March 21, 2011
Japanese Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
c/o Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association
Dear fellow physicians and health rights activists;
It is with great sadness that we learned of the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last March 11, the largest earthquake 8.9 magnitude in Japanese history, causing a great deal of loss and damages.
In behalf of the members of Medical Action Group (MAG), I am expressing both our most profound condolences and sympathies, as well as our solidarity with people of Japan, as you strive to cope with this tragedy whose devastation, it pains us, are still unfolding.
The fight to contain the damages at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant appeared to be a “slow-moving nightmare” as its damaged nuclear reactors threatening to spew radiation not only on Japan’s cities, but on the rest of the world which is unprecedented in scale. The principal lesson from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is that even the most disaster-ready country in the world cannot have enough of disaster preparedness.
While at this, we salute the workers of the Fukushima nuclear plant, who continue to volunteer to try to save their nation from nuclear radioactive fallout. Some of these workers have lost their families, their homes and everything they ever knew to the earthquake and tsunami, yet they continue to volunteer in shifts, when the radioactivity limits are low enough to permit their survival, to try to protect their nation and quell a worldwide ecological catastrophe.
As the scale of the damaged sank in, let the Fukushima nuke disaster be the beginning of the end of the move to study the feasibility of reactivating the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in the country. The Philippine government cannot ignore the lesson of the Fukushima disaster. We must not let this nuke disaster scourge continue.
During these difficult times, we stand ready to extend any support, in any way we can, to people of Japan through your organization and affiliates, as your country strives to cope with the aftermath of this tragic event, a disaster of this magnitude shaking a country to its foundations.
While materially we have very little to extend to the survivors of earthquake and tsunami, our deepest sympathies are with people of Japan. We can only hope and pray that people of Japan would find the fortitude to withstand the catastrophe that has come in the wake of that unprecedented calamity.
May the spirit of hope and courage continue to lift the collective will of people of Japan to rise from the rubble of this tragic event.
In solidarity,
Petronilo Pascual, M.D.
Chairperson
Medical Action Group, Inc. (MAG)