NAGASAKI // Survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb said they hoped their voices would be heard above the many different political views on the ban of nuclear weapons.
“Survivors are getting older and we feel more strongly than ever that we must pass on our feelings that nuclear weapons must be eliminated,” said Uchida Tsukasatsu, 84, a survivor and member of the Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion of Peace.
“I was affected by radiation as I lost many of my teeth at only 15 years old.”
He was just 1.3 kilometres from the site of the blast.
Uchida said he hoped his message would be passed on by many non-proliferating countries, such as the UAE.
“The bomb had a lot of impact and it left a strong mark on us that weapons should never be used again,” he said. “It’s a tragedy that cannot be described by words. We live with those symptoms until this day.”
Other family members were close to the hypocentre and Uchida said he saw their bodies disintegrate. “The anger has disappeared now,” he said. “But we’re seeking world peace and I don’t know how much power we can exercise but we won’t stop. We want to ensure future generations will remember.”
Matsuyoshi Ikeda, a peace guide in Nagasaki for more than 10 years, was in second grade when the bomb dropped in his home town.
“Only 50 of 1,400 children in my school survived and I was one of them,” he said.
He said he hoped countries would work together to get rid of them.
“There are many political views on nuclear weapons but we have to raise our voice to call for all nuclear arms to be abolished,” he said. “Once used, humankind will perish so I hope this will all be known around the world.”
He said that, 69 years later, the nuclear threat was still around.
“I hope people in all countries realise these weapons must be eliminated,” said Matsuyoshi, who only survived because he was digging an air raid shelter 700 metres away from the hypocentre.
“The only person who survived from 1,860 people in the area was a nine-year-old girl who was 120 metres away from the hypocentre in an air raid shelter. People need to know these stories and countries must act now.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
