Atomic Bombing Exhibition by JICA Volunteers
Communicating the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Message in Developing Countries
by Maki HAMANAGA
Coordinator for International Cooperation in Hiroshima,
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
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A few years ago, a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV) held an atomic bombing exhibition in Uganda, Africa.
Born in Hiroshima, the starting point for this volunteer's interest in the field of international cooperation was, in fact, Hiroshima.
Four months after being sent to Uganda, he had repeated discussions with supportive co-workers who had joined at the same time as him.
At the first atomic bombing exhibition, organized through a process of trial and error, the main focus ended up being what they wanted to communicate, but he realized later that there was still an unanswered question:
why did they want to communicate the atomic bombing to the local people?
For a long period after that, he was left with a question that just would not go away:
What is the meaning of holding an atomic bombing exhibition here in Uganda?
The objective established for the 4th atomic bombing exhibition was "to share our feelings about peace with the people of Uganda".
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The exhibition was held not by the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, but rather by the Ugandan people.
After many discussions and study sessions with them, they all developed the plan together.
On the day of the exhibition, Ugandans passionately explained the atomic bombing to Ugandans, looking at the atomic bombing posters that were donated by the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, and they taught each other how to make a thousand paper cranes.
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Visitors gaze seriously at the atomic bombing posters
Making notes of the exhibits
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Folding a thousand paper cranes
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After the exhibition, a Ugandan came up to the volunteer and said,
"Thanks to the exhibition, now I know that Japan of today was built by overcoming this hardship in the past.
Uganda has a lot of problems too, but learning the message of Hiroshima has given me power and taught me the lesson that 'You can do it if you try'.
Peace is something that is created close to home. Thank you."
The atomic bombing exhibition in Uganda was held as a result of what were sometimes heated discussions among the volunteers.
Thinking about peace together with the people of Uganda - this is what is important.
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Group photo at the atomic bombing exhibition in Uganda
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Many of the developing countries where the JICA volunteers work have a history of civil war and conflict.
What is the true meaning of communicating and sharing the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with people in such regions?
I once posed this question to a person in Africa who had survived civil war.
This is what the person said.
"In my country, there are many people who are suffering from our past, even today.
But we have to keep that past within us, look forward and move on.
This is for the sake of our children's future too.
Learning about Hiroshima and Nagasaki as they are today, 68 years after the bomb was dropped, gives us hope.
It makes us believe that we can recover too.
So I think that we need to gain a better understanding of each other's countries, learn together, share together, and think about peace together through learning about the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
In 2004, four JICA volunteers originally from Hiroshima happened to all be sent to Nicaragua in Central America.
They started the atomic bombing exhibitions run by JICA volunteers, which then spread to regions all over the world.
As of February 20, 2014, 117 exhibitions have been held in 59 countries throughout the world.
These exhibitions are run voluntarily by the JICA volunteers.
Now, more than half of the volunteers who hold the exhibitions are from regions other than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The volunteers have various different reasons for holding the exhibitions:
"a family member was an A-bomb survivor",
"I received peace education from when I was young",
"because of the nuclear disaster that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake", etc.
It is extremely difficult to communicate pain and suffering that one has not experienced oneself, and many of the volunteers struggle with this, going through a process of trial and error to hold the exhibitions.
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Ms. Hamanaga giving a speech
on international cooperation
at a school in Hiroshima City
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The important thing is to respect that country's history when communicating the message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to share each other's history.
The JICA volunteers are living the same lifestyle as the local people, eating the same foods, looking at things in the same way, so when they talk about Hiroshima and Nagasaki I think that there is something that resonates with the people of that country.
And the atomic bombing exhibition is something that is passed on from senior volunteers to junior volunteers, together with the desire that it will be handed down to the next generation in that country.
Sharing time to think about peace.
I feel that this also leads to something closer to home: respecting the person you are with now.
I believe that creating such opportunities is the first step towards a peaceful future.
The atomic bombing exhibitions by JICA volunteers will continue to be handed down.
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