Young people around the world gather at study session in Vienna before TPNW meeting, share inhumanity of nuclear weapons through dialogue with A-bomb survivors
Jun. 19, 2022
by Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writer
On June 17, young people from around the world gathered in Vienna, Austria, for a study session held in conjunction with the upcoming First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled to begin in the city on June 21. The event was organized by Reverse the Trend, a U.S.-based organization consisting of young people who aim at the resolution of issues related to nuclear weapons and the environment, among other groups. The participants learned about the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons as highlighted in the TPNW, based on testimonies from A-bomb survivors, including Masashi Ieshima, representative director of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) who experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.
The study session took place at the Embassy of Ireland in Vienna and was attended by around 50 people from such nations as Japan, the United States, France, and the Marshall Islands, an island nation that suffered damage from nuclear testing. Mr. Ieshima explained that he was three years old and at his home in the area of Ushita-cho (now part of Hiroshima’s Higashi Ward) at the time of the atomic bombing. Recounting his experience at that time, he said, “All the glass at home was broken into shards that were blown by the A-bomb’s blast, piercing my mother’s entire body.” He called for the elimination of nuclear weapons when he said, “Russia’s stance of not ruling out the use of nuclear weapons represents a new risk to humankind. Nuclear weapons can never coexist with human beings.”
Yukiko Ouchi, 18, a third-year student at Kindai University Fukuyama High School who lives in Fukuyama City in Hiroshima Prefecture and was sent to Vienna as a High School Student Peace Ambassador, encouraged the audience to continue to act until nuclear weapons are eliminated. The participants of the study session gave presentations among themselves regarding the reality of nuclear damage, including the fact that islands have become uninhabitable because of past nuclear testing and that the islanders affected must continue to live with psychological trauma caused by the testing.
Mayu Seto, 31, is a resident of Kure City in Hiroshima Prefecture and a member of Kakuwaka Hiroshima, a civic group of young voters in Hiroshima interested in knowing about nuclear governmental policies. Ms. Seto said, “I was able to meet up with like-minded people from all over the world with whom ideas can be shared, which made me realize once again the need for solidarity in terms of achieving the goal of elimination of nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on June 19, 2022)
On June 17, young people from around the world gathered in Vienna, Austria, for a study session held in conjunction with the upcoming First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled to begin in the city on June 21. The event was organized by Reverse the Trend, a U.S.-based organization consisting of young people who aim at the resolution of issues related to nuclear weapons and the environment, among other groups. The participants learned about the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons as highlighted in the TPNW, based on testimonies from A-bomb survivors, including Masashi Ieshima, representative director of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) who experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.
The study session took place at the Embassy of Ireland in Vienna and was attended by around 50 people from such nations as Japan, the United States, France, and the Marshall Islands, an island nation that suffered damage from nuclear testing. Mr. Ieshima explained that he was three years old and at his home in the area of Ushita-cho (now part of Hiroshima’s Higashi Ward) at the time of the atomic bombing. Recounting his experience at that time, he said, “All the glass at home was broken into shards that were blown by the A-bomb’s blast, piercing my mother’s entire body.” He called for the elimination of nuclear weapons when he said, “Russia’s stance of not ruling out the use of nuclear weapons represents a new risk to humankind. Nuclear weapons can never coexist with human beings.”
Yukiko Ouchi, 18, a third-year student at Kindai University Fukuyama High School who lives in Fukuyama City in Hiroshima Prefecture and was sent to Vienna as a High School Student Peace Ambassador, encouraged the audience to continue to act until nuclear weapons are eliminated. The participants of the study session gave presentations among themselves regarding the reality of nuclear damage, including the fact that islands have become uninhabitable because of past nuclear testing and that the islanders affected must continue to live with psychological trauma caused by the testing.
Mayu Seto, 31, is a resident of Kure City in Hiroshima Prefecture and a member of Kakuwaka Hiroshima, a civic group of young voters in Hiroshima interested in knowing about nuclear governmental policies. Ms. Seto said, “I was able to meet up with like-minded people from all over the world with whom ideas can be shared, which made me realize once again the need for solidarity in terms of achieving the goal of elimination of nuclear weapons.”
(Originally published on June 19, 2022)
