Connecting Peace with "Bytes" August 11, 15:20
"The phase has changed. Young people have to live." In
late July, when the day of the Hiroshima atomic bomb on August 6 was approaching, the A-bomb survivors announced the younger generation who would take over the wishes of the A-bomb survivors. It is a word that I did.
It is pointed out that the average age of A-bomb survivors is approaching 84 years old, and the "era without A-bomb survivors" is approaching.
A new activity that connects peace that began in Hiroshima.
It is to pay a "reward" to secure a bearer.
We will approach behind the scenes of the activity that we started with criticism.
(Hiroshima Broadcasting Station reporter Ryosuke Sasaki)
"Reward" ants, not volunteers
"The colorful world suddenly became a black and white world. There is no dad without a mother. That is the atomic bomb."
Hiroshima has reached the summer of 76 years since the atomic bomb was dropped.
At Peace Park, where the cicadas squeal, which would be the same as at that time, young people were practicing as a guide to convey the actual situation of the atomic bombing.
There are many NPOs and organizations in Hiroshima that carry out these activities.
Most of the young people who participate are volunteers.
But now that activity is changing.
Instead of being a "volunteer," I get a "reward" and guide as a "part-time job."
In the past, many of the young people who participated in these activities were volunteers who were driven by their own feelings.
However, it is said that not many young people are willing to participate in these activities by throwing their time and life.
As the number of A-bomb survivors who can talk about those days is decreasing, a new activity "shape" is needed to take over the wishes of the A-bomb survivors.
There is a third-generation hibakusha man who speaks like this.
Promise with grandparents
I'm Kenta Sumioka (36 years old) who runs the NPO "Peace Culture Village".
Introduced "reward" for peace operations.
Mr. Sumioka from Hiroshima City.
I left Hiroshima to go on to university.
After graduating, I will start a restaurant-related company in Tokyo.
It is said that he had achieved "success" and had a busy but fulfilling life, but there were times when he could not get away from his heart.
It was a promise I made with my grandparents in my hometown, Hiroshima.
Mr. Sumioka's 87-year-old grandmother, Mr. Shizuko, was exposed to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima at the age of 11.
It is said that every time he talked about the appearance of the town, which changed like hell immediately after the atomic bombing, and the remorse of the victims.
I also heard from my grandfather, who died four years ago, about the tragedy of the war he experienced when he set out.
Kenta Sumioka
"I was
wondering
why I had to have such an experience and why a war would occur from an early age. Actually, I took action when my grandfather died. It's the last conversation like "I'm going to do peace activities", I made a promise, so I'm doing this kind of activity now. "
Not enough people and money
Mr. Sumioka returned to Hiroshima five years ago after handing over the company to another person.
I participated in an NPO responsible for peace activities in order to fulfill my promise with my grandparents.
Mr. Sumioka started his activities with an ideal burning.
However, soon after, the NPO was unable to manage due to financial difficulties.
The pillar of NPO activities is peace learning, in which guides at peace parks and volunteers are dispatched to lectures at schools.
At that time, NPO income was donated.
The more I did, the more I was in the red.
In addition, volunteers did not gather and there was a labor shortage.
How can we strike a balance between ideals and reality and make it a sustainable activity?
Mr. Sumioka came up with a mechanism to generate "reward".
Sell peace learning and peace park guides to schools through a travel agency that handles school trips.
I decided to send young people as guides and teachers to get paid from the school and pay the staff.
We also develop our own "products" for guides and learning content.
10 times more participants with "bytes"
The new mechanism seems to attract young people.
Momoka Narasaki has been participating in the activity since September last year.
Mr. Narasaki, who studies English at a vocational school, earns about 20,000 yen a month from this activity at most.
(* The upper part of the making of "Nara" is "So" instead of "Hachi") I
used to work part-time at restaurants, but now I am focusing on NPO activities.
At first, I wanted to improve my English by being a guide, but now I feel that it is worthwhile to convey the thoughts of the A-bomb survivors and the importance of peace.
