Passing on the message of Hiroshima Head of NPO reports on A-bomb exhibition in Rwanda
Nov. 28, 2014
by Yuji Yamamoto, Staff Writer
The head of a non-profit organization that supports education in her homeland of Rwanda recently visited Hiroshima to report on an exhibition on the atomic bombing that was held in the African nation this summer. Marie Louise Towari, 49, president of Think about Education in Rwanda, which is based in Fukushima City, visited the offices of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, where she met with its chairman, Sunao Tsuboi, 89. Ms. Towari told Mr. Tsuboi about the exhibition that was held in Rwanda, which is gradually recovering from the genocide of 20 years ago, and the two renewed their resolve to continue to tell of the horrors of the atomic bombing.
The exhibition on the A-bombing was held August 6-10 in Rwanda’s capital of Kigali. Since her first trip to Japan in 1993, during which she visited Hiroshima, Ms. Towari has been determined to tell people in her homeland about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This summer she was finally able to realize her goal with the cooperation of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, a system operated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Ms. Towari described the impressions of junior high school and college students who came to see the exhibition. One said, “I thought Rwanda had faced the worst situation, but I realized it was even worse in Japan.” Another said, “Everyone must be familiar with this history.” Ms. Towari told Mr. Tsuboi that people had offered encouragement and urged her to hold the exhibition annually in order to give people an opportunity to think about peace.
Ms. Towari and Mr. Tsuboi, each of whom has experienced a tragedy, share the goal of bringing about peace. Their lively conversation lasted for an hour and a half. “I want to pass on the message of people like Mr. Tsuboi who survived the atomic bombing and bring our two countries together,” Ms. Towari said.
“There are people in the world who are working hard to bring about peace,” Mr. Tsuboi said. “I was inspired to make one more effort.”
Keywords
Rwanda Genocide
In the genocide that took place in Rwanda, a small country in Africa, members of the Hutu majority carried out a mass slaughter of members of the Tutsi minority, with which the Hutu had been in conflict for many years. On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down as it descended into Kigali, the nation’s capital, triggering the genocide. Over the course of approximately 100 days to July of that year, an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis as well as Hutu moderates were massacred by the primarily Hutu government forces and militias.
(Originally published on November 24, 2014)
The head of a non-profit organization that supports education in her homeland of Rwanda recently visited Hiroshima to report on an exhibition on the atomic bombing that was held in the African nation this summer. Marie Louise Towari, 49, president of Think about Education in Rwanda, which is based in Fukushima City, visited the offices of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, where she met with its chairman, Sunao Tsuboi, 89. Ms. Towari told Mr. Tsuboi about the exhibition that was held in Rwanda, which is gradually recovering from the genocide of 20 years ago, and the two renewed their resolve to continue to tell of the horrors of the atomic bombing.
The exhibition on the A-bombing was held August 6-10 in Rwanda’s capital of Kigali. Since her first trip to Japan in 1993, during which she visited Hiroshima, Ms. Towari has been determined to tell people in her homeland about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This summer she was finally able to realize her goal with the cooperation of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, a system operated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Ms. Towari described the impressions of junior high school and college students who came to see the exhibition. One said, “I thought Rwanda had faced the worst situation, but I realized it was even worse in Japan.” Another said, “Everyone must be familiar with this history.” Ms. Towari told Mr. Tsuboi that people had offered encouragement and urged her to hold the exhibition annually in order to give people an opportunity to think about peace.
Ms. Towari and Mr. Tsuboi, each of whom has experienced a tragedy, share the goal of bringing about peace. Their lively conversation lasted for an hour and a half. “I want to pass on the message of people like Mr. Tsuboi who survived the atomic bombing and bring our two countries together,” Ms. Towari said.
“There are people in the world who are working hard to bring about peace,” Mr. Tsuboi said. “I was inspired to make one more effort.”
Keywords
Rwanda Genocide
In the genocide that took place in Rwanda, a small country in Africa, members of the Hutu majority carried out a mass slaughter of members of the Tutsi minority, with which the Hutu had been in conflict for many years. On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down as it descended into Kigali, the nation’s capital, triggering the genocide. Over the course of approximately 100 days to July of that year, an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis as well as Hutu moderates were massacred by the primarily Hutu government forces and militias.
(Originally published on November 24, 2014)
