Hiroshima group maintains ties with poison gas sufferers in Iran for 10 years
Aug. 7, 2013
by Yota Baba, Staff Writer
This year marks the 10th anniversary of a grassroots exchange between A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and poison gas sufferers in Iran from the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). On August 5, a gathering with a group from Iran was held at the Chugoku Shimbun building in downtown Hiroshima. The participants pledged to continue working together to help abolish nuclear weapons and chemical weapons.
MOCT, an NPO based in Higashi Ward that is led by Shizuko Tsuya, and the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support (SCWVS), an NGO based in Iran, have ongoing ties and pay visits to one another about once a year. To mark the 10th anniversary, 15 people, the largest contingent yet, are visiting from Iran and they listened to the accounts of three A-bomb survivors. Among the members of the Iranian group are filmmakers and writers.
Terashi Okita, 85, a resident of Higashi Ward, was exposed to the residual radiation from the atomic bomb when he entered the city in the aftermath to help with relief efforts. He stressed, “After continuing to observe the terrible state of A-bomb survivors, I felt numb. The most horrible thing is that we start treating people like objects, not like human beings. With poison gas also manufactured during the war on Ohkunoshima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, Mr. Okita said that he is resolved to appeal for an end to chemical weapons, too.
Alireza Yazdanpanah, 42, whose eyes and lungs have suffered ailments as a result of exposure to the poison gas, called for continuing exchange and pointed to the importance of handing down their experiences to the future.
This connection between the two groups was born when Ms. Tsuya and others visited Iran in 2004 as part of the Hiroshima World Peace Mission, organized by the Hiroshima International Cultural Foundation, which involved A-bomb survivors and citizens traveling abroad to appeal for peace and reconciliation. The group from Iran will attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6.
(Originally published on August 6, 2013)
This year marks the 10th anniversary of a grassroots exchange between A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and poison gas sufferers in Iran from the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). On August 5, a gathering with a group from Iran was held at the Chugoku Shimbun building in downtown Hiroshima. The participants pledged to continue working together to help abolish nuclear weapons and chemical weapons.
MOCT, an NPO based in Higashi Ward that is led by Shizuko Tsuya, and the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support (SCWVS), an NGO based in Iran, have ongoing ties and pay visits to one another about once a year. To mark the 10th anniversary, 15 people, the largest contingent yet, are visiting from Iran and they listened to the accounts of three A-bomb survivors. Among the members of the Iranian group are filmmakers and writers.
Terashi Okita, 85, a resident of Higashi Ward, was exposed to the residual radiation from the atomic bomb when he entered the city in the aftermath to help with relief efforts. He stressed, “After continuing to observe the terrible state of A-bomb survivors, I felt numb. The most horrible thing is that we start treating people like objects, not like human beings. With poison gas also manufactured during the war on Ohkunoshima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, Mr. Okita said that he is resolved to appeal for an end to chemical weapons, too.
Alireza Yazdanpanah, 42, whose eyes and lungs have suffered ailments as a result of exposure to the poison gas, called for continuing exchange and pointed to the importance of handing down their experiences to the future.
This connection between the two groups was born when Ms. Tsuya and others visited Iran in 2004 as part of the Hiroshima World Peace Mission, organized by the Hiroshima International Cultural Foundation, which involved A-bomb survivors and citizens traveling abroad to appeal for peace and reconciliation. The group from Iran will attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6.
(Originally published on August 6, 2013)
