Reflections from Vietnam

Nguyen Phu Tho
Quoc Hoc High School, Vietnam

     I intended to write some reflections right after I came back to Vietnam but I needed time to read the books and materials I received from the members of Shin-Eiken and Jasmin so I put it off. In my opinion these materials are an important part of the seminar because beside what we experienced in Nagasaki and what we discussed in Fukuoka, the information from these books is interesting and necessary for my peace education in the time coming. My first impression when I came to Japan is that nowadays Japanese people are very friendly and hospitable. These characters helped us feel comfortable and easy to exchange our thoughts and outlook on war. We come from different countries and the social situations and the methods of peace education are quite different but the common thing is that we all try the best to speak our voice of peace to the world. And if we cooperate well, our voice will be more effective.
     I don't want to repeat what I said at the seminar about Nagasaki and the atomic bomb here. I just want to say that whatever way we make war, wherever war occurs, whoever tries to make war, all mankind must suffer. As a result, our responsibility is to educate our students so that in the future leaders of each country will never think about making war any longer. Allen Nelson wrote in his book - "You don't know war" - that before he came to Vietnam, he just knew about war through films. To him, soldiers were handsome men and heroes and he was eager to come to war. This kind of feeling still exists today among the young students. In the future I will use what I gain from the seminar, from the trip to Nagasaki especially the book by Allen Nelson and other materials in my peace education. I think I can help my students understand more about war. I will mail to you when I have any result in my education and I think we can discuss regularly through email to cooperate for peace education. May the circle of peace grow!

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