Remembering Hiroshima - 66th Anniversary

Yesterday, I read about a man from Hiroshima in Japan who was 20 years old when he suffered terrible radiation burns in Hiroshima’s nuclear inferno in 1945 and now, more than 65 years later, the crisis at the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant is forcing him to relive the horrific situation he faced.

There is a dwindling group of survivors of the US nuclear bomb attack on Hiroshima in the final days of World War II.  Their deepest fears have been awakened due to the leak of radioactive material from the nuclear power plant .

Doves of Peace at Remembering Hiroshima Gathering, Byres Road, 6th August 2011

Radiation damages genes and DNA which cannot be fixed by doctors or medical treatments. There is no proper remedy for radiation exposure. Survivors of Hiroshima experienced their shredded skin falling off and unspeakable pain. This year, the ongoing drama at the Fukushima plant, located 800 kilometres from Hiroshima, has left workers exposed to high levels of radiation and similar health risks.

Scottish CND Gathering to remember, on Byres Road, 6th August 2011

It is clear that nuclear technology cannot coexist with human beings. Those who understand what it’s like to be irradiated consider it is very dangerous.  The after effects of radiation last for many years,  decades. 

The impact of the atomic bombs on people’s lives is captured in exhibits at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. One display explains food contamination, the dangers of radiation exposure and how radioactive elements spread in the air and beyond — the same questions people living near the Fukushima are now asking. 

Hiroshima is a thriving modern city with only has one building left that was not demolished after the bombing — the Atomic Bomb Dome.  Between the A-Bomb Dome and the peace museum is the Cenotaph, a giant arch above a tomb inscribed with the names of the victims. In the stone is engraved a promise: “Let all the souls here rest in peace; for we shall not repeat the evil".

Useful links:


Scottish CND - http://banthebomb.org/ne/