Asia

Bangkok – Japan is widely regarded as well-prepared for disasters, being used to frequent tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic activity, but a year after the calamitous events of 11 March 2011, the lessons from the multi-disaster still resonate.

On this the first anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster questions remain to be adequately and correctly answered on: is life in Japan back to normal? What lessons were learnt about the hugely funded nuclear industry? What do we really know about radiation and nuclear energy, what impacts do these have on our lives?

To a nose flute player and friend, Dom-An Macagne, the mix of dog walks and social issues makes sense. Being an animal lover herself, she realized the organized and shared joys of dog walks together with social issues of peace, women’s rights, animal welfare, as well as environmental awareness, go hand in hand. Thus the “Dog walk for a cause” demonstration and show.

The foundation “Humanist Home for Children”, established in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, in 2001, was legally registered in 2006 and since then has been surging forward at full strength. The largely volunteer staff have been conducting awareness programmes across the whole of Tamil Nadu, targetting both rural and urban sectors. Now an orphanage is developing.

A fully bilingual press briefing will be held on March 3, 2012 in Fukushima City, co-sponsored by Green
Action, Peace Boat and FoE Japan.
The briefing will be an opportunity to hear directly from Fukushima citizens’ groups in the leadup to the
first anniversary of the disaster on March 11 about their activities to monitor and protect children and
citizens from radiation.

An advisor to the Sri Lankan president went to Vavuniya February 25 to talk to the people displaced by ‘the war’ and was interviewed by a BBC correspondent. Informed of the problem he stated that the administration that the British left does not work anywhere and that is the problem! This report based on a Asian Human Rights Commission press release.

Neighbour in Hong Kong Vonnie Boston took a walk through India’s Maharashtra state, late December 2011 to early Jan 2012, on an environmental mission. She was also able to help an organization near Delhi. This was the Kabliji Hospital that offers free eye treatment. Vonnie kindly made a donation in my name, as it was my 70th birthday in 1st January. What a thoughtful present.

International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of students including the students of the University of Dhaka were killed by the Pakistani police in Dhaka during Bengali Language Movement protests.

Our democracy has not taken even first step in the direction of people-oriented politics. Gandhiji rightly pointed out in the discussion on home rule that without people-oriented politics we would be simply replacing the British with the Indian rulers. Gandhiji could not be more correct. On re-seeing the film ‘Gandhi’ – a reassessment.

With 60 percent of the world’s population, Asia has one of the largest concentrations globally of aging persons, creating a host of potential challenges, experts [warn](http://www.irinnews.org/printreport.aspx?reportid=94856). Over 65 percent of Asia’s elderly population will be women.