Pledge For Peace
After attending the Nagasaki peace ceremony in commemoration of the atomic bomb explosion- I thought it would be more appropriate to have the words of a survivor as opposed to describing the ceremony in my own words.
Pledge for Peace
August 9, 11:02 am
Spoken by Katsuki Masabayashi: Atomic Bomb Survivor Representative at the 62nd Nagasaki Peace Ceremony
August 9 at 11:02 a.m. 1945-this was the day the atomic bomb exploded in this very sky here above us. At that time I was 6 years old and was out catching cicada on a small hill with a friend, not far from my house in Ieno-machi, 1.3km from the hypocenter. There was an old hut, some bushes and a cluster of green trees where the cicadas were singing in unison.
I handed over the insect cage to my three year old sister and then reached out with my net to catch a cicada on a tree trunk. That’s when it all started. Suddenly, I could hear the roar of a plane overhead. Shocked, scared and panicked, my mother’s warning came to mind. My friend hastily ran down the hill.
My sister was rooted to the spot, so I dragged her into the old hut, where we took refuge. At that instant there was a right white flash and an explosion followed by intense heat rays and blast wind which caused horrific damage.
The hut was completely destroyed by the blast and my sister had been flung into one of the corners. I rushed to dig my sister, who was unconscious, out from under a pile of ruble.
I looked toward home and it seemed as if the town and sky were dyed red. From there, I could see people struggling in their burnt clothes, screaming in excruciating pain and also people covered in blood who had their flesh gouged out by flying objects. They came running along the slope one after another, away from the city, out of sight.
I put my sister on my back and wandered aimlessly but soon grew extremely weary. I stood rooted on the spot. It looked like someone was going to come and help me but on seeing my body they just left me.
The lower left hand side of my stomach had been pierced by bamboo and the flesh was gaping open. I continued to carry my sister on my back whilst I bled. My sister’s clothes were burnt and she was bleeding too. She continued to call out for our mother in a faint voice whilst shaking. For the first time, I screamed out for my father who I longed to see, but he had died in action and would never return home.
At the hypocenter and in the surrounding areas, over 70,000 people perished and more than 70,000 people were seriously injured on that day, including me.
The single atomic bomb was the devil himself. In just the blink of an eye it caused unprecedented destruction, exposing people to nuclear radiation, killing thousands of people.
No mater how much time lapses, the misery continues. Even now, the survivors are still suffering from the after affects of the bombing, which was a completely unreasonable act.
All those affected on that day in Nagasaki were the children of humanity. Destroying Hiroshima and Nagasaki was therefore like destroying mankind. It cannot be justified, denied or passed off as fiction.
The true essence of humanity can be found in happiness and prosperity based on peace and it is our duty to pass this fact on to future generations.
Currently, in economic and social settings, regardless of one’s stature, one asks for help and helps others. However, it is my belief that whatever progress we make and whatever help we receive, the final outcome should be beneficial to mankind without destroying the earth. I believe that the way forward for humans is peace base on happiness and fulfillment at the center of our lives.
I strongly believe that to achieve this, we need to be brave and to have faith to work together to create a stable environment where happiness can flourish.
As a pledge for peace, I will continue to strive for the elimination of nuclear arms and the realization of lasting world peace to the best of my power.