Archive for the ‘Hibakusha’ Category

A Hibakusha asks, “Who will continue the struggle…”

November 1st, 2011 by Leonard Eiger from The Nuclear Abolitionist

Friends,

Ai Satoh of the Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Gensuikyo) shared the following speech given by Ms. Setsuko Thurlow, a Hibakusha of Hiroshima, to the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly just the other day.  Like so many other Hibakusha, Setsuko has dedicated herself to sharing the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and preventing future nuclear war. 

It is right that Setsuko spoke at the United Nations, an organization brought forth “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”  Of course, nuclear war would be a scourge unlike anything humankind has ever known, and the nations that have “united” to “live together in peace” must work with a will to abolish nuclear weapons.


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The Bomb and the Hope

August 13th, 2010 by Leonard Eiger from The Nuclear Abolitionist

Dear Friends,

Nuclear weapons are, for most people, an abstract concept; a concept that exists in the mind (if at all), without any concrete existence. Today’s nuclear weapons are kept out of sight and out of mind, not just to protect them from those pesky terrorists (and plowshares activists) but also from the public’s awareness. But for the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some of whom are alive today, these weapons are anything but an abstraction, and they are very much aware of the existence of today’s nuclear weapons.

Sixty-five years after the atomic bombings we continue working to keep the memory of these horrific events alive, and we typically do so by sharing the facts about and experience of the bombings through written and spoken word, photographs, art, as well as through testimony of survivors of the bombings (Hibakusha).


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Voices of the Hibakusha

May 7th, 2010 by Leonard Eiger from The Nuclear Abolitionist

Dear Friends,

While all the BIG international citizen’s events were going down in New York City leading up to the United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, some pretty cool things were happening in other places as well. Here in the Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest we had a number of events (intended to raise awareness) including our own rally and march coinciding with last Sunday’s march in New York.
The (personal) high point of the past week was the arrival in Seattle of the 38 person delegation representing the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo). The delegation consisted of Japanese citizens from many cities, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The most venerable member of the delegation, Ms. Tokie MIZUNO, is a Hibakusha of Hiroshima (a survivor of the atomic bombing of that city).
MIZUNO-san was 5 years old when the bomb exploded over her city, and she has never forgotten that day. She still bears the scars both visible and invisible that have affected her life and health. I could tell you more, but the story should be told by MIZUNO-san (in her own words). This is her story, and she wrote it down and then stood before people in Seattle, and then in Tacoma, and with great courage and
conviction told her story, gave her testimony, and called on everyone to work together for a nuclear weapon-free world.
MIZUNO-san honored us with her testimony, and as witness to that testimony I feel a responsibility to pass on her words exactly as she spoke them on both occasions. You may read them here (in fact, this is the only place you will find them) and I hope that you will be touched by her words and pass them on to others, especially those who are still unaware that the nuclear-armed nations still brandish thousands of nuclear weapons, and are prepared to use these terrible weapons.
I should also mention that we also heard from Mr. KIMURA Isamu, General Secretary, Fukuoka Council against A & H Bombs (Fukuoka Gensuikyo), who spoke eloquently of the need to abolish nuclear weapons, and that all the members of the delegation were wonderful ambassadors of peace (”Heiwa” in Japanese). I am grateful for each of these ambassadors of peace and new-found friends; as their host I was honored to spend time with them and see their tremendous, steadfast dedication to building a peaceful world. They are people of deep, generous spirit.
The voices of the Hibakusha help keep the memory of those terrible events in 1945 alive so that we may choose (if we find our own courage) to not allow such things to ever happen again. For if we do not remember history, we are doomed to repeat it; this terrible history must never be repeated. Let us hear the voices of the Hibakusha with our hearts and minds so that we may carry their message with us wherever we go…

No more Hiroshimas! No more Nagasakis!

Peace,

Leonard
*************
This is the testimony of Ms. Tokie MIZUNO as it was written by Ms. Mizuno in April 2010, and translated by Nobue KUGIMIYA; and presented by Ms. Mizuno at First United Methodist Church of Seattle, Washington on May 5, 2010 and at the University of Washington Tacoma on May 6, 2010. The two photos were also included with her testimony.

My name is Tokie MIZUNO and I am a survivor of Hiroshima. 65 years ago, when I was 5 years old, the atomic bomb was dropped on my city, Hiroshima. I was near my grandmother’s house, 1.2 kilo-meters from ground zero.


The City of Hiroshima was completely destroyed and was turned into rubble by the enormous destructive power of the atomic bomb. As other survivors, I was barely alive and the damage on my body and mind was unbearable.

I might have been lucky to survive but life hasn’t been easy on me financially, physically and mentally. This agony should not be repeated on anybody else on earth. That’s why I have become involved in anti-nuclear actions with other Hibakusha as well as many other Japanese people.

We have been collecting signatures for a nuclear-weapon-free world, and engaging in activities to defend the Japanese Constitution, especially the Preamble and Article 9, which pledges never to wage war again.


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Happy Anniversary NPT, but this is No Time for Celebration!

March 5th, 2010 by Leonard Eiger from The Nuclear Abolitionist

Friends,

March 5th was the 40th anniversary of the Non Proliferation Treaty entering into force.  The treaty is formally known as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or less formally as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT).
The NPT is essentially a treaty to preven
t the spread of nuclear weapons, and 189 nations are parties to the treaty.  They include the five major nuclear weapons states, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China.  North Korea, one of the signatories, acceded, violated and then withdrew from the treaty in 2003.  India, Pakistan and Israel – all known to possess nuclear weapons – are not parties to the treaty.
The NPT came about out of a concern that should more nations build nuclear weapons, the security of all nations would be put at risk, and the risk of accidents, unauthorized use, miscalculation and escalation of small nuclear conflicts would increase. Frank Aiken, Irish Minister for External Affairs, initiated the NPT process in 1958, and by 1968 the treaty was negotiated and ready for signatures.  
The nuclear powers have not, for the better part of the past 40 years, made good on the promises made in the NPT, and the U.S. has provided far less than a stellar example.  The result has been, as one would expect, that nuclear weapons have proliferated, and we now stand at a crossroad.  It is one at which we must stop and take a serious look, for the consequences of the wrong road will one day prove catastrophic.
With the next NPT Review Conference coming up in May 2010, we have much work to do!  I will be focusing a number of posts on the NPT and our role (as citizens) in pursuing a strengthened non-proliferation regime.  Meanwhile, I highly recommend reading Joseph Gerson’s article published today in CommonDreams.org titled Obama’s Nuclear Credibility Gap. Gerson has been involved in the U.S. peace and justice movement since the 1960s, and is deeply involved in the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.
Thanks to Gerson’s foresight and hard work, this May’s NPT Review Conference will have plenty of company, including 2000 Japanese activists (and atom bomb survivors) who will travel to New York for the May 2nd International Day of Action for a Nuclear Free Future.  I am grateful to Joseph for helping me arrange a visit to Seattle by pmembers of the Japanese delegation on its way home after the New York gathering as part of our effort to build awareness, educate people, and get them engaged in the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.
For information about the 2010 NPT Review Conference International Planning Committee’s activities, check out Peace And Justice Now.  While you are there be sure to sign the petition to President Obama asking him to fulfill U.S. responsibilities to the NPT.

Peace,

Leonard
   

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