無題

September 20, 2015 (Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: The potential of humans
香山リカのココロの万華鏡：「人間の底力」　／東京

Torrential rain and flood damage recently struck the northern Kanto and Tohoku regions. I happened to be visiting the Tohoku region for work over the weekend, and even looking out from the window of the bullet train, I saw countless rice paddies and fields that had been flooded by water overflowing from streams and irrigation channels. If we were to include everything that wasn't reported, I wonder just how much damage there was.
　北関東から東北を襲った大雨と水害。ちょうど週末に仕事で東北を訪れたのだが、道中、新幹線の窓から見ているだけでも、小さな河川や用水路からあふれた水をかぶった田畑が無数に目に入った。報道されていないものも含めると、被害はいったいどれくらいになるのだろう。

On television I saw a reporter pointing a microphone at a person who had barely escaped with their life after their home had been flooded. This is a common sight during disasters, but reporters aren't as pushy as they used to be. Now more start off saying something like, "I'm sorry to be asking you at a time like this, but ..."
　自宅も水にのまれ、命からがら逃げ出した人にテレビリポーターがマイクを向ける。災害時のいつもの光景だが、昔ほどは強引ではない。「こんなときに申し訳ありませんが」とひとこと言ってから質問を繰り出す人も増えてきた。

The people who respond all say things like, "It's the first time this has happened. I was shocked." And many of them make such comments as, "I'm just happy to be safe," or, "I'm thankful to have been rescued."
　答える人たちは一様に「こんなことははじめて。驚いた」と言い、そのあと多くが「助かっただけでもありがたい」「救出してもらえて感謝しています」と話す。

On TV and on the Internet, one hardly ever encounters people in such disasters getting angry and saying things like, "Why did this have to happen to me?"
　「どうして私がこんな目にあわなければいけないのか」と怒りを口にする人は、テレビニュースでもネット上でもほとんど目にしない。

Some people give accounts like, "Neighbors have evacuated together and are helping each other," or, "I spent the night in an isolated apartment, but residents brought food and shared it."
　「家が近い人どうしで避難して励まし合っている」「孤立したアパートで一夜をすごしたが、住民で食べものを持ち寄って分けた」といった経験談を語る人もいる。

Meanwhile, rescuers and supporters -- from the Self-Defense Forces to firefighters and members of local bodies -- have gone beyond all expectations in their efforts to help.
　また、今回も自衛隊や消防、地元の自治体職員など救援、支援する側の人たちも、想像を超えたがんばりを見せている。

In my consultation rooms, I hear so many tragic stories. "I was abused by my parents," one person says. "I was betrayed by a friend," says another. It leaves me tending to think, "Humans are bad by nature." I get the impression that humans are always cheating someone, always trying to get a good deal for just themselves.
　診察室にいると「親に虐待された」「友人に裏切られた」といった悲惨な話ばかり聞くものだから、つい「人間って、本質的には悪人なのではないか」と思いがちになる。常にだれかをあざむこう、自分だけが得をしよう、と思っているのが人間、と思ってしまうのだ。

But in the latest disaster, looking at the people who have cooperated with those around them in an attempt to overcome their difficulties, at those who have remembered to thank others amid such trying circumstances, and at those putting a full effort into saving and supporting victims, I'm compelled to amend my line of thinking.
　しかし、このような災害が起きて、それでもまわりと協力し合って乗り切ろうとする人、こんなときでも感謝の気持ちを忘れない人、被害者のために持てる力をフルに発揮しようとする救援・支援の人を目にすると、「いや、人間の本質は悪なんかじゃない」と自分の考えを訂正したくなる。

Deep down, surely, people have compassion and kindness, thinking, "I want to help someone," or "I want to tell them, 'Thank you.'" But I guess that as they are forced into tough situations, those feelings are gradually pushed back, and people resort to attacking others or conning them to survive.
　きっとどんな人でも、心の底には「誰かを助けたい」「“ありがとう”と伝えたい」という思いやりや、やさしさを持っているのだ。それが、自らが厳しい状況に追い込まれるうちに、次第に奥に隠れ、生き延びるために他人を攻撃したり、あざむいたりしてしまうのではないだろうか。

I convey my sympathy to those affected by the latest disaster. And in my words here, I leave my thoughts on the potential of humans that I have felt through the disaster.
　今回の災害にあった方たちへのお見舞いを伝えるとともに、そこで感じた「人間の底力」について書かせていただいた。

(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
（精神科医）
毎日新聞　2015年09月15日　地方版