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Jul. 5th, 2007 12:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pezThe Minamata Disease was discussed in a book I was reading today.
Unfortunately, the wiki link on the disease describes nothing about the plight of the protesters and the horrific ways Chisso used to deal with them - complete disregard at first, and then installing bars on the company's front door to prevent them from gaining access, and brutal violence - and this went on for years. Nor does the article talk about what W.E. Smith suffered to complete the photo essay on this disease - Chisso hired men who destroyed his cameras, beat him, smashed him into the pavement, crushing several vertebrae and permanently damaging his eyesight. He never fully recovered.
When I was in Year 8, my school required us to produce a "project" on a topic of our choosing. The subject I chose was "water pollution". When my dad learned about this, he showed me a big photobook produced by Life Magazine, with various memorable/powerful photographs their journalists had taken. Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath was one of the images. The picture isn't on Wikipedia, but you'll find it if you google. (It's not for the faint-hearted.)
12, 13 years later, I still can't forget that image.
I don't know why I feel the need to post about this, but now that I have, I think I can finally go to sleep.
Unfortunately, the wiki link on the disease describes nothing about the plight of the protesters and the horrific ways Chisso used to deal with them - complete disregard at first, and then installing bars on the company's front door to prevent them from gaining access, and brutal violence - and this went on for years. Nor does the article talk about what W.E. Smith suffered to complete the photo essay on this disease - Chisso hired men who destroyed his cameras, beat him, smashed him into the pavement, crushing several vertebrae and permanently damaging his eyesight. He never fully recovered.
When I was in Year 8, my school required us to produce a "project" on a topic of our choosing. The subject I chose was "water pollution". When my dad learned about this, he showed me a big photobook produced by Life Magazine, with various memorable/powerful photographs their journalists had taken. Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath was one of the images. The picture isn't on Wikipedia, but you'll find it if you google. (It's not for the faint-hearted.)
12, 13 years later, I still can't forget that image.
I don't know why I feel the need to post about this, but now that I have, I think I can finally go to sleep.
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Date: 2007-07-05 12:12 am (UTC)I wrote about Minamata for a university essay. It just sticks with you. It surprises me how little of it is common knowledge. I remember reading about it, pages and pages of it, about the court cases and how long it took to get justice, and how Chisso did everything they could to avoid responsibility, and, just. It just sticks with you.
I hope you get some sleep, though. ♥
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Date: 2007-07-05 10:58 am (UTC)Yes... it's very, very haunting. It's particularly frightening that what Chisso did could /almost/ be partly blamed on the culture (I was reading about the sort of people they hired to deal with the protests, and Minamata as used as a case study...). No, it doesn't justify anything at all, but just made me go even more WTF IS THIS FOR REAL?
Like you said, not many people know about it. Or many do, but not as many as there should be - everyone should know.
Did get to sleep in the end. ♥ Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-05 01:49 am (UTC)I hope it managed to make a slight impact on their minds D:
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Date: 2007-07-05 10:49 am (UTC)