Day 4: Peace Education

Presenter:
Keijiro Matsushima
Tomoko Yanagi
Teacher, Hiroshima Misuzugaoka High School


Today (Friday), I was humbled as I listened to a survivor of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Unfortunately, many of the survivors feel extremely guilty for surviving and have a hard time speaking about it. They watched many people suffer and die after the bomb was dropped. They then experienced the after effects of the radioactivity from the bomb. The Japanese survivors experienced the loss of hair, diarrhea, sores on the body, and bleeding from their gums for days after the bomb. It was hard to get help because many doctors and nurses had also been hurt or killed by the atomic bomb. In addition to the physical and psychological problems, survivors were also ostracized by society. Many people were convinced that they could contract a disease from the survivors. So, many survivors had to internalize their experience to make sure they, or their family, were not discriminated against. Today, after many years of difficulty and silence, survivors are speaking out to preserve this unfortunate memory and to promote peace. Should the bombs have been dropped? It is arguable, but that is not the focus of the survivors. The atomic bombs were dropped and this cannot be undone. Instead of arguing this point, it is time to promote peace for now and the future. How do we do this? We have to build positive relations with the world. JFMF is one of the programs meant to change the world. In fact, weeks after the dropping of the a-bomb on Hiroshima the Fulbright Program was created by Senator Fulbright. He had a vision to build a peaceful world by reallocating money used for the war to build a program that helps improve relations between groups of people around the world. There will be obstacles, but we must strive forward. Senator Fulbright was not always supported. In fact, at one point, president Lyndon Johnson called the Senator “Halfbright” for speaking out against the war. He kept going and I can tell you that he created something very special. I leave you with one last thought that was conveyed to us, “If we don’t teach peace who will? If we don’t teach peace it won’t happen.”