Modern Day Pieta

The above photo was taken in the 1970's by William Eugene Smith, one of the world's most accomplished photographers, in Minamata, Japan. It shows an outwardly healthy mother bathing her fetal-poisoned 16 year old daughter, Tomoko Uemura, physically crippled since birth, an effect of industrial mercury poisoning of Minamata Bay.

The mercury in the Bay was traced to the waste water dumped by Chisso Corporation, a company which produces plastics, drugs, and perfumes. After a few decades of Chisso's full operation, the people of Minamata, a fishing village, began to see the effects of the as yet unknown mercury pollution. Cats scavenging in the fishing docks began to have seizures, and would later drop dead. After some time, humans, too, had seizures. "Victims were diagnosed as having a degeneration of their nervous systems. Numbness occurred in their limbs and lips. Their speech became slurred, and their vision constricted. Some people had serious brain damage, while others lapsed into unconsciousness or suffered from involuntary movements."

What's the significance of this story and the accompanying picture to the residents of Iloilo City?

The local government of Iloilo City is planning to build a coal-fired power plant in the city. And coal-fired power plants emit pollutants which contain mercury! Yes, MERCURY as in MINAMATA BAY!

What can OSCI say?

A picture speaks louder than words.@