beautiful word "Dependence". All of us, all of lives are connecting, we are altogather in this world. Yes, it's true.I think now we should act as one of novelists for our planet and all of lives on this planet. At first we were shocked and then weeping for this disaster, but now we got angry with the voice "No more Fukushima!".

When we visited you in New Delhi, it was the time many Japanese papers said India and Paki will soon begin the nuclear war, and already American embassy or Japanese embassy returned to their countries.I am feeling now this case is very similar with our case.Every people on this Earth has so great fear about nuclear power always!
Please, tell your friends "No more Fukushima!" in India. Please, give your voice "No more Fukushima!" to me, I will send it my friends, the novelists, the poets and so on all over the world.
with deepest love,

Yuko Tsushima

***
Here's another message from Author and journalist Ammu Joseph:

May I take this opportunity to share a statement drafted by Romila Thapar and Praful Bidwai regarding the


grave nuclear crisis in Japan and its implications for India? The aim

is to enable citizens, and not just "experts," to engage in the debate.

The idea is to publish the statement in the press and on the internet to

build up public pressure for an honest and serious evaluation of the

situation, especially vis a vis India's nuclear programme. If you wish to endorse the statement, please e-mail Praful Bidwai asap. I'm sure the statement would be greatly strengthened if well-known creative writers like all of you (who can't be dismissed as part of the "anti-nuclear camp") sign on.

And do circulate widely
Ammu

Japan’s nuclear crisis is a wake-up call for India
We deeply regret the death and devastation caused by

the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and are gravely concerned at the disaster

at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station,

where reactors suffered serious accidents damaging their cores, and released

harmful radiation, resulting in radiation burns and other injuries.
Fukushima’s radiation releases have contaminated drinking water in Tokyo, 220 kilometres

away. According to preliminary estimates based on data from a United Nations

agency, Fukushima has already released about one-fifth as much iodine-131 as

the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe, and half as much caesium-137; both cause

cancer. The crisis shows that even in an industrially advanced country, nuclear reactors

are vulnerable to catastrophes irrespective of precautions and safety measures.

Small individual incidents in them can spiral into serious mishaps. The

earthquake cut off primary power supply to the reactors. The backup power

failed with the tsunami. Loss of cooling water precipitated the crisis. Two

weeks on, Fukushima remains a threat to the public.
The Japanese nuclear crisis is a wake-up call for India, which has launched a huge

nuclear expansion programme. Yet, instead of acknowledging the gravity of the

crisis, our Department of Atomic Energy has cavalierly minimised it, described

it a “purely chemical reaction”, and declared that Indian reactors cannot

undergo serious accidents.We strongly believe that India must radically review its

nuclear power policy for appropriateness, safety, costs, and public acceptance,

and undertake an independent, transparent safety audit of all its nuclear

facilities, which involves non-DAE experts and civil society organisations. Pending the review, there should be a moratorium on all further nuclear activity, and revocation of recent clearances for nuclear projects.