“Hiroshima” and postwar reconstruction of Japan handed down in Arab world

“Do not rely on international support”

On August 6, 2015, local young people held a reading session “Grandchildren of Hiroshima” at a small theater on the west bank of the Jordan River. According to an article by Tomoko Oji of the Mainichi Shimbun, the children who watched the show expressed their respect for Japan, which had recovered from the devastation of the atomic bomb. “It’s easy to say that we are victims, but we have to think about whether we have problems, corruption, or dependence (on international support),” said the theater representative.

Postwar reconstruction of Japan as seen by Moroccan writers

Hiroshima is always conscious in the Islamic world, and Michihiko Hachiya’s “Hiroshima Diary” has also been translated into Arabic. The praise for Japan’s postwar reconstruction also carries on the positive evaluation of Japan’s development from prewar days. Moroccan writer Abdallah Laroui (born 1933) wrote in his novel “Paper Bundle” (1989), “Can our country achieve what Japan has achieved? (…) They lost what they had built for fifty years, but their life was glorious. Japan’s history was brilliant even in the dark, as Morocco was free (from foreign rule). Can we really rise to this stage? “(Hideaki Sugita,” Discovery of the Japanese Middle East, “Tokyo University Press, 1992)

Hiroshima Award- “Resilience and Expectations for Reconstruction”

In October 2015, the city of Hiroshima won the 10th “Hiroshima Award” award given to writers who contributed to world peace in the field of contemporary art, by Mona Hatoum (1952) from Lebanon. Born) announced that it was decided.

Ms. Hatoum was born in Beirut, Lebanon, but her parents are Palestinians who became refugees during the First Middle East War of 1948.

When the Israeli army invaded Lebanon in 1982, Ms. Hatoum created a work entitled “The Table of Negotiations” on his own body, with themes such as violence, oppression, confinement, and refugees.

During his short stay in London in 1975, a civil war broke out in Lebanon, and since then he has been living and working based in London. In other words, she encountered a second refugee experience, which is the motif of her “installation” and works of art such as video.

“The experience of Hiroshima is sad and reminiscent of the worst, but resilience and reconstruction embody the hope that inspires us humanity,” said Hatoum. I hope that Ms. Hatoum’s award will be an opportunity to remind people in conflict areas of the Middle East of Hiroshima’s “resilience and reconstruction.” Political leaders in the region should be strongly aware that they have a significant responsibility for this.

Hiroshima is not a means of nationalism

76 years have passed since the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. Palestinian peace and human rights activist Mazin Qumsiye, who visited Hiroshima with Director Oliver Stone in August 2013, described the impression of visiting Hiroshima as follows, but the nature of the Palestinian problem and the conflict in the world I think it gives valuable suggestions for understanding the background of. Mazin Qumsiye said:

There is no sign of nationalism or war (affirming) from the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial …. In the case of Hiroshima, even if it was a victim of war, (emphasizing hate for the perpetrators and necessity of armed force and unity ). It is possible to understand that war and nationalism are not the answer (to avoid repeating future tragedy). I hope that more people in the world will learn from Hiroshima to transform the false message of affirming the nationalism and war that many Holocaust museums produce, and to replace it with a structure that supports peace, I sincerely hope.

Mazin Qumsiyeh

Hiroshima Mon Amour | Trailer | New Release