Hibakusha

Konnichiwa students,

Today, the first session I attended was entitled "Peace Education". One part of the program was given by a teacher from Hiroshima. The second half of the program was the retelling of the personal experience of one person, Matsushima san, who survived the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

The dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima was accomplished by the United States, although all countries were working towards producing such a bomb. What they did not know at the time was that it would turn out to be a weapon so frightening that those who know of the devastating results would be compelled to convince world powers never to use it again.

The U.S. dropped the A- bomb thinking that it would put an end to World War II by crippling Japan's ability to continue fighting. The bombing did accomplish this end.

Matsushima san said that he was lucky because he was it in classroom about 2 miles away from the epicenter, and on the opposite side of his middle school. When the bomb hit the ground, it totally annihilated everything in a mile radius of the denotation mark. Those who weren't killed immediately, either died shortly after, or years later due to radiation poisoning. He said that in a instant his life changed forever. He was blinding felt intense heat, and was thrown across the room by the force of the blast. He had cuts all over his body from the shards of glass from the windows penetrating his skin and was bleeding everywhere, but he was alive.
He saw people evacuating the city with ashen gray skin sometimes. without hair, or their hair standing straight up. They walked with their arms stretched straight out from the intense pain. They looked like ghosts, he said. He made it out of the city to further inland where his mother was living. He was sick for 10 days with diarrhea, but he was alive.

However, those who did survive were called Hibakusha, and faced discrimination because they survived. People were afraid that they would be contaminated with radiation poisoning. People didn't want their children to marry survivors because they thought their grandchildren would suffer genetic defects. Those Hiroshima children who had not been born yet came into the world mentally retarded, and people were afraid of associating with others who might experience terrible after effects.
From this experience, Matsushima san has had the desire to speak for peace, and the banning of using the A-boom again. He speaks to promote peace education. Something I think we should all do.

Here we are holding an origami peace crain.