震災後 慰霊こそ防災の核心だ

(Mainichi Japan) April 29, 2011
社説：視点・震災後　慰霊こそ防災の核心だ
A March 11 memorial, with a human touch, may prevent future disasters

It was impossible to hold back tears upon reading an article in the Mainichi some two weeks after the massive March 11 earthquake about a 10-year-old girl at an evacuation shelter.
　巨大地震の発生から約２週間後、小紙に掲載された写真と記事に涙を禁じえなかった。

It was accompanied by a photo of the girl with a bright grin as she played with friends.
　避難所の小学校で１０歳の少女が友達と遊んでいる。彼女は白い歯を見せて笑っている。

According to the article, the tsunami had swallowed up her mother and unborn sister, and her father was still missing. She cried and cried on the day of her mother's burial but hadn't shed a tear since, the girl's grandmother said.
　だが、母と胎内に宿っていた妹が津波にのまれ、父も安否不明なのだ。母の埋葬の日に思い切り泣き、その後は涙を見せていないと祖母が語る。

The forced smile on the girl's face was a painful sight to behold.
無理に作った少女の笑顔が痛々しい。

That was just one child and her experience.
　これは一例に過ぎない。

There are many more stories of life and death like hers.
心に突き刺さる生と死の物語が、あまりにも多く残された。

Over 20,000 are dead or missing from the disaster.
　一口に「２万数千人の死者・行方不明者」と言う。

"Over 20,000" may be just a number, but each one of that over 20,000 represents a human life, each with their own families and dreams.
その一人一人に生活があり、家族があり希望があった。

Naturally, supporting and rebuilding the lives of those who survived is a pressing need. But isn't it the act of sharing those things people left undone when their lives were cut short, and continuing to mourn those people and their losses, that's really going to help us prevent such a tragedy from happening again?
幸運にも生き永らえた被災者への支援と復興事業が急務だが、帰らぬ犠牲者の無念も伝え、悼み続けてこそ、同じ悲劇を繰り返さずにすむのではないか。

Isn't it remembering the victims that will push us become better prepared for disasters in this island nation?
この列島に防災の知恵と心構えを広く定着させる力にもなるのではないか。

I want to make a proposal, knowing full well that some will say that it's too early.
　時期尚早を承知で提言してみたい。

I want us to build a memorial with the names of all those who were lost in the disaster, putting it on a hill that overlooks the destruction along Japan's northeastern coast.
大津波に襲われた沿岸を見下ろす高台に、いつか犠牲者全員の名前を刻んだ慰霊碑を建立する。

Considering how many names there would be, the memorial could be composed of multiple components, or it could be one long monument.
刻まれる名前の多さを考えれば、慰霊碑は壁状のものを何個も並べたり、長く連結させる形式になるかもしれない。

I've envisioned a memorial like the Heiwa no ishiji -- known in English as the Cornerstone of Peace -- in Okinawa, which commemorates both civilians and military members who died in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., which honors U.S. soldiers who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
沖縄の「平和の礎（いしじ）」や米ワシントンにある「ベトナム戦争戦没者慰霊碑」のイメージだ。

The names of people lost in the earthquake and tsunami could be organized by where they lived and who their families and relatives were.
　名前は居住地域、家族、親族といった区分でまとめる。

A museum could be built nearby with a directory of all those were memorialized, where visitors could easily find out where on the monument particular names were inscribed.
近くに設ける資料館に名簿を備え、それを見れば慰霊碑のどの部分に誰の名前があるか、容易に探せるようにする。

That would help for people wanting to leave offerings such as flowers at particular names.
これで参拝者は、特定の縁者に花束などを手向けることもできる。

The museum could display video footage and photos of damage done to the region, as well as, with loved ones' permission, personal items that belonged to the deceased.
　資料館には被害の実態を示す映像や写真、関係者の承諾を得た遺留品などを十分に所蔵、展示する。

The facility would fulfill a role similar to that of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.
広島平和記念資料館や長崎原爆資料館のような役割を果たすことになるだろう。

In addition, to the extent that it is possible, the stories of individuals, where and how they met their tragic ends, under what circumstances they were last sighted by survivors, what their hopes and dreams were -- again with the permission and understanding of their loved ones -- as well as accounts of survivors' searches for their families could be exhibited.
　そして可能な範囲で、だれがどこで、どんな最期を迎えたのか、その人を生存者が最後に目撃した時の状況はどうだったのか、難を逃れた人々が家族をどのように捜し、あるいは捜せなかったのか、犠牲者はどういう人で、夢は何だったのか、そんな記録も関係者の理解を前提に、備えてはどうだろうか。

The memorial doesn't have to take the exact shape that I've suggested, and multiple memorials could be built in a number of locations.
　この提言通りにならなくても構わない。慰霊碑が複数の場所に分かれて建立されてもよい。

But I think it's important that any memorials that are built for this disaster be solemn settings where anyone can go to remember the dead and recommit ourselves to action against future tragedies.
ただ、そこに行けば誰であれ粛然とし、犠牲者を悼み、防災の努力を誓わざるをえないような雰囲気は不可欠だと思う。

The most important thing is that we do not let the story of the disaster seem removed and unreal, but instead keep it in our hearts and minds as a current lesson to live by.
　何より重要なのは、この大震災の経験を決して「昔話」にせず、生きている教訓として守り続けることだ。

That is where the real meaning of mourning the dead can be found. (By Tetsuo Nakajima, Editorial Writer)
国民的な慰霊の意味は、それに尽きる。

毎日新聞　2011年4月28日　2時30分