PAX
Yu-Ai November issue 2018 — USA PAX report by Miho Nishii
Yu-ai Friendship
Newsletter of the World Friendship Center, NPO
Thinking back on the 2018 PAX Tour To America：
Peace from a True Spirit of Volunteerism
Miho Nishii
I joined PAX Tour to America from September 17th to September 28th as one of 4 PAX members. We visited 4 places: Elgin and Bloomington – Normal in Illinois; Wilmington and Bluffton in Ohio, to make presentations about peace.
The experiences of having met a lot of people with volunteer spirits in America changed my understanding of volunteerism . I learned that family units in America are open to society and people naturally work for the community as volunteers. It seemed that volunteering work are not hard obligations but delightful opportunities for each of volunteers to help people with needs. They seemingly valued individuality.
I was invited to make my presentations, including short self-introductions, at least 12 times in all during the tour. Although I was not sure if I could make my presentations understood because of my clumsy English, I was very impressed that the people I met in America tried to sincerely listen to and understand my presentations about peace. Thinking back on my presentations, each opportunity was so precious to me, even if I was not satisfied with my poor English.
As the length of this paper is limited, I am not able to introduce every presentation and what happened in this tour, but here I would like to write about the very impressive one, the panel at Illinois Wesleyan University on September 22nd.. It was so impressive because during that 2-hour panel I had been so nervous, had felt uneasy and had been very moved by the presentations of the other panelists. I was aware that the other panelists could speak near-native English and had been very experienced with peace issues. On the other hand, I believed that the heart of my idea about peace (the title was “the Spirit of the Memorial Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims” ) was connected to theirs and those of each of the persons working for world peace.
About 30 minutes before the panel was finished , one Chinese man from the audience had very strong comment on my presentation, blaming the Japanese people for atrocities in China during WWⅡ. I apologized him for the Japan’s atrocities and explained the idea of my presentation, quoting the words of the former Hiroshima Mayer Shinzo Hamai: “There is no winner and no loser in a war. The cenotaph exists for mourning the dead and taking an oath not to bring about wars”.
I don’t know if my response was persuasive to him and I also hope my response was understood by the audience. I remember the moment when I was relieved to hear the clapping of hands from the audience.
I appreciate all the people who were involved in organizing this PAX tour and those who hosted us PAX members for giving us this precious opportunity.
Copyright © NPO World Friendship Center 2018 All Rights Reserved
Yu-Ai November issue 2018 — USA PAX report by Tatsushi Amano
Yu-ai Friendship
Newsletter of the World Friendship Center, NPO
American PAX 2018
Tatsushi Amano
I had a chance to participate in the PAX-USA 2018.
It all started last April when Yamane-san, the WFC chairperson, asked me if I would like to perform the one-man play, “Living with Father”, in the U.S.A. I had already performed the play with English subtitles before the WFC members, including the co-directors. I agreed to the proposal with pleasure. It would be a precious chance for me to perform the play about the A-bomb on Hiroshima written by Hisashi Inoue, a prominent Japanese playwright. I was nervous because I had no confidence in my English, but thanks to the strong support of the other PAX members (Mimura-san, Nishi-san and Tashiro-san), each of my performances at four places ended in great success. I am really grateful to each person who gave me a helping hand.
During the tour, everywhere we went, the local people gave us a warm welcome. A lot of people helped us out. Before the performance at the Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Illinois on September 19, Dan was busy setting up the equipment to the last minute. On September 20, at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Josie was a key person and a college professor there worked as my translator. The theater was filled with laughter and tears, and they gave me a standing ovation. While there, Raymond G. Wilson and his wife Akiko gave us three panoramic photos of Hiroshima after the A-bomb, which we, in turn, later passed on to Dayton International Peace Museum, Alice Ramseyer, and the WFC. Tanya of Peace Resource Center kindly climbed up a ladder for us to set up the lighting equipment at Wilmington College in Ohio on September 25. Our host family, Christine and Gene Snyder and a large number of local people and college students came over to see the play. On September 29, there were many local people at the First Mennonite Church in Bluffton, too. Barb’s brother Ken was there. Alice, who celebrated her 89th birthday, was there and vigorously took care of us.
