Hiroshima Travelogue- Episode 1

July 31, 2013

I still have a few hours. I am writing the "Chronology of Iran's Contemporary History". It’s about the news on November 21, 1925. One of the pieces is about the military attaché of the Japanese government in India; Masaharu Homma. He is moving toward Iran. Iran's ambassador in Baghdad has informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Masaharu Homma has entered the political chronology, and will be granted a free visa. "It was understood that he was commissioned to assess the supreme government's army". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports his arrival to the War Department and the army general orders Hussein Khazaei, commander of the West Division, to provide all the requirements of a comfortable visit for Masaharu Homma in Tehran. Homma is entering Iran from western borders after a voyage from Bombay to Basra to Baghdad; which was the conventional path to arrive in Iran.

Right now, the writer of this piece is heading to Japan; I shall rush to the Peace Museum. The Japanese delegation is waiting there.

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I might want to elaborate a little bit on my style of writing in the present travelogue. For a person like me whose job mostly concerns documents and historical accounts, recording of the first impression of everything heard or seen is the best out of a short trip. The first impression is the most prominent layer of events than can be recounted without being able to fathom out their inner layers. To be able to penetrate into the depth of events, other tools are needed which are not accessible in such a short visit. First impression is one thing and the reality is something else. Therefore, from now on, if you see me using strange, unclear styles in my accounts, it might be because I am not sure how true my accounts are.

***

There I am; the Peace Museum is a relatively small building located at Northern side of Tehran City Park. Established by a group of doctors and Sacred Defense chemically-injured veterans, and funded by Tehran Municipality, the museum is about 8 years old and is supported by the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support.

There are as many war museums in war-torn nations as there are peace museums. I can remember that when Kaman fortnightly released (from 1996-2004), one of our major fields of interest was working on war literature, symbols and museums in other countries of the world.
We focused on literary and artistic experiences of war. The experience showed us that not only countries in defense, but invaders did everything to preserve their war relics and memorials.
The idea of establishing Tehran Peace Museum was formed in 2005 after a meeting between members of the society and officials of the international network of peace museums, and a visit from Hiroshima by members of the society during the same year.

My fellow travelers are showing up. Our passports, decorated with the emblem of Japanese government, are at our hands. They place our luggage at the back of a pickup, and we are all packed in a sedan moving towards Imam Khomeini International Airport.

As the sound of Adan [call for prayers] echoes throughout the airport waiting hall, fasters break their fasts. I have some morsels with me. Morteza Sarhangi has some Ballehs [kind of traditional sandwich] with him as well. We take some; break our fasts; say our prayers; stand in a queue before Emirates Airlines; hand over the luggage. The flight is delayed.

The month of Ramadan has become 22 days.

To be continued…

Hedayatollah Bebhboodi
Translated by: Abbas Hajihashemi