One year commemoration of Mr.Nakamura’s passing away 

「命の格差」拡大に警鐘

Is there ’value gap’ in “Matter of Lives”?

 

中国　2020年9月25日

 

路上生活者（ホームレス）支援にとり組むNPO法人「ほうぼく」（北九州市）の理事長で牧師の奥田知志さん(57)の講演会が24日、安芸高田市のクリスタルアージョであった。

Mr. Okuda(57), who is a leader of “Houboku”, an organization taking care of homeless people, and a priest of Christianity, had a lecture on September 24^th.

 

生活困窮者や障碍者への差別を挙げ、

「経済格差だけでなく『命の格差』が広がっている」と警鐘を鳴らした。

He told and warned the audience that,

“Nowadays I was concerning about  serious situation of those who are suffering from lack of money for even everyday lives and it is true for handicapped people as well .”

“In our society now, there is a huge gap not only in monetary rewards but also in the value of ‘Matter of Lives’.”

 

北九州市でホームレス自立支援施設の建設に関わった奥田さん。

Okuda’s main active field is in Kita Kyusyu.

And once he has worked to establish a facility for taking care of homeless people for living, standing up & backing up to join the ordinal society again.

「近隣住民から『街の中心に生産性が低い施設移設はふさわしくない』という声も聞いた」と強調。

At that time, from the neighbors, I have gotten some claims like,

"In the center of the town, to build a facility of which productivity is low or nothing is not appropriate....",Okuda said.

 

昨年10月の台風19号の自主避難所でホームレスが排除された問題から

「災害時の行政現場にも『大切にしないといけない命』と『そうでない命』という考えが浸透していた」と指摘した。

In October, 2019, when typhoon 19th attacked Japan, there were several cases of homeless people were rejected from using evacuation facilities.

“Like during typhoon attacking disaster, in such terrible circumstances for surviving, everyone should be treated in equally especially.

Even though, now in our culture at present, there are differences among people between ‘Lives that Matter’ & ‘Lives that not Matter’”, we found out at that time.” Okuda pointed out.

 

相模原市の知的障害者施設「津久井やまゆり園」で2016年、入所者たち45人を殺傷した元職員の死刑囚と、死刑確定前に面会した経験も紹介。

Okuda also talked about his significant & heart felt experience when he met a condemned criminal, who killed 45 handicapped (for slow learning) people in his welfare facility ‘Yamayuri En’ before that person's execution being carried out.

「元職員は『公益』という言葉を何度も使った。」

“That experience was so important for me,” 

said Okuda, and added,

“He, the person who was sentenced to death and talked to me, often used the word 

'for public benefits' many times."

He told me before his death that,

“People who has no value 'for public benefits’ are no value for living in the society.”

 

『障害者は生きていても意味がない』・・・

"Handy capped people has no meaning for the society as the public benefits.."

『税金の無駄遣い』・・・

"Using tax money for them is wasting money for the society and for the public benefits..."

それらは、

「『生産性による分断線』として世の中にひろがっていないだろうか」、

と懸念を深めた。

Okuda strongly asked himself and the audience that,

"Drawing a line between people, 

who are productive(matter, or good for the public benefits), 

and those who are not productive(not matter, or not good for the public benefits)..."

Is this kind of way of thinking expanding in our society?

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