People in Hiroshima hope for peaceful resolution of fighting in Syria through dialogue
Apr. 15, 2018
On April 14, in response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, three western nations – the United States, the United Kingdom, and France – carried out missile attacks that targeted facilities for that nation’s chemical weapons program. On that day, some people in Hiroshima, the A-bombed city, expressed skepticism over this form of intervention and urged that a peaceful resolution be sought for the conflict there.
Shintaro Yoshimura, 62, a scholar of modern Middle Eastern political history and a professor in the Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences at Hiroshima University, criticized the attack by saying, “It was more aggressive than previous strikes because it was carried out without prior warning to reduce the damage.” Offering his assessment of the situation, he added, “It seems that U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to demonstrate some diplomatic achievements to the the American public and raise his declining approval rating by conducting these joint air strikes in Syria with the U.K. and France.”
“I’m wondering if an attack like this is the right course for the Syrian refugees. It keeps the refugees from returning to their hometowns,” said Kasumi Moritani, 27, a resident of Higashihiroshima City, who works for the Hiroshima International Center. As one of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers dispatched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ms. Moritani served at a refugee camp in Jordan, located next to Syria, for a year from 2015. She is worried about the future of many Syrian people she met there.
A Syrian man, 36, who now lives in Hiroshima Prefecture, came to Japan in 2010 but is unable to return to his homeland due to the prolonged civil war. He said he worried about the further spread of wartime violence, beyond such attacks on military-related facilities, though this may be unavoidable to end the Assad regime.
People on Okunoshima Island in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, where the former Imperial Japanese Army produced chemical weapons during World War II, feel concerned, too. Masayuki Yamauchi, 73, the head of a citizens’ study group on the history of poison gas production on the island, who works to hand down the accounts of the poison gas victims, said, “If chemical weapons were really used in Syria, this means that the wish of the poison gas victims for ending the use of such weapons has been ignored.” Atsushi Nishijo, 23, a company worker and resident of Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, who was visiting the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, expressed hope for a peaceful resolution in Syria, saying, “I hope other means, like dialogue, are pursued to create a breakthrough in the war.”
Tomoko Watanabe, 64, the executive director of ANT-Hiroshima, an NPO in Naka Ward, suggested that international conditions could grow more tense because of the continuing rift between the United States, the United Kingdom, and France on one side and Russia on the other. Russia has denied that chemical weapons were used by the Assad regime. Ms. Watanabe said, “This may prompt each nation to strengthen its own military might and protect its own interests with force.”
(Originally published on April 15, 2018)
Shintaro Yoshimura, 62, a scholar of modern Middle Eastern political history and a professor in the Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences at Hiroshima University, criticized the attack by saying, “It was more aggressive than previous strikes because it was carried out without prior warning to reduce the damage.” Offering his assessment of the situation, he added, “It seems that U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to demonstrate some diplomatic achievements to the the American public and raise his declining approval rating by conducting these joint air strikes in Syria with the U.K. and France.”
“I’m wondering if an attack like this is the right course for the Syrian refugees. It keeps the refugees from returning to their hometowns,” said Kasumi Moritani, 27, a resident of Higashihiroshima City, who works for the Hiroshima International Center. As one of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers dispatched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ms. Moritani served at a refugee camp in Jordan, located next to Syria, for a year from 2015. She is worried about the future of many Syrian people she met there.
A Syrian man, 36, who now lives in Hiroshima Prefecture, came to Japan in 2010 but is unable to return to his homeland due to the prolonged civil war. He said he worried about the further spread of wartime violence, beyond such attacks on military-related facilities, though this may be unavoidable to end the Assad regime.
People on Okunoshima Island in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, where the former Imperial Japanese Army produced chemical weapons during World War II, feel concerned, too. Masayuki Yamauchi, 73, the head of a citizens’ study group on the history of poison gas production on the island, who works to hand down the accounts of the poison gas victims, said, “If chemical weapons were really used in Syria, this means that the wish of the poison gas victims for ending the use of such weapons has been ignored.” Atsushi Nishijo, 23, a company worker and resident of Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, who was visiting the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, expressed hope for a peaceful resolution in Syria, saying, “I hope other means, like dialogue, are pursued to create a breakthrough in the war.”
Tomoko Watanabe, 64, the executive director of ANT-Hiroshima, an NPO in Naka Ward, suggested that international conditions could grow more tense because of the continuing rift between the United States, the United Kingdom, and France on one side and Russia on the other. Russia has denied that chemical weapons were used by the Assad regime. Ms. Watanabe said, “This may prompt each nation to strengthen its own military might and protect its own interests with force.”
(Originally published on April 15, 2018)