Ms. Momoka Narasaki
"Even if you want to do peace activities, if you don't have a reward, you will definitely give priority to a part-time job. In that sense, getting a reward is an opportunity to concentrate on your activities, which is very helpful."
Since paying the rewards, the number of young people like Mr. Narasaki who participate in NPO activities has increased tenfold.
Prosperity grows and quality improves
“Reward” is changing the awareness of young people involved in NPOs.
By devoting himself to the activities of NPOs, "professionalism" has sprung up.
In late July, when the strong sun was shining, Mr. Narasaki visited one A-bomb survivor.
This is Toshiko Tanaka (82 years old) who was bombed in Hiroshima when she was 6 years old.
Mr. Tanaka told Mr. Narasaki that his parents' house was in the Nakajima area near the hypocenter, that he was saved because he was not at home that day because he was evacuated with his family, and that most of his friends died. rice field.
Mr. Narasaki says that as long as he is paid and engaged in activities as a "professional", he has a sense of mission to get to know the A-bomb survivors in detail and convey their experiences.
Ms. Momoka Narasaki
"It is an opportunity to raise the level and provide better quality products, such as being able to contribute more by receiving rewards and not only being able to participate in activities but also having time to meet the A-bomb survivors. I think it's becoming
What is sustainable activity?
How do the A-bomb survivors themselves perceive that young people receive rewards and convey their experiences and wishes for peace?
When I asked Mr. Tanaka, he got a favorable answer.
Toshiko Tanaka
"Young people also said,'It's okay to volunteer,' that's what I thought, but the phase has changed, and young people also have to live. I think it's natural to receive it. "
The number of A-bomb survivors is decreasing year by year.
Mr. Tanaka, a survivor who supports young people involved in the activity, expresses the sense of crisis that the testimony activity has decreased due to the influence of the new coronavirus and it is difficult for the voices of the survivors to reach.
He also revealed this.
That is, most of the testimony activities that the A-bomb survivors go to inside and outside the prefecture are volunteers, which is not easy for the elderly A-bomb survivors living on pensions.
Toshiko Tanaka
"I always thought that the testimony of the A-bomb survivors was done by volunteers, and I thought that it was the role and responsibility of the survivors. It costs money. It's actually tough. To be honest, the A-bomb survivors will be saved if there is financial support that rotates. "
76 years after the atomic bombing, the number of people who can talk about the atomic bombing experience is steadily decreasing, and the burden on one atomic bomb survivor is also increasing.
Mr. Sumioka's NPO is trying to create an environment where A-bomb survivors can easily work.
When I asked the A-bomb survivors to testify directly in peace learning at schools, I decided to pay the A-bomb survivors a "reward" as well.
Mr. Sumioka wants to change the current situation where the A-bomb survivors who talk about their experiences and the younger generation who connect the baton cannot continue their activities only by "feelings" and make the activities that connect peace sustainable. increase.
Kenta Sumioka
"I think it is important to connect the thoughts of the A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima, to foster successors in order to send a message of peace to the world, and to create a sustainable system. I want to do what we can do from now on as people are aging. "
For me, this interview was just "scales from my eyes."
I have spoken to A-bomb survivors in various positions and young people involved in peace operations, but no one has talked about "money."
I think that is because there was an atmosphere in which it was not allowed to talk about "money" for activities performed with "feelings".
Mr. Sumioka, an NPO interviewed, often said that he was prepared for criticism.
Even so, I started these activities 76 years after the atomic bombing because of the sense of crisis that the number of atomic bomb survivors has really decreased and it is difficult to hear the voice of Hiroshima.
Even though the entrance was a "part-time job," I also felt the reassurance of the young people who said that "professional" consciousness grew as they continued their activities.
What kind of sustainable activities are not just "clean things"?
I will continue to cover.
Hiroshima Broadcasting Station Reporter
Ryosuke Sasaki
Joined in 2014
After working at the Tottori Station, he was in charge of municipal administration and atomic bomb coverage at the Hiroshima Station. His hobby is fishing.