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On participating in the Hague Peace Appeal Conference
From May the 11th to the 15th, the Peace Appeal Conference for 1999 was held in Den Haag, Holland, where a number of peace activists and organizations gathered in order to discuss such issues as disarmament, prevention of war and abolishment of nuclear weapons. This global-scaled NGO conference contained 10.000 people participating in 400 sessions. I also rented a booth from the organization of "Abolition 2000", where "dialogue with visible faces" was discussed.
We introduced homepage of our group through a note-personal computer to convey the spirit and heart of Hiroshima to people who could not visit Hiroshima. |
Impressive "Anti-Nuclear Demonstration"
What impressed me strikingly was an improvisational demonstration initiated by participants of one session. Participants of the session were composed of an anti-nuclear organization from US, Hiroshima/Nagasaki A-bomb survivors, former US soldiers and so forth. This US organization is trying to raise consciousness about the "History of atomic bomb is not what US should be proud of" through mainly domestic activities. Hiroshima/Nagasaki survivors were not only those of Japanese but included Korean and Chinese. Former US soldiers were mainly those who contracted radiation through nuclear test in the South Pacific Ocean. In the session we discussed such issues as super powers' hegemony, Japan's official apology to other Asian countries, and compensation for the victims of war.
In this session, youths from former Yugoslavia were participating as well. "How dreadful nuclear weapons are. NATO with the initiative of US is going on with air raids, which might lead to utilization of nuclear weapons. We have to stop this!" Encouraged by their enthusiasm, we held a demonstration on the spot to the Peace Palace, where the International Court of Justice is located. From myheart I wished that I could have participated in the demonstration as well, however, I could not make it due to my time schedule. I participated in another demonstration held on the 16th. These demonstrations were indeed realized by the collaboration with Hiroshima, Nagasaki, US (including victims of nuclear test in the south Pacific Ocean), and former Yugoslavia. |
The History of Japan Must Not Be Forgotten
As a matter of fact, it was never easy to speak out about my atomic bomb experience in the Netherlands. It is due to the fact that during the Second World War, a number of Dutch were forced to work in a Japanese concentration camp (Jappenkamp) and at the same time a number of Dutch women were coerced to be comfort women. Yet, despite this situation, thanks to the effort by some Japanese living in Holland, I could have meeting to share my experience with Dutch people four times during the period of the conference. The Japanese people must not forget or repeat this history.
--- we have discussed and reflected on our own selves first of all and have made every effort in order to understand one another beyond every border with love and compassion.
On the last day, I had an exchange meeting in a Japanese garden with 30 people of Sakura-kai, who were borne from former Indonesian comfort women. They were quite eager to know their root of how they were born. |
Sharing a Pain of the Heart
It was never easy to convey a message of injustice from the atomic bomb beyond national framework. Reactions from Korean women whom I met at the booth were such that: "We are also victims of Japanese Imperialism. However, after hearing your experience I can now feel the pain in your heart"; "We have to have more dialogue about history. We have to know more about our history"; "Ms.Matsubara, who came here far away from Japan, is the first survivor of the bomb whom I've ever met and also might be the last one in my life."; "Ms.Matsubara is such a strong woman". Showing them my homepage through a computer, I told them that everyday I am educating students visiting Hiroshima on school excursion about the reasons why ten thousands of Korean survivors of the bomb are still in Hiroshima even now. The Abolition 2000 General meeting was held for three days from the 15th of May. In the meeting, we have reached an agreement to set up a week for global action between the 1st and 8th of March 2000. We also agreed that we would propose a request for disarmament to hegemonic countries expecting the success of the NPT reinvestigation meeting held in May next year, in New York. The difficulty in having communication during the conference lies in a lack of English language ability.
Therefore I realized that in order for our voices to be heard and also to understand different values and history of the world, we have to develop the English language no matter what. I have again made up my mind to brush up my English language to convey the spirit of Hiroshima to all over the world. |
The Peace Appeal for Peace, Den Haag
The Peace Appeal is a conference held in Den Haag, May 1999 with the initiative of a number of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). 8.000 people from 100 countries assembled in the conference in order to discuss peace issues during a four-day period.
A major achievement of the conference was "The Haag Agenda for Peace and Justice of the 21st Century", which raised nearly 50 proposals such as: a conclusion of Nuclear Ban Treaty within 5 years; reduction of military expenditure by 5% per year; prohibition of military recruitment of minors under 18- years-old, which amounts to 300.000 people; reform of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice. It was confirmed that the activity of Abolition 2000 should be good even after valid year and other NGOs from all over the world should support this activity more vigorously.
A number of survivors from Hiroshima/Nagasaki participated in the conference in order to convey their experience and to hold photo exhibitions. On Japan Day, the mayors from Akita city and Okinawa prefecture made speeches.
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