SNOHOMISH, Wash. -- As many Japanese parents look for ways to take young children away from the country's tenuous nuclear situation, one place they're turning is Western Washington.
Chihiro Huruzono flew into Seattle Tuesday with her 8-month-old daughter Yuri.
"There are people who believe what the government says and they're not concerned," Huruzono said through a translator, "but I'm really concerned, I'm glad that I'm here."
Mother and daughter are staying in Snohomish through the summer on tourist visas at the home of host Midori Clarke. They were matched through an international non-profit agency called "Open Your Heart, Open Your Home" which connects volunteer host homes and concerned parents through their website.
Clarke, herself an immigrant from Japan, said she was looking for a way to help.
"When government is giving you information little by little, and say oh, by the way it was worse than we thought, how can you trust when they say it's safe?" she asked. "Especially if you're a mother with children, your number one priority is children's safety."
They said they hear in Japan reports that radioactive contamination continues to be found further and further outside evacuation zones, and many parents worry about just what long-term effects even small amounts of radiation can have on young children.
"I couldn't really give her any food because of concern about contamination," Huruzono said.
Open Your Heart, Open Your Home began as the brainchild of a Japanese American named Cheryl Martinez, who lives in Cologne, Germany. The organization is modeled after similar programs in Japan that provided summer homesteads and camps to children caught in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
In the few months since they began, the group has matched dozens of families with free summer housing, said Clarke, whose home in Snohomish is their first offering in the United States.
"[So they can] spend some time not worry about radiation, because some mothers are not letting their kids go out, period," Clarke said.
At least, in the woods of Snohomish, little Yuri and her mother can breathe easier for a few months.
Organizers said they are still seeking volunteer host homes. As the group is fairly new, they said for now they can only match Japanese families who can pay their own travel expenses, though they hope with more donations they can offer housing to needier families.
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