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今日は、KFEMソウルオフィスの友人たちと、ウルサン市へ。そこで、100人の人たちと一緒に歩き、100本の木を植えた。
まず、イベントは100人の人たちとのウォークからスタート。私たちは、鯨博物館からスタートし(この鯨博物館は、この町が捕鯨で栄えた頃のことを展示している博物館で、グリーンピースやKFEMの好む場所ではないのだが・・・)、巨大な石油精製工場の真ん中にたどり着き、そこで、100人の人たちと100本の木を植えた。木を植えた場所は、長くい過ぎると死に至りそうなくらい空気が汚染されていた。実は、今回のウォークの目的は、地元の人たちと一緒に大気汚染のひどい地域を歩いて、大気汚染ストップを呼びかけようというものだったのだ。
KFEMのおかげでイベントは大成功し、私たちの韓国の旅の終わりを飾るのにふさわしいイベントになった。
今回の旅をサポートしてくださった皆さんに、心から感謝します。(Paul)
Our friends from the Seoul office of KFEM arrived yesterday into Pusan so we could take a
short trip to the nearby city of Ulsan to participate in a tree planting. At the event this
morning were 100 and more local citizens, many members of the media and locla politicians.
The walk began at the Whaling Museum, a place that glorify's the whaling industry years (not
to the liking of Greenpeace or KFEM) and ended in the middle of a gigantic refinery and
industrial complex, where 100 trees were planted by 100 happy people while breathing in the
local air which would make you very dead if you stayed around here too long. This is why the
walk was arranged - to highlight the plight of the local citizens and their efforts to either get the whole noxious mess cleared up or to be removed, rehoused, resettled in a place more
fit for life.
The dya was beautiful, my speech was of the changes of spring and the changes that begin with just one step, just like this tree planting. I pointed out that stepps is what I know ablout, as even the greatest journey, like a 44,000 kilometer walk begins with a single step. That
step is the hardest, but once made, every step after gets easier. The local KFEM director
agrred and fisnished off the addresses before the walk with a vow that this event would be
the first step in the cleaning up of the region.
I can honestly say that I am very upset to see such a callous disregard gfor human life - and I wonder where do the owners of these companies live - do they live downwind, or do they live in mega mansions surrounded with forests so vast that you or I would never be able to get
near them or smell their freshest of air - my guess is that they live no where near where
we planted the trees today.
Well done KFEM for organising such a wonderful send off event. We have been very impressed by your actions and will continue to support your good work in whatever way we can.
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