On June 12th, a major event of part of the “Origamiak from Gernika to Hiroshima” project took place in Astra, a former bomb and gun factory which is now a cultural center, in which two hundred 12-year old students from Gernika and surrounding areas participated.
The event included a contextualization of the bombings that happened 70 and 78 years ago in Hiroshima and Gernika, respectively. The students listened to a talk by Luis Iriondo, one of the survivors of the Gernika bombing, and also saw videos of testimonies by two hibakusha which were recorded for the event by organization, Hiroshima Seikyo. Afterward, the students made one thousand origami cranes, which will be delivered to Hiroshima by two young people from Gernika in August.
“Origamiak” is a social movement by and for youth, aiming to empower and foster a culture of peace and further cooperation between Hiroshima and Gernika. Origamiak takes the story of Sadako Sasaki as inspiration, and has held workshops in local high schools.
The event was financed by the Basque Government and the Biscay Council, and also had the support of Gernika Gogoratuz, a peace research center, and Gernika Town Hall.
>Link to the promotional video of the “Origamiak” project
(Photo courtesy of “Origamiak”)