The Hibakusha-A fading legacy!
Hiroshima Day on 6th august offers a poignant reminder of the devastating impact of nuclear warfare and the enduring need for peace. It was that rare historical moment that requires little hindsight to gain its significance.
World War II would end, and the Cold War soon begin. New frontiers of science were opening, along with new and frightening moral questions. The Enola Gay was the B-29 heavy bomber that was used by the United States on August 6, 1945, to drop the atomic bomb. After the bombing,the men aboard the Enola Gay could only summon two words: “My God!”
For the survivors of those ruined cities, the coming of the bomb was a personal event before it was a global one. Amid the death and destruction, some combination of luck or destiny saved them—and therefore saved the voices that can still tell the world what it looks like when human beings find new and terrible ways to destroy one another.
The "hibakusha" are the surviving victims of the atomic bombs which fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many have lived with health problems, lost loved ones and been discriminated against because of the atomic attack.While these individuals survived the immediate effects of the blasts, the hibakusha have suffered from the effects of radiation sickness, loss of family and friends, and discrimination.
In spite of their difficulties, many hibakusha have been shining examples of turning their personal tragedies into a struggle to promote peace and to create a world free of nuclear weapons. People who suffered the effects of both bombings are known as nijū hibakusha in Japan. These people were in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, and within two days managed to reach Nagasaki.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi born on 16 March 1916 was a Japanese marine engineer who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II. Although at least 160 people are known to have been affected by both bombings, he is the only person to have been officially recognized by the government of Japan as surviving both explosions.He died of stomach cancer in January 2010.
In 2024, survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks won recognition for their campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons when Nihon Hidankyo – a nationwide network of hibakusha – was awarded the Nobel peace prize.Hidankyo's motto, "No more Hibakusha," encapsulates their core mission to ensure that no one else experiences the horrors of nuclear warfare.
But survivors face a race against time to ensure that their message lives on in a world that is edging closer to a new age of nuclear brinkmanship. Eighty years on from the destruction of the city, registered survivors of the blast - known as hibakusha – have fallen below 100000.
They have spent their lifetimes telling their tragic and horrific stories and these brave hibakusha deserve to have their decades of campaigning vindicated and to witness the elimination of nuclear weapons in their lifetimes. This would provide some nuclear justice.
#karuwakispeaks #hiroshima #hiroshimanagasaki #peace
(NOTE:pics from internet for illustrative use only)
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