A Request from Hiroshima

On Friday, August 6th, 1945 at 8:15am, the first atomic bomb ever to be used was dropped over Hiroshima, effectively ending the Pacific war.

65 years on, and today, also a Friday, I stood for the first time in my 10 years in this city, under a blazing sun, at precisely 8:15am, and was silent, thinking about what it must have been like on that day.

Every year on this day, there is a lot of talk of war and peace. Who was to blame? Should the US apologise for the bombing? Should Japan apologise for its transgressions in Asia and Pearl Harbour? Should Obama come here? Were Hiroshima and Nagasaki any less fortunate than London, Tokyo or Dresden? Would having the Olympics here make it worse or better? Bla, bla, bla....

For me, August 6th is not about all that. And, perhaps surprisingly for some, for the countless citizens of Hiroshima who volunteer to help out at the events planned for the day, explaining what is going on and handing out iced towels with a smile to all who come, whether they hail from the country who dropped the bomb, or the nations their country occupied during the war, or from another part of Japan, it doesn't seem to be about all that either.

Hiroshima does not want the world to remember what happened here in order to gain sympathy for victims of the bomb, or to make others feel guilt. Hiroshima wants to be remembered lest mankind forgets the cost when nuclear weapons are used. Hiroshima wants people to reflect on its plight, in the hope that the horror of it will make everyone think twice about supporting the manufacture, testing and use of nuclear weapons ANYWHERE in the future. Whatever benefits may be gained from the possession of these weapons, political or otherwise, do not justify the human cost.

So my request to you from Hiroshima tonight is this: come here once in your life and see for yourself the effects of nuclear weapons. If you can't come here in person, educate yourself as best you can (perhaps start here), and talk with your family and friends about Hiroshima a little today. Ask your kids if they think dropping bombs on each other is the best way to solve our international disputes.
They are the ones who may make the "Ground Zero to Global Zero" that Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN, talked about today when he visited our city a reality.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: a walk through our museum should be compulsory for anyone contemplating public office anywhere in the world.

Sorry for the preachy blip, but when I think that my child was able to be born (across the road from the Peace Park by the way) only because of the luck of my mother-in-law's house being behind a fortunately situated hill, I do get a bit thoughtful on this day each year.

The photo is of the World Heritage Site, A-Bomb Dome, during the lantern floating ceremony held tonight, in commemoration of those who lost their lives that day. Many of those exposed to the Atomic Bomb threw themselves into this very river in the (usually vain) hope of some respite from their burns and injuries.

Have been too busy to get to the computer lately, but there will be back blipping aplenty soon, if you're interested.