ブックタイトル人道ジャーナル第3号

概要

人道ジャーナル第3号

The Journal of Humanitarian Studies Vol. 3, 2014with a clear role within a community to living in unfamiliar surroundings as a dependant and a perceived burdenon other family members. It is also important to remember that some of the older respondents in this survey werestill of working age, or highly active within their communities. Many of those in the affected community had losttheir jobs, particularly those connected with the fishing industry. Many others expressed concerns about the lossof land they formerly used for growing vegetables, further increasing their dependence on others.“I used to grow vegetables but I don’t have the space to do so,”“It is hard to go grocery shopping at the supermarket because I don’t drive. I rely on the mobile grocery truck thatcomes twice a week.”Social and support networks are important for older people, particularly in contexts of high migration of youngerpopulations, where family support structures are weakened. In emergencies these networks often becomefractured, increasing the risk of isolation amongst older people. This can have serious consequences forpsychosocial and mental health, and more starkly on their ability to meet their own basic needs.Older people living in temporary accommodation reported their most common daily activity was watchingtelevision（87%）. For older women cooking（75%）and cleaning（74%）form a large part of their daily routine. Thesurvey illustrated the particular challenges faced by men and women over 75 in conducting daily activities suchas cooking, cleaning and shopping.It is clear from the responses that many of the daily activities now undertaken by older people are individualtasks, with opportunities for socializing reduced. Older people specifically reported a lack of space to entertaintheir families. While the majority of older people do interact with neighbors 2-3 times a week, the density ofhousing in temporary accommodation and limited space for group activities suggests more could be done tosupport interaction amongst older people and between generations.In the case of the GEJE, the transfer of displaced people from evacuation shelters to temporary accommodationoften resulted in older people being separated from friends, neighbours and new friends they had made,undermining the support networks upon which they relied. Both female and male respondents felt that one oftheir greatest challenges was not being able to see friends（14%）. Adjusting for the imbalance of male and femalerespondents, slight gender differences were apparent in the priority given to different social interactions, with menmost concerned with declining interactions with friends（17%）and women concerned with family and neighbourcontact（13%）.Evidence from the Hanshin Awaji（Kobe）earthquake of 1995 provides historical precedent for this finding. In thiscase temporary housing was organised in neighborhood groupings which appears to have favoured themaintenance of social connections amongst women who had stronger connections at neighborhood level. Incontrast, men had developed friendships and connections in the work place, which were not maintained in thetemporary housing due to the loss of their means of income.In the current survey, age differences were also evident, with men and women over 75 years more often reportingreduced interaction compared to those aged 60-74. While contributing factors are likely to include their reducedmobility, this finding reinforces the need to initiate activities to encourage social engagement of all age groups.4.3 Psycho-social impact of the disasterThe overall loss of status deriving from displacement, combined with bereavement, the loss of homes andbelongings, an inability to provide for families and the hardship of displacement have major psychologicalconsequences, not least for older people. Whereas younger generations may be occupied with jobs, older peopleare often excluded and therefore have more time to dwell on their current plight.The magnitude of the disaster in Japan undoubtedly caused high levels of stress within affected communities.Older people reported difficulty coming to terms with the loss of family members, homes and items of sentimental94人道研究ジャーナルVol. 3, 2014