Yogyakarta, August 9th 2020-In memory of the 75th year since the explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Institute of International Studies—under the Department of International Relations Fisipol UG—organized a series of events titled “The 75th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing Series”. In its first event, IIS collaborated with ICRC Indonesia in holding a virtually-guided photo exhibition themed “From the Eyes of Hibakujumoku: Living Under the Shadows of Nuclear Weapons”.
Hibakujumoku is a Japanese term used to describe trees which survived the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki seventy-five years ago. The exhibition tried to illustrate the lives in post-explosion Hiroshima and Nagasaki witnessed by hibakujumoku. According to IIS’ official Instagram account, the exhibition also attempted to demonstrate the urgency of ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon.
The exhibition was held virtually through Zoom. It consisted of three sessions: the virtual photo exhibition, a breakout room session to reflect on the photos exhibited, and a Q&A session. The entire event was guided by Sonya Teresa, an IIS researcher. Also present in the event was Muhadi Sugiono, a lecturer in Department of International Relations and a campaigner in International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons/ICAN, and Donny Putranto, an ICRC representative.
The virtual exhibition comprised of three stages. The first stage was titled “The World of Dark Ashes”, illustrating the horrors of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after the bomb exploded. Sonya guided the exhibition, reading narrations as if she were a hibakujumoku trying to describe what it witnessed: a gloomy, dire, and painful sight. Muhadi and Donny, after the narrations ended, briefly explained about the photos. “With this tragedy, the world needs to pay special attention to nuclear bombs,” Donny remarked. Muhadi also added, “This tragedy should alarm states not to weaponize nuclear energy.”
The second part, titled “Greedy Humans and Screams in Silence”, displayed photographs of post-1945 nuclear weapons development. The hibakujumoku regret to see humans undeterred by the catastrophe nuclear weapons caused as they kept developing said weapons. Before jumping into the exhibition, Muhadi illustrated the matter at hand. “Most people think nuclear weapons are effective means to realize peace, particularly in resolving imbalance between two states. Failure to interpret history might cause them to think so,” Muhadi answered when Sonya questioned why nuclear weapons were continually developed. However, the photographs exhibited thereafter showed how the society objected weaponization of nuclear energy. Protests were organized to demonstrate the people’s aspiration.
The exhibition ended with its third stage, “In Our Future, Will Nuclear Weapons Still Be There?”. The photographs showcased meetings and conventions organized to discuss abolition of nuclear weapons use and development and use. Muhadi emphasized how critical these milestones were to abolition of nuclear weapons entirely. Said meetings resulted in legal schemes that were able to fill legal loopholes in the attempts to abolish nuclear weapons. Moreover, the treaty agreed upon in said meetings also shift the people’s perception on nuclear weapons.
The event went by smoothly and provided a lot of fresh insights. Every picture displayed had something to tell, immersing participants in their stories. In the breakout room session, the participants were split into several small groups to reflect on a few questions regarding nuclear weapons. Participants were actively involved in the discussion by answering the questions and responding to each other’s answers.
A question-and-answer session wrapped up the entire event. In responding to the questions, Donny briefly delivered the results of Millenials on War survey, particularly millenials’ perception on nuclear weapons. “There are many possible ways to contribute to this cause, even through mere social media,” Sonya concluded.