Looking back on this PAX tour, I must give my thanks to all the people I met who guided us, who let me stay at their home, who came to see my play, and to each fellow PAX member. I must thank the people of the WFC who gave me this precious opportunity. Thank you.
I will make use of my experience of this tour to tell the message for peace through my future performances. I aim to learn more about what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the A-bombing, and how people, such as WFC founder Barbara, have endeavored to abolish nuclear weapons for world peace. I will try to pass on this history to the new generation. In this, I look forward to your assistance. Again, thank you very much.
Copyright © NPO World Friendship Center 2018 All Rights Reserved
Yu-Ai November issue 2018 — USA PAX report by Youko Mimura
Yu-ai Friendship
Newsletter of the World Friendship Center, NPO
American PAX report
Youko Mimura
I applied to join American PAX at the end of June. It was privilege for me to be chosen as one of the participants and to have such a precious experience. We visited four places and met many people who welcomed us. I think that the warm welcome was only thanks to the years of relationship cultivated between each person or group and the WFC.
I deeply appreciate the organizers and WFC committee members for working kindly to preparing our trip and give accurate information. I also thank each host family for accepting us, and making delicious breakfasts!
The first place we visited was Elgin, northwest of Chicago. A director of this church, Dan Mcfadden hosted us and gave us a guided tour here. The headquarters of Brethren Church is here, their publishing department is here, too. The book “Sea-going Cowboys ” was published here.
One of the works they undertake here is Brethren Volunteer Service. After a couple weeks of training, volunteers are dispatched all over the place, in the USA and overseas. The WFC co-directors, Dannie and Barb were also sent to Hiroshima from here.
In Illinois Wesleyan University, we participated in the International Peace Conference, held over International Peace Day on September 20, 21, and 22. Josie, one of the interns at the WFC last June, was a leading organizer for this conference. We visited several classes from the first day soon after we arrived there. In each class, after we introduced ourselves, students asked us some questions related to Hiroshima and the atomic bomb. It was a good chance for us to know how they think about A-bombing. In this university, we saw that students learned seriously about Hiroshima. But those questions were not so easy for me to answer smoothly without preparation. I felt sorry about my poor English.
My presentation here was held from 6.30 in Turlfer room, with dinner and a small panel discussion. Hank Campbell was the following speaker panelist who works to make bridges between Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians. When I was nervous, my PAX pals sat in the front row and said they were there for me. That helped me relax. During this trip, I had a lot of experiences with the other participants – joking, singing, chatting and discussing. In my presentation, I talked about the WFC and some victims of the A-bomb in my husband’s family.
In Wilmington, we visited Tanya Maus at the Peace Resource Center. In the evening we were welcomed by local people with a potluck party. I felt this community has a close relationship with college. I learned that the number of Japanese books related to nuclear here is the largest outside Japan.
At Bluffton University, director Louise Mattheu gave us a campus tour and showed us some art on the campus. I felt their strong will to convey peace through the arts. There was also a cozy library in the Peace Center, the Lion and Lamb, where schoolchildren learn about peace through the “Sadako” or “Swords to Plowshares” stories. Our presentations were held in this center. Because one of the organizers, Alice Ramseyer, announced this through the local newspaper, many people in the local community people came, as well as a few students of this university.
They seemed to learn about Hiroshima and the bomb. Most people we met through this PAX visit were relatively knowledgeable about Hiroshima. Still, though, the U.S. is one of the nations which possesses a large amount of arms, especially nuclear weapons. It might have been a small step for me to join PAX, but connecting with each other makes us stronger.
Thank you again for all the people I met in the U.S.A and the WFC.
The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts in Bluffton University
Copyright © NPO World Friendship Center 2018 All Rights Reserved