At a meeting at the SGI-USA Culture Center in New York City held on May 11,
during the 2010 NPT Review Conference,
five hibakusha, atomic-bomb survivors, shared their experiences,
expressing their heartfelt hope for peace.
The three men and two women were all exposed to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945.
They were invited to the United States by the NGO “Hibakusha Stories,”
which brings atomic bomb survivors to the United States to give lectures and take part in exchanges.
The hibakusha shared their experiences with groups of participants.
Shigeko Sasamori was 13 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
She suffered terrible burns.
Years later, in 1955, she traveled to the United States as one of a group of atomic bomb victims
who came to be known as the Hiroshima Maidens.
The women underwent extensive reconstructive surgery thanks to the support of Dr. Norman Cousins,
an ardent opponent of nuclear weapons who was instrumental in raising awareness of the plight of the hibakusha.
Everybody has a good heart. Just bring it out, care for each other, love each other,
that’s what makes the world peaceful.
No more war! No more Hiroshima! No more war!
We need everybody’s heart and energy and action! I know all you people have that powerful energy.
Participants put questions to the survivors, deepening their determination to contribute to world peace.
Several of them had family who had been in one way or another involved in the bombing.
Melissa Canaday is the granddaughter of a U.S. air force pilot.
He flew in one of the B-29s that accompanied the Enola Gay as it dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
I remember my grandfather saying that the men on the plane had no idea
the bomb would wreak the devastation it did.
He would tell us that the bombing of Hiroshima was a horrible moment in history
that should never be repeated.
Today, I made a vow to each one of the survivors that I would never let their history die.
Toshiko Tanaka, one of the hibakusha, summed up her personal message.
Peace is like the seed of a plant; we need to nurture it with water.
Because there are forces out there – emotional ones like hatred,
and economic forces – that can lead to a worse situation.
War can happen much more easily than we imagine.
That’s why I want to nurture the seeds of peace. I really feel that is my mission.