■PEACE ON
PEACE ON is a nongovernmental organization that was established in Japan in October 2003 with the aim of helping to ensure future peaceful international relations.
Since its inception, PEACE ON has spearheaded a project focusing on humanitarian aid for children in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. The project has been carried out with the assistance of Iraqi staff working locally on the ground, and through the support of donations received from Japan. In addition, we have been working to promote grassroots-level cultural exchange between people in Iraq and Japan.
■MISSION STATEMENT
1. Our aim is to help ensure a foundation for peaceful and friendly international relations through the creation of direct people-to-people links such as grassroots-level international aid and direct cultural exchange. In doing so, we hope to continue to learn from one another as we work to understand and respect the differences existing between us with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and culture.
2. In the spirit of fair trade, we aim to work toward the development of international trade relations that protect fundamental human rights, are based upon equality rather than exploitation, and allow people in difficult situations to attain economic independence. We also aim to build lasting relationships of trust by establishing work-related connections that go beyond the level of mere temporary aid.
3. In taking the information derived from our activities in our field and making it widely available to the world, we aim to help redefine modern civilization by organizing actions to invalidate the economic and social systems that are presently causing discrimination, exploitation, war, and other forms of structural violence. In place of this, we hope to work toward the realization of a truly sustainable society where each individual is able to pursue true happiness.
■IRAQI AID PROJECT
1. Support for Al-Noor, Al-Amal and Al-Manar schools for physically disabled children in Baghdad, as follows:
● Provision of four school buses with drivers
● Donation of goods including furniture, food, toys, play facilities, and study materials
● Exchange of paintings from children at Al-Amal school with personal messages from children with disabilities at Tatsunoko Gakuen school in Tokyo, Japan
2. Handcrafted gifts sent to students at Beirut primary School in Al-Doura, Iraq from students at Korominami primary school in Hyogo prefecture and Suedaisan primary school in Fukuoka prefecture
3. Special medicines for cancer donated to the Central Teaching Hospital for Children and Mansour Hospital in Baghdad
4. Donations provided to the Haifa Club (purchased by Peace On and donated to the camp), including a small truck, some hand-crafted clothes made by deaf-mute adults in Baghdad and funds for medical support
5. Emergency donation of hygienic medicines provided to Falluja General Hospital on May 15, 2004
PEACE ON was officially certified as an Approved Specified Nonprofit Corporation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on April 15, 2004. While carrying out the Iraq project described above, our organization has also been coordinating and participating in various events in Japan related to war and peace. In November 2005, PEACE ON also invited two Iraqi staff members and an Iraqi artist to Japan, and held various events in several different Japanese cities.
■IRAQI ART PROJECT
PEACE ON established a project together with Japanese artist Rena Masuyama
Titled ‘LAN to IRAQ’ in order to establish a new cultural relationship with Iraqi artists. For more information, please see: http://npopeaceon.org/lantoiraq
Through this project, PEACE ON has held about 20 exhibitions in various cities throughout Japan and Korea since March 2004. Titled ‘Light from Chaos’, the exhibitions have featured the work of the following contemporary Iraqi artists:
Hani Al-Dallah Ali, Salam Omar, Qasim Alsabti, Nuri Al-Rawi, Mohammad
Muhraddin, Hazim Al Bustani, Intelag M. Ali, Wisam Rudy, Ali Shinawa, Wasma
Al Agha, Mayasa Al mukdadi, Shaddad Abdul Qahar, Serwan Baran
In addition, PEACE ON organized individual exhibitions at the Chuwa Gallery in Ginza, Tokyo featuring the works of Hani Al-Dalla Ali in November 2005, and those of Serwan Baran in October 2006.
■PEACE ON Information
PEACE ON has a total of 59 regular members and 34 supporting members.
Directors: Yasuyuki ‘Yatch’ Aizawa, Sarmad Haqi Mohammed
Kaori Takase, Kiyomi Ura, Kazumi Murakami, Masaki Iwaji
Iraq staff: Sarmad Haqi Mohammed, Amara Haqi Mohammed (French), etc,
[HEAD OFFICE]
3-13-19-105 Minamioizumi Nerima-ku, Tokyo, 178-0064 JAPAN
TEL&FAX (+81) 3-6427-8583
office@npopeaceon.org
[profile]
Yasuyuki ‘Yatch’ AIZAWA (Director of PEACE ON)
Aizawa was born in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, Japan in 1971. His father, Kazuo Aizawa is an artist.
Aizawa mainly performed music until 1996, after which time he became involved with international relations while studying in an English language school in Ireland. He visited Iraq for the first time as a member of an NGO in February 2003, and then became a Human Shield to try and stop the U.S. invasion against Iraq. He stayed at a water purification plant in Baghdad until the city fell.
After returning from Iraq, Aizawa traveled around Japan lecturing about the reality of the war and people’s lives in Iraq. In October 2003, he visited Iraq again and established PEACE ON together with an Iraqi friend. Since then, he has visited Iraq several times to provide support such as school buses for handicapped children’s schools, drugs for hospitals and food for refugee camps. He has also organized cultural exchanges including exhibitions of contemporary Iraqi artists in Japan.
■Arabic: PDF file(449KB)