The exhibition is also being supported by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific of Nepal.[break]
The exhibition was jointly inaugurated on May 18 by Minister for Education Ganga Lal Tuladhar and the Mayor of Nagasaki City, Tomihisa Taue.
Also present at the inaugural ceremony was the former Mayor of Hiroshima City, Dr Tadatoshi Akiba, who has been active in his campaign against nuclear arms. Both Taue and Akiba were also awarded the first Gautam Buddha International Peace Award by the Government of Nepal in Lumbini on May 17.
The exhibition also had the presence of Toyoichi Ihara and Kiyomi Iguro as guests of honor. They happen to be survivors of the atomic bomb blast in Nagasaki.
Reflecting on the day when the bombing took place, Ihara said, “Our beautiful city of Nagasaki was reduced to ashes in one instant with the atomic bomb taking the lives of 74,000 people and injuring some 75,000 people. Although 66 years have passed since the bombing, many survivors still suffer today and constantly live in fear of the aftereffects of radiation that could occur any time.”
Ihara, who has served in the Nagasaki City Council since 1987 and recently has become the Chairman of the Nagasaki Prefecture Atomic Bomb Survivors Health Book Holders, supports the campaign for “Nagasaki as the Last Atomic Bombed City” and continues to stress the importance of world peace.
The exhibition has information on basic things like what an atom bomb is and also has several photographs exposing the extent of the damage being done to Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the first atomic bomb in history was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and the second one dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
“We’ve organized this exhibition for the first time in Nepal, and the main reason behind holding this exhibition is to let the people know about the devastating experience of war, especially through nuclear weapons,” said Khadga KC, Assistant Professor at TU and also one of the organizers of the exhibition.
He further informed that Nagasaki City has been campaigning for a nuclear weapons-free world since 1945. Through the exhibition, Nagasaki City wishes people to know about the effects of war and also hopes that there would be no third instance of suffering in the world caused by nuclear weapons.
“Also, on the occasion of the 2,555th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha which was on Tuesday, this exhibition hopes to promote an anti-nuclear peace movement, especially among the younger generations,” said KC.
“In the context of Nepal, we’re locked between India and China, and if there’s nuclear explosion in the neighboring countries, we’ll also suffer. Though we don’t have nuclear weapons of our own, the younger generations should know of this and also should support a nuclear weapons-free world,” shared Dayaraj Subedi, a student of disarmament at TU and also a coordinator of the exhibition.
The exhibition will remain open until May 21. It is open to all, and viewing time is from 11 am to 4 pm.
Related story
Pakistan remains Beijing's top arms importer; 61% made-in-China...
