Text, photos and video by VINCENT GO
THIS Sunday, the world joins Japan in remembering the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami that hit eastern Japan a year ago. Thousands died, and tens of thousands more left homeless when the ground shook and a wall of water fell on Fukushima and surrounding areas on March 11, 2011. The disaster also caused leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, displacing communities around it.
As part of the remembrance, the environmental group Greenpeace launched “Shadowlands,” a collection of photographs depicting the impact of radiation on the environment and the plight of the people displaced by the crisis.
“Shadowlands” features the work of award-winning photographer Robert Knoth and Anthony de Jong following their trip to Fukushima region with Greenpeace in the autumn of 2011. The exhibit showcases images in the aftermath of the tragedy, a dark reminder of something gone wrong in a prosperous nation.
By remembering Japan, Greenpeace also hopes to draw attention to the Philippines’ own nuclear problems. Nearly three decades after it was mothballed,
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) remains a burden to Filipino taxpayers, who have spent some P4.3 billion in maintenance, upkeep and debt payments on the project built during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
The images of “Shadowlands” are on exhibit at the Quezon City Hall till March 30.
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