THE KIND OF MUD FLUNG AT MINAMATA VICTIMS BY LOCAL PEOPLE
In the early days of Minamata Disease, the
patients' complaints were given such misleading
names as the "strange disease"
or the "contagious disease" ; even
brothers or sisters and relatives gave them
a wide berth.
A long struggle led to Chisso's agreement
to pay damages to the patients in 1973, but,
unfortunately, compensation has created a
new wave of malicious slander and envy, to
add to the patients' grief and anguish. In
the early 1970s, when many new patients came
forward and applied for official certification,
they had the name of "fake patients"
hurled at them. Thus, they were the center
of cruel and grim attention, further fed
by "ignorance" (based on the assumption
that deformed hands and feet are the only
signs of Minamata Disease) and by "prejudice"
(i.e. "They want compensation, so they
will tell lies").
All the people who have eaten the fish from
the Shiranui Sea are poisoned - that is a
hard fact, and that is the "crime"
that Chisso has committed. It is not until
these two facts are understood in their true
light that unjustifiable harsh language will
cease to be used against the patients of Minamata Disease.
|
| In the early days of Minamata Disease, the
patients' complaints were given such misleading
names as the "strange disease"
or the "contagious disease" ; even
brothers or sisters and relatives gave them
a wide berth.
A long struggle led to Chisso's agreement to pay damages to the patients in 1973, but, unfortunately, compensation has created a new wave of malicious slander and envy, to add to the patients' grief and anguish. In the early 1970s, when many new patients came forward and applied for official certification, they had the name of "fake patients" hurled at them. Thus, they were the center of cruel and grim attention, further fed by "ignorance" (based on the assumption that deformed hands and feet are the only signs of Minamata Disease) and by "prejudice" (i.e. "They want compensation, so they will tell lies"). All the people who have eaten the fish from the Shiranui Sea are poisoned - that is a hard fact, and that is the "crime" that Chisso has committed. It is not until these two facts are understood in their true light that unjustifiable harsh language will cease to be used against the patients of Minamata Disease. |
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