Ukrainian students, translators for audio guides, make first visit to Peace Memorial Museum having evacuated amid Russian invasion
Mar. 22, 2024
by Minami Yamashita, Staff Writer
On March 21, Ukrainian students visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in the city’s Naka Ward, for the first time. They were in charge of translating the portable Ukrainian audio guide loaned to visitors by the museum. They had fled to Japan after the Russian invasion and were seen shedding tears when they were exposed to the reality of the atomic bombing.
Twelve Ukrainian students from Kyiv National Linguistic University, studying at the Japan University of Economics, located in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, were involved in translating the contents of the guide last summer at the request of their home country’s embassy in Japan. The museum added Ukrainian language to its audio guide on February 16, and as of March 19, it had been used 13 times.
On March 21, three third-year students in the Japanese literature department toured the museum while listening the 80-minute audio guide. With tears in their eyes, they gazed at the tricycle and burnt lunch boxes belonging to children who died in the A-bombing.
Kateryna Mankivska, 21, who left her grandparents in Kyiv, said, “It’s heartbreaking. I don’t want my home country to be in the same situation.” Svitlana Redko, 20, said, “I was able to better understand the damage caused by the A-bombing by looking at the exhibit.” Mariina Kornieva, 20, said, “Ukrainians can also listen to the guide in their native language and feel the content more deeply.”
The three people placed their hands together in prayer in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and also visited the A-bomb Dome.
(Originally published on March 22, 2024)
On March 21, Ukrainian students visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in the city’s Naka Ward, for the first time. They were in charge of translating the portable Ukrainian audio guide loaned to visitors by the museum. They had fled to Japan after the Russian invasion and were seen shedding tears when they were exposed to the reality of the atomic bombing.
Twelve Ukrainian students from Kyiv National Linguistic University, studying at the Japan University of Economics, located in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, were involved in translating the contents of the guide last summer at the request of their home country’s embassy in Japan. The museum added Ukrainian language to its audio guide on February 16, and as of March 19, it had been used 13 times.
On March 21, three third-year students in the Japanese literature department toured the museum while listening the 80-minute audio guide. With tears in their eyes, they gazed at the tricycle and burnt lunch boxes belonging to children who died in the A-bombing.
Kateryna Mankivska, 21, who left her grandparents in Kyiv, said, “It’s heartbreaking. I don’t want my home country to be in the same situation.” Svitlana Redko, 20, said, “I was able to better understand the damage caused by the A-bombing by looking at the exhibit.” Mariina Kornieva, 20, said, “Ukrainians can also listen to the guide in their native language and feel the content more deeply.”
The three people placed their hands together in prayer in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and also visited the A-bomb Dome.
(Originally published on March 22, 2024)
