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, 2014value, as well as coping with their social isolation.Survey results suggest that stress was manifested in three main ways: disrupted sleeping patterns（inability tosleep, nightmares）; depressive symptoms（lack of motivation to talk to others, mood swings, irritability）; and fearof being close to the disaster area. The findings indicate that female respondents suffered more symptoms thanmen, and that younger-older men were the least affected; however, interpretation of these findings shouldrecognise a tendency for men to report such issues less than women, particularly to female researchers.“I often have dreams about the black cloud coming toward me, and it always wakes me up. I wish I could get ridof the memory.”（Older woman）“When I hear the tsunami warning alarm, it brings back the memory of the day. My heart beats so fast, and Irealize that I have not coped with the stress from losing everything I owned on that day.”（60 year old woman,Iwate Prefecture）While a third（33%）of respondents reported coping with stress by talking with family and other relatives orengaging in physical exercise, the results show gender and age differences. More older women than men reportedspeaking with family and friends. In contrast, younger older men expressed a preference for physical exercise.While 28% of men under 75 reported drinking and gambling as coping mechanisms, less than 2% of older womenreported drinking, and none gambled.A report published by the city of Kobe following the 1995 earthquake, noted that alcohol addiction was linked todisaster related deaths over time from conditions such as heart failure, liver disease and suicides. The highest riskgroup was 58 year old men.4.4 Addressing social isolationThe findings on social connectivity of older people suggest that stress resulted both from the disaster itself andfrom changes in lifestyle and social interaction caused by displacement. These findings and lessons from otherdisasters highlight the importance of social connections in dealing with stress.Numerous studies conducted in Japan have explored links between older people’s mortality and their socialrelationships. One study（12）demonstrates that social participation has a strong indirect impact on mortality,through its links with chronic disease.In the Japanese context the most recent experience and evidence comes from response to the 1995 Kobeearthquake. In the 18 years following the earthquake social withdrawal and isolation of affected populations wasidentified as a major concern, with the cause of 1,011 Kodokush（13）being attributed to reduced family and socialconnections.In response to the Kobe earthquake attempts were made to establish support systems with paid coordinators hiredto organise events encouraging residents to leave their temporary homes, and meet and integrate with theirneighbours. Men and women were attracted to such events for different reasons with men preferring eventsfocused on music, singing, and food, while women preferred physical exercise, crafts and tea events. Similarsentiments were expressed by older men displaced by the GEJE: One reported,“As a man, I don’t go to teagatherings. We don’t want to sit around.”It is critical therefore that attempts to integrate older people into social activities are based on a clearunderstanding of how people engaged before the disaster, and their cultural interests.5］RECOVERY FROM THE DISASTERMore than two years after the disaster people are expecting to see the progress of recovery and reconstruction,and older people are no exception. Unsurprisingly, the majority of those interviewed（65%）stated that their人道研究ジャーナルVol. 3, 2014 95