Some readers' responses to Roberto De Vido's "Judge not, lest you be judged" (March 22), Darek Gondor's " 'Fly-jin' face fallout from decision to go" (April 5), and Darryl Magree's March 29 letter:
I too, am one of the "fleeing." I live in Miyagi Prefecture, about halfway between Sendai and Fukushima, the two big names of the moment. While I haven't faced judgment from any of my friends from Miyagi, most of the judging has been internal. The guilt I feel for essentially abandoning my home is crippling. Ever since I managed to leave my small country town I have been anxious to return.
You may ask then, "Why did you leave if you did not want to?" Well, the simple answer is: judgment from family. So many of us Miyagi foreigners have been accused of selfishness, or naivete, or stupidity for wanting to remain in our home towns and trying to contribute what we can to the communities which have gladly cared for us since the fateful day. These accusations mount, till many of us feel too distressed and leave. I have been chased out of my home by an anxious family, whose anxiety is exacerbated by the damagingly scaremongering international news circuit, a circuit which needs to exercise caution with its headlines and diagrams.