世界赤十字デー

　クレマチス「るんちゃん」は今朝も良く咲いてます。５月８日、今日の日の出は４時４３分、太陽高度７０°、日の入りは１８時３８分予定【群馬県】です。また、今日は世界赤十字デーです。第１回ノーベル平和賞受賞者アンリー・デュナンの誕生日にちなんで５月８日が「世界赤十字デー」と定められてます。連日、小さな子供まで犠牲になってるウクライナ危機、アフリカ食糧危機、依然と続くガザでの戦闘状態、感染症の蔓延、気候変動など様々な人道課題があります。

　若き日、カルカッタ日本人学校勤務時代に冬休みを利用し、インド北部ヒマラヤ山脈の西北に位置し、雪に覆われた世界の屋根の美しさの中、湖に浮かぶ大きなハウスボートのホテル内で現地時間１２月３１日午後８時３０分に日本の新年に合わせて乾杯したことは今でも脳裏に焼き付いてます。日本との時差が３時間半だからです。ここカシミールはシルクロードに近く、インドでも雪が降ることを知りました。

　湖に浮かぶホテルのハウスボートはロマンチックで、室内を歩くと少々揺れます。ここは東洋の水の都「スリナガル」です。ところが、現在、隣国パキスタンと一触即発の状態にあると伝えられてます。しかし、この戦争は今に始まったことではありません。

　当時でも飛行場は軍事基地を利用していたので、機内からの写真撮影は厳しく禁止されてました。しかし、いつになっても飛行機が出発しなかったのです。その理由は乗客の中に窓から軍事施設を撮影してしまった人がいたからです。結局、乗客はフィルムを没収されました。楽しい旅行であっても厳しい現実を目の当たりにしました。

Dear my friends who are crazy about world peace and great music.

　The simultaneous interpretation into English for your understanding will be done after my breakfast in Japan time.

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　As you see, the clematis "Run-chan" named by me is blooming well this morning as well. May 8th, today's sunrise is at 4:43, the sun is at 70° in altitude, and the sun is scheduled to set at 18:38 [Gumma Prefecture] in Japan. Today is also World Red Cross Day. May 8th is designated as "World Red Cross Day" in honor of the birthday of the first Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Dunant. There are various humanitarian issues such as the Ukraine crisis, where even small children are sacrificed, the food crisis in Africa, the ongoing fighting in Gaza, the spread of infectious diseases, and global climate change.

　When I was young, I used my winter vacation while working as a teacher at Calcutta Japanese School, and I went to the beauty of the snow-covered roof of the world, located northwest of the Himalayas in northern India. In a large houseboat hotel floating on a lake, I toasted to the Japanese New Year at 8:30 pm local time on December 31st. This is still burned into my mind. This is because the time difference with Japan is three and a half hours. I learned that Kashmir is close to the Silk Road, so that it snows in India too.

　The floating hotel houseboat on the lake is romantic, and it sways a little when I walk inside. Here is Srinagar which is called the water city of the Orient. However, it is reported that there is currently a tense situation with neighboring Pakistan. However, this war hasn't just started now.

　At that time, the airport was used as a military base, so taking photo from inside the plane was strictly prohibited. However, the plane never took off. The reason was that one of the passengers had taken photos of the military facilities from the window. In the end, the passengers had their film confiscated. I witnessed the harsh reality of even a fun trip.