VOA标准英语2011--Fears of Suicide Surge in Japan's Tsunam

Fears of Suicide Surge in Japan's Tsunami 1 Zone

[ti:Fears of Suicide Surge in Japan's Tsunami Zone]

[ar:Voice of America]

[al:VOA News English]

[00:00.00]

[00:00.79]The physical impact of the tsunami

[00:02.59]is still clear to see.

[00:04.37]But as reconstruction 2 efforts proceed,

[00:06.86]there is growing concern over the mental scars

[00:09.57]the tsunami has left behind.

[00:11.71]More than 430,000 people

[00:15.20]were forced into emergency shelters.

[00:17.24]Homes were destroyed.

[00:18.45]Communities cut off.

[00:20.24]The phone counseling service 'Inochi no Denwa'

[00:23.64]in Sendai, one of the worst hit cities.

[00:27.70]

[00:31.61]"Immediately after the quake and tsunami

[00:33.27]everyone was really scared.

[00:35.00]On the telephone,

[00:36.34]everyone said they were frightened,

[00:37.78]especially people

[00:39.18]with existing mental health problems.

[00:40.77]For example, in the shelters they can't sleep,

[00:43.77]they have no medication,

[00:45.42]so their mental health

[00:47.03]is getting worse and worse."

[00:48.84]Fallout from the nuclear plant in Fukushima

[00:51.58]prompted a Japanese farmer to hang himself.

[00:54.47]Local media say a government worker

[00:56.69]killed himself in April,

[00:57.80]as did a father who had lost his daughter.

[01:00.27]There are fears the trickle 3 could become a torrent 4.

[01:03.63]Japan already has the highest suicide rate in the world -

[01:07.31]at more than 30,000 deaths per year

[01:09.91]for the last 13 years.

[01:11.96]Several months since the tsunami,

[01:14.01]the mental effects are still great,said Demura.

[01:17.57]

[01:21.41]"People are beyond the sadness."

[01:24.10]"They feel guilty about surviving.

[01:26.28]People gradually calm down,

[01:28.45]but they often have flashbacks

[01:30.26]and the tsunami becomes a trauma 5 for them.

[01:32.32]Then they start to worry about the future."

[01:34.83]There are still remarkable 6 examples

[01:37.77]of the Japanese stoicism

[01:39.34]that has drawn 7 so much admiration 8.

[01:41.67]Ryuichi Suzuki's home on the shoreline near Sendai

[01:45.29]was washed away without a trace.

[01:47.59]After spent two months live in shelters,

[01:50.24]Suzuki and his wife are now being given this house.

[01:54.63]

[01:58.92]"There is no point

[01:59.75]in thinking about the things I lost."

[02:01.68]"I had better forget about it all

[02:04.00]and think about the future.

[02:06.07]I guess I will live for another 10 or 15 years,

[02:09.90]so I want to get over this disaster."

[02:12.29]"I'm going to live with positive outlook.

[02:15.52]I'll do my best."

[02:17.11]Suzuki said he's happy with his temporary new home.

[02:20.74]It has a roof and walls,he said,

[02:22.96]and even a high-tech 9 electric toilet.

[02:25.69]

[02:27.71]"My first hope is that the Japanese government

[02:30.74]will compensate 10 me well for my losses,for my house."

[02:35.05]"My second hope? Let me see...

[02:37.75]I hope to get a camper van.

[02:39.58]When it's cold, I'll go somewhere warm.

[02:42.23]When it's too hot, I'll go to a cooler place.

[02:46.16]"Like a sunflower, I'll follow the sun."

[02:48.18]

[02:49.72]Across this region,

[02:50.52]advertisements on buildings,buses and taxis

[02:53.71]implore the Japanese people to ganbarou -

[02:56.38]or rise up and meet the challenge.

[02:58.68]Counselors at 'Inochi no Denwa' say that mentally,

[03:02.29]many of the survivors 11 still are struggling

[03:04.49]to deal with the events of March 11,

[03:06.89]which changed their lives forever.

[03:08.77]