May the Peace Circle in Nagasaki Grow And Spread to the World

This post is part of series posts related to my experiences as an ABE Initiative Scholar in Japan. If you want to read related posts, please CLICK HERE.

Nagasaki Peace Tour

I think I don't need to talk about WWII, especially the story of the nuclear bomb in 1945 because it is a tragedy that is also written and included in our curriculum. Japan is the first and only country to have experienced nuclear bomb attacks, and Hiroshima (the 1st target) and Nagasaki (the 2nd target) are the victims of the attack.



It was a personal history for me to have finally visited Nagasaki and experienced the horror story in 1945 thanks to a two-days Nagasaki Peace Tour organized by Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. I visited Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Musuem and the hypocenter of where the bomb was dropped: the Ground Zero of Nagasaki Peace Park. I also saw the fountain of peace, the air-raid shelters and Torii of Sanno Shrine. I almost cried when I heard that Nagasaki had lost 1/3 of its population and another 1/3 was injured because of the bomb. That's how far human can go to harm themselves.

But what happened in 1945 is not the objective of this article. My aim is the same as the goal of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. The museum was unveiled in 1996 for two reasons:

1. to let the world remember the tragedy


2. to sincerely advocate for peace and abolition of nuclear bombs.

The museum says: Nagasaki must be the last place exposed to an atomic bomb. Therefore, inspired by that message, I want to use my peace tour to talk my people. But let me first briefly describe the state and reality of nuclear bombs.

Is North Korea the Only and Major Threat?

As part of our tour, we had a one-day exchange session and workshop with students of Nagasaki University, especially members of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA), an educational and research institute which is the interdisciplinary center of local academia with a firsthand experience of the horror of nuclear weapons. Nagasaki University is the only university in the world that has inherited a medical college having experienced the atomic bombing.

RECNA engages in a lot of research to raise awareness of nuclear issue and contribute to its abolition. But after listening their presentation and sharing ideas with them, I realized there's lack of awareness and knowledge about this issue at all. For example, if you talk about nuclear weapons today, majority of us will think either North Korea or Iran. And that's not wrong because, today, the mainstream media shapes and influences our thinking. But are these two countries the only and major threats? Of course no. See the below photo for an illustration of how the world is at risk of nuclear bombs.

Image Source: Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA)

We complain about North Korea, who has 15 to 20 nuclear weapons, while the likes of Russia and USA have 7,300 and 7000, respectively. Let me be clear here: I know North Korea is more riskier today than these other countries. But I also presumably know why they are riskier: they are arguably looking for attention because the world has isolated them. That also explains that our approach to nuclear bomb abolition is questionable.

Today, the world is still at risk of nuclear bombs because there are 14,900 bombs around the world. Humanity lives in fear of this bomb, and its earliest possible abolition is the greatest challenge of modern day.

Why This Peace Tour Was Personally Relevant to Me?

I'm from Somalia, a country that's still struggling to create a stable and well functioning government. It's true we had one of the most strongest and advanced governments in Africa, but that story ended sadly in 1991 when our country plummeted into a very disastrous and prolonged civil war (more than 20 years). I was 3 years old at the time. What comes to your mind?



I grew up without an effective government in our country. No government to offer basic services, like health and education. I struggled many times to explain people that I grew up without an effective government in our country because it's not something they can imagine. And it's not my fault. It's no wonder I was more familiar with the different types of gun shots than the different types of schools during the first 10 years of my life. Basically, I was more of a war kid than a school kid.

Yet, I was lucky enough to be one of the few people who could afford to go to school and get education. There's a long and sad story of how I got educated, but it's not the scope of this reflection article. Everything was privatized in my country. That meant if you didn't have money, your fate was unknown.

Now, for the last 7 or 8 years, the situation was/is improving. But I believe it is hard to find people on earth who need peace more than Somalis at this time. This is why I find the transformation of Nagasaki city after the bomb attack a mind blowing story. My people don't fully understand how to be tolerant and forgive. Even after almost 25 years of war. We can help and work together up to a group level (clans), but we're struggling to scale up that cooperation to a country level.

If people can forgive the atomic bomb in 1945, and still use that tragedy to promote and advocate for peace, there's a simple, yet powerful lesson here for my people: let's forgive each other and use what happened in our country as a proof of how self-destructive we can be. Japan built Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum to promote peace and appeal for abolition of the bomb. Do you see here what you do depends on the perspective you take? Let's take the "peace" perspective and turn Somalia into the land of peace, rights, and development.

I'm an Ambassador of Peace

I also a signed a petition to abolish all nuclear weapons out of our Earth. In addition to signing for a peaceful world, I also believe it will have a "somewhat" positive impact on my country. I dream of a peaceful and prosperous Somalia. My the peace circle of Nagasaki grow and spread throughout the world. And Somalia be the first country.