Culture
Learn from environmental tragedies
By Wendy Qian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-14 07:24
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Environmental activist Aileen M. Smith is calling for a strong and constructive international treaty from the United Nations mercury conference that began Monday in Stockholm.
Smith, who is a member of Greenpeace Japan's board of directors, brought her message to Beijing as part of her campaign to promote awareness of industrial pollution and mercury poisoning.
Invited by local Greenpeace members, she exhibited some of the photos she and her late husband, Eugene Smith, took in the fishing village of Minamata in Japan nearly 20 years after an outbreak of mercury poisoning was discovered in 1956. She said the poisoning was caused by contaminated water discharged from a chemical factory and experts believe it continued from 1932 to 1968.
The photo display took place at One Way Street Bookstore, where Smith also delivered a speech to the sizable audience in which she evaluated past environmental activism and commented on the state of industrial pollution and mercury poisoning.
Smith said how, while working with her late husband who was a photographer for Life magazine, the couple traveled to Minamata in 1971 and met some of the victims of the poisoning, a cause she still holds dear.
She said industrial pollution is also making many people sick in China, noting that the environmental authorities have recognized 12 cases of lead and cadmium poisoning in China.
Smith said thousands of people in Japan still suffer debilitating neurological problems because of mercury poisoning and are seeking recognition from the government and compensation from Chisso Corp, the chemical company thought to have polluted the bay.
The Smiths lived in Minamata for years and recorded the lives of victims through their lenses. They slept in a big house with 50 Minamata victims before the start of a court case on the disaster.
Smith said she did not consider herself an environmental activist at the time. But after interacting with Ojibwa Indians, who were also poisoned by mercury in western Ontario, Canada, she started contacting Minamata doctors for help.
"Before I knew it, I was organizing exchange projects among victims and they empowered each other," she said.
The Smiths eventually produced a book Minamata, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 1976. Aileen was also the translator of the recently published Niigata Minamata Disease.
She said ecological issues and business interests often collide and that is now prominent in China as the country rapidly develops as an economic powerhouse. She said corporate profits are directly linked with progress and the wellbeing of the public but sometimes health concerns are overlooked.
Smith argues that public health and economic growth should go hand in hand.
"(Sickness) damages your economic ability," she said.
Furthermore, she said simple, affordable methods can greatly reduce the exposure to hazardous industrial byproducts. Indeed, ignorance and inertia are to blame in many prominent cases of pollution.
Instead of solely celebrating the benefits of economic growth, Smith believes that "looking at the negative aspects of growth is a way to see the entire picture of a society.
"That part is visual."
She hopes that other rapidly developing countries can learn from the Minamata crisis and avoid repeating the Japanese government's mistakes. Namely, governments should immediately admit fault and deal with industrial pollution as soon as it causes public health problems.
"Japan created a very bad denominator (by) saying 'mercury poisoning is not mercury poisoning until you keel over and die'. You don't need twisted hands to prove it."
Smith believes that the Japanese government's symbolic act of apologizing for the disease was not enough. She wants officials to conduct proper health surveys, re-address the concerns of Minamata victims and increase relief efforts.
"It's already unfortunate enough that it happened once," she said.
She said environmental activism is growing in China but pointed out that many volunteers are new to activism and inexperienced in dealing with industrial pollution crises and helping victims.
Asked for advice, Smith provides valuable insights. She says rather than objectifying or using the victims just to make a statement, supporters should contact them directly.
Lending comfort to the victims also nourishes the soul for those providing support, she said.
She believes people suffering from lifelong diseases need psychological support from volunteers as well as interaction with other victims.
Smith and Chinese environmental activists complained of government red tape and corporate obstructions in the way of their causes.
Opponents say Chisso Corp tried to duck its responsibility by creating confusion. The company allegedly hired scientists who claimed a bomb from the World War II was the reason why fish were contaminated with mercury.
Smith said environmental activists face hardships and barriers but she said she "can't walk away because it's so unfair".
She hopes that in the future, environmental activism will not only focus on specific instances of pollution but also on universal values, such as moral responsibility, happiness and fairness. She said the values resonate with people around the world and generate more support.
And she criticized people who reap the benefits of growth, create problems for others and do nothing to mitigate the problems they make.
"In human civilization, only when we don't step on anybody or eat up our capital can we attain genuine prosperity," she said.
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