Japan Peace Trip Reflection – Oleander Initiative

By Yasmine H.

Duration of Trip: 6-15 February 2026
Date Reflection was Written: 22 February 2026
School: Brummana High School

This peace trip to Japan has been an amazing experience to be a part of and I am truly grateful for everyone who has organised and prepared this for us. After reflecting about all the activities we have done, I feel I have grown as a person emotionally as I got to meet new people, learn more about the history about a new city and experience a whole new culture. I especially enjoyed learning the different perspectives of peace and resilience, either from Hibakusha or from high school students.

Personally, I grew the most when I got to interact with others about the atomic bomb. Seeing how the Hibakusha presented her testimony left a mark on me because I got to the emotions feel with her and I got to truly understand a lot of what people went through. I wasn’t able to imagine this during the Peace Memorial Museum. Although the visit to the museum was very touching, the testimony from the Hibakusha was more moving that I could have thought. Additionally, the Zine Workshop was very interesting to experience. As the theme was “Peace”, I had to think deep as to what peace truly means to me and I got to express it through art which I really enjoy. I realised that peace to me is when I am surrounded by greenery and nature; I feel calm and hope. Other places I really enjoyed were Hiroshima Castle because of its beautiful architecture and greenery, Shukkeien Garden because of its calming sensation, and Peace Park. Peace Park especially left an impression when Ms. Mirei explained why a part of the park was a meter below what we were standing on. It was because the ruins were packed down and were not entirely removed. That sent a shiver down my spine because I could not believe I was walking on ruins of such a traumatic event in history.

One specific time where I related school to what we have learned is when we were at the Peace Memorial Museum learning about the history of the atomic bomb and the aftermath. We had just finished the nuclear unit in physics and I made many connections between what we have learned already and what I was learning in the moment and I that is when I realised how big and effective the atomic bomb was. I did not imagine it being this size before making the connection with numbers.

The most meaningful lesson I have learned throughout this trip is to be resilient no matter what. When I came back to Lebanon, one of the first questions I got asked were “do any plants grow in Hiroshima or is it still empty?” and I then realised then that people still believe that Hiroshima is uninhabited and completely destroyed by the atomic bomb. That made me realise that what the Japanese have done the past 80 years is amazing, and their resilience and ability to power through is one of a kind. I hope that one day I would be as resilient and hopeful as the people in Hiroshima.

Other aspects of the trip I enjoyed are the train rides, the walks and our tour of Tokyo. I am also grateful for the amazing Japanese hospitality. The hotel’s location was very convenient and they provided everything we needed. The food we ate was great and I am glad we got to taste a large variety of authentic Japanese food.

The programme was organised in a very practical way. It included everything for us to understand the history of the atomic bomb and the resilience and peace in Hiroshima, and enough time for us to enjoy our time. Visiting museum and atomic bomb sites made me realise the true resilient spirit in Hiroshima which I can hopefully pass on the Brummana High School students and to people in my community. Attending the lecture about peace education made me realise that from a young age, students should be aware of what has happened and talking about the atomic bomb is not taboo. Peace education should be implemented through our PSHE programme at my school.

After coming back from this trip, I would like to spread a lot of what I have learned to the students at Brummana High School. We plan on making presentations to the students about our trip and what we have learned. While at the Hiroshima Castle, I was told that we can plant a tree from an atomic bomb tree at our school since we have a botanical garden (see Fig. 1).

I found this very interesting and would love to have this on our school grounds as a testimony of what we have accomplished from this trip. I would also like to collaborate with the art department and the language departments to organise an exhibition revolving around peace. Students will be invited to write a poem or sculpt what peace means to them and a final exhibition will present all their final works. Additionally, as I am training to become a chief at my scouts group and as I have connections with Ayadina Association, an NGO that supports underprivileged children, I can suggest peace as a theme for a quarter or to have lectures about peace or surround many activities, such as Zine, around peace and resilience.

Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Ray Mutsamiya, Ms. Kanade and Ms. Mirei for organizing this amazing programme for us, for making this trip possible and for letting us grow through different ways throughout this trip. I also want to thank Ms. Aline Alam, Brummana High School and Ms. Oumayma Khoury for their endless guidance and support. I am eternally grateful for being given this opportunity to learn about Hiroshima’s resilience and to give Lebanon a piece of it.

For more photos, click HERE.