Diana Farah

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza and Japanese atomic bomb survivor Hanagaki Rumi recalled the tales of tragedy in Gaza and Japan at a conference in Oslo on Wednesday.

Under the title ‘From Hiroshima to Gaza,’ the talk allowed both war survivors to recount the horrors they faced while trying to survive.

They both emphasized how important it was to showcase the atrocities to the world through their work as storytellers.

Azaiza, who survived 108 days of war, told the audience that Israel is killing Palestinians in Gaza slowly.

“Every day, [Israel] kills hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Palestinians. They are doing this in front of the whole world,” he said.

“Some people might say that ‘we didn’t know this was happening,’” he continued, but Azaiza said this only applies to the tragedies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, since there was not much media back then.

“Today, you can see it all on social media, but less action is being taken,” Azaiza explained.

He added that anyone with social media could see the Israeli massacres happening live thanks to the journalists who are on the ground.

During the event, pictures of Hiroshima and Gaza were shown side by side.

According to the two survivors, the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, are two of the world’s “greatest act of hellishness and immorality.”

Hanagaki is a leading figure of the nuclear disarmament campaign in Kyoto. The Hibakusha, or the atomic bomb survivors, are the victims of bombs which fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The conversation was moderated by Nosizwe Baqwa, a Norwegian South-African actress, singer, playwright and activist.

The event was organized by Lex International in cooperation with the Palestine Committee, ICAN Norway and the Action Group For Palestine. It was supported by Norwegian People’s Aid and The Fritt Ord Foundation.