Moving Forward in Tokyo
By Mikki Baloy, LDRNY Coordinator
March 20, 2005 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Japanese terrorist incident that killed twelve people and injured almost 6000 more. Victims of the Tokyo sarin gas attack are still struggling to move on.
The sarin gas subway attack remains the most serious incident outside of wartime to ever occur in Japan. A single drop of sarin, considered far more toxic than cyanide gas, can kill an adult; the five terrorists involved carried close to ten liters. Thousands of commuters were injured, suffering symptoms ranging from nosebleeds, difficulty breathing, and temporary vision loss to seizures, paralysis, and coma. Surveys conducted in 1998 and 2001 showed that significant percentages of victims still suffer eye problems, headaches, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Many feel insecure when riding trains, which is understandable considering that witnesses compared subway platforms that day to battlefields, with people bleeding and collapsing everywhere. Those who responded to the survey complained of flashbacks and panic attacks, and worried that a similar incident would happen again. Some were concerned about their ability to have a healthy baby. Twelve of the terrorists, from the Aum Shinrikyo cult, have been sentenced to death in recent years. The trials were lengthy, and covered widely by the media. Many of the survivors reported that they wished the trial had been shorter or that they “just tried not to think about it.”
Those who lost loved ones or suffered injuries are facing an uphill struggle for recovery, even now. They have not had the support of the Japanese government in the ways September 11th victims and their families have had in the US. Very recently, pro bono legal services have been made available to crime victims, and some people attend group therapy sessions. However, by and large, many feel it is time for the Japanese government to upgrade their services to victims of terrorism and other crimes. Every year, when the tragedy is commemorated, the Subway Sarin Incident Victims’ Association lobbies the Prime Minister and governor for compensation, recognition, and treatment. They will do so again this week, as members of the September 11th Families Association join them in Tokyo to show their solidarity. Lee Ielpi, Vice-President, said, “It is important that we share information, interact, and learn from each other in the international resistance against terrorism.”
In order for victims of violent crime to fully recover, they must have the support of their peers and families, their doctors and employers, and their governments. Silencing survivors is doubly traumatizing because it negates their experience. Apathy is a subtle form of cruelty, engendering feelings of abandonment and invalidating the victim’s anger and fear. To simply tell someone to move on does nothing to facilitate the process, particularly when they hear about the attack on television or face a courtroom trial. Any victim of terrorism deserves to be heard, and open dialogue about their worries, memories, and insights creates the necessary connections for healing. This is important not only for the survivors themselves, but for those who might work to prevent such violence from happening again. How much will we learn, how much will we be able to show compassion, if we refuse to acknowledge the pain of our neighbors?
LDRNY remembers the attack on Tokyo, and we wish our friends in the 9/11 Families Association a safe journey and many new friends in Japan. May God bless all those who continue to suffer, and may they always have the support that they need.
Read Invisible Injuries: Remembering March 11 to learn more about the affects of terrorism.
