MMM’s “Everything is Possible”

On 22-24 August 2009, was the 4th consecutive year Resident of KD9 became host to 6 visiting students from Nagasaki, Japan. This year the program also participated by 2 students from Pusan, Korea 

Nagasaki  is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the 16th century. It was formerly part of Nishisonogi District. It was a center of Portuguese and European influence in the 16th through 19th centuries. Nagasaki became a major Imperial Japanese Navy base during the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War.

During World War II, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made Nagasaki the second and last city in the world to be subject to nuclear warfare. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 6 and 9, 1945. After six months of intense fire-bombing of 67 other Japanese cities, the nuclear weapon “Little Boy” was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed on August 9 by the detonation of the “Fat Man” nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. These are to date the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.

Resident of Section 9, Kota Damansara during the homestay program

Women of KD9 also participated actively in this homestay program for students from Nagasaki, Japan and Pusan Korea

In considering the devastation in the two cities, it should be remembered that the cities’ differences in shape and topography resulted in great differences in the damages. Hiroshima was all on low, flat ground, and was roughly circular in shape; Nagasaki was much cut up by hills and mountain spurs, with no regularity to its shape.

In Hiroshima almost everything up to about one mile from X was completely destroyed, except for a small number (about 50) of heavily reinforced concrete buildings, most of which were specially designed to withstand earthquake shock, which were not collapsed by the blast; most of these buildings had their interiors completely gutted, and all windows, doors, sashes, and frames ripped out. In Nagasaki, nearly everything within 1/2 mile of the explosion was destroyed, including heavy structures. All Japanese homes were destroyed within 1 1/2 miles from X.

Mr. Nobuhiro Uchida, Director of Nagasaki National Peace Foundation giving his welcoming speech and his mission in promoting peace to the world.

More than forty percent of the city was destroyed. Major hospitals had been utterly flattened and care for the injured was impossible. Schools, churches, and homes had simply disappeared. Transportation was impossible. Today, Nagasaki is a busy, industrial city with a population of almost 500,000. The Mitsubishi plant, so completely destroyed by the Fat Man bomb, now manufactures turbines and powerplants used around the world. 

Mr. Tsukasa Watanabe, one the survivor, narrating his experience that he never forget.  “Sound of B-29, the bomber aeroplane  in the morning of 9 August 1945 really unusual”. He was 13 years old then.

Mr. Sang Ryul Lee, an officer for the program from Pusan, Korea introducing himself

During the war Japan brought many Korean conscripts to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to work as forced labor. According to recent estimates, about 20,000 Koreans were killed in Hiroshima and about 2,000 died in Nagasaki. It is estimated that one in seven of the Hiroshima victims was of Korean ancestry.

Mr. Shiinchiro Matsusaka make an introduction and his friend Mr. Nikita Nakashima at the back.  Both are student from Nagasaki University.  They have the first experience of fasting on the day 1 & 2 of ramadhan

Ms. Nu Ri Han student from Pusan, Korea 

Ms. Ayaka Mine and her participating friends in the program.  They visited a Malay Traditional Village in Paya Jaras, Sungai Buloh.

The surviving victims of the bombings are called ‘Hibakusha’, a Japanese word that literally translates to “explosion-affected people”. The suffering of the bombing has led Japan to seek the abolition of nuclear weapons from the world ever since, exhibiting one of the world’s most firm non-nuclear policies. As of March 31, 2008, there were 243,692 “hibakusha” recognized by the Japanese government; most live in Japan.  1% of them are having illnesses caused by radiation. The memorials in Hiroshima and Nagasaki contain lists of the names of the ‘hibakusha’ who are known to have died since the bombings. Updated annually on the anniversaries of the bombings, as of August 2008 the memorials record the names of more than 400,000 “hibakusha”. 

Mr. Toshinobu Ina one of the program officer from Nagasaki Japan receiving souvenir from Chairman of AlUlum, Hj Mohd Ali Mungai 

Ms. Fumi Nakamura receives her souvenir from Hajjah Zafran 

Part of the officers and students of the homestay program 

Museum of Asian Art, University of Malaya hosting an exhibition of the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki Tragedies from 20 August until 30 October 2009.

Citizen of both cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki actively  to promotes and  informing  young generation about the horror of war, the threat of nuclear weapons and the importance of the peace.  The citizens of Nagasaki pray that this miserable experience will never be repeated on Earth and the experience is not forgotten but passed on intact to future generations.

mamadou