High school students from Rome learn about Hiroshima
Apr. 13, 2010
by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer
Ten high school students from Rome offered folded paper cranes to the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on April 12. They also visited Funairi High School to exchange ideas and opinions with students there about how to achieve peace.
After listening to the testimony offered by Shizuko Abe, 83, a resident of Hiroshima Prefecture who experienced the atomic bombing at a distance of 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, the students from Rome moved to the Children's Peace Monument in the rain. The paper cranes were folded by elementary school children in Rome. Andrea Paris, 17, one of the high school students, said, "The memories of such tragedies should never be lost. I plan to tell my family and friends what I've learned and felt during this trip."
At Funairi High School, they met with 13 students to engage in discussion. The students from Rome asked various questions, such as "How have the facts of the atomic bombing been taught to the younger generation?" and "What means have been used to convey those facts?" The students of Funairi High School shared with the Italian students their experience of visiting France on a school trip this past March and relating the damage caused by the atomic bombing to local high school students there.
In Rome, elementary, junior high and high schools maintain a curriculum to teach their students the tragic history of the 20th century. The visit to Hiroshima has been realized as part of this curriculum. Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno accompanied the students.
(Originally published on April 13, 2010)
Ten high school students from Rome offered folded paper cranes to the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on April 12. They also visited Funairi High School to exchange ideas and opinions with students there about how to achieve peace.
After listening to the testimony offered by Shizuko Abe, 83, a resident of Hiroshima Prefecture who experienced the atomic bombing at a distance of 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, the students from Rome moved to the Children's Peace Monument in the rain. The paper cranes were folded by elementary school children in Rome. Andrea Paris, 17, one of the high school students, said, "The memories of such tragedies should never be lost. I plan to tell my family and friends what I've learned and felt during this trip."
At Funairi High School, they met with 13 students to engage in discussion. The students from Rome asked various questions, such as "How have the facts of the atomic bombing been taught to the younger generation?" and "What means have been used to convey those facts?" The students of Funairi High School shared with the Italian students their experience of visiting France on a school trip this past March and relating the damage caused by the atomic bombing to local high school students there.
In Rome, elementary, junior high and high schools maintain a curriculum to teach their students the tragic history of the 20th century. The visit to Hiroshima has been realized as part of this curriculum. Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno accompanied the students.
(Originally published on April 13, 2010)
