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From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow
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Hearts torn between hope and reality
- Registering-- and then unregistering as a volunteer
"I didn't think Mi-chan would volunteer for the Olympics..."
By the Autumn of 1995 the Hyogo Ward of Kobe City, which was heavily damaged in the Great Hanshin Earthquake that the same year, finally began to show signs of recovery. Fusa Shimizu (age 71) of Higashiwada, Nagano City, also known as "Mi-chan," was thrown such words from a young woman friend. Fusa didn't need to ask why. She felt the words themselves had hit home, right within her heart.
Ms. Shimizu registered to be an Olympic volunteer in 1994. Fusa applied because she worried that the financial burden would be too big for a provincial area to bear. She thought, "Taxes and prices just can't go any higher. We ought to gather the collective strength of local citizen's to accomplish the task at hand."
She was also a bit concerned about certain unfavorable points. The Olympic Bid Committee (disbanded after the Nagano Games were announced in 1991) did not retain their account ledger of expenditures after disorganization. Expenditures put to use in the Olympic bid are now unknown. She was also concerned about environmental destruction rendered by Olympic development. But, with all of those issues unsettled, she decided for the time being to forget about her concerns.
Ms. Shimizu went alone as a relief worker after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe, distributing food and emergency supplies. Other volunteers, who came from all over the country, were the type of people who take quick action on environmental pollution and protection concerns, nuclear power problems, and other social issues. When a young girl nearly the age of her granddaughter was disappointed at her becoming an Olympic volunteer, Shimizu felt like she could see through her own half-heartedness.
Upon returning to Nagano she read a newspaper article about the problem of the missing ledger. She thought, "There's no way the administration could knowingly allow such a thing." She began to look more deeply into concerns previously disregarded considering, "Could I possibly be involved with bottling up such a stench?" She also thought that "it would probably not be very good to volunteer while hanging onto this kind of antagonism." At the end of that year, as she was dealing with these concerns, it looked as if she would be moving to Tokyo. She withdrew her volunteer application. She also decided to quit an English class she was attending to prepare herself for the Olympics, thinking that to continue in vain would be less than desirable.
 Fusa Shimizu (center) is seen sorting relief supplies to be sent to friends in Kobe. Although concerned about certain issues, she has decided to participate as an Olympic volunteer.
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"Post-Olympic facility maintenance costing that much will, well..." One resident, a 41 year-old sole-proprietor from Nagano City feels concern over the "fat" accompanying the Games. "Has Nagano really become a nicer place to live due to the public expenditure and development?" When asked why he decided to volunteer he said, "I want to be a person which society can rely on."
One 55 year old woman friend of Shimizu explains, "I also feel somewhat opposed to the Olympics, with the way the environment is being treated and such. But for my own emotional mainstay, I am interested in volunteer activities." She chose to register as a volunteer for the Paralympics. Quite a few people have avoided Olympic participation by volunteering for the Paralympics.
By the spring of 1996 Shimizu's concerns were still not resolved. She felt it was wrong to "run away because my concerns were too hard to deal with." At this point it appeared she would not be moving to Tokyo after all. She heard from her oldest son living in Canada that "the Calgary Olympics were profitable thanks to the help of local residents." Her heart wavered when hearing of people who were getting involved in the Games even though they themselves had their own concerns.
She finally decided, "Even though I can't give unqualified approval to everything that is involved, I won't run away from the upcoming Games. I can't do much, but I want to do my best to help provide an Olympics that won't become a financial burden." She contacted NAOC in April 1996 to reinstate her volunteer application.
The surge of Olympic enthusiasm will continue to accelerate until just after the Opening Ceremonies one year from now. But can the torn hearts of resident's be soothed by that time? These concerns are not the simple kind that disappear in the excitement of festivity. Shimizu, who was able to deal with her own concerns, feels, "Even after the Games are finished some things I cannot be satisfied with are likely to remain."
No part of the article, photographs, or illustrations presented here may be printed or used without permission.
Copyright 1999 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun