INTERVIEW: goal of first-ever UN resolution resonates even now – a hibakusha’s story
Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous arms on earth. Just one can destroy an entire city – potentially killing millions, jeopardizing the natural environment and threatening future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects. Seventy years ago, the United Nations General Assembly’s first resolution, adopted on 24 January 1946, established the goal of eliminating atomic weapons and all other major weapons “adaptable to mass destruction…”
Yasuaki Yamashita, a 76-year-old who makes his home in Mexio, is among the dwindling number of hibakusha – people alive today who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Many, like Mr. Yamashita, have since those horrifying events dedicated their lives to peace and continue to work for nuclear disarmament.
However, what many people may not realize is that it was common for survivors to claim to have not been in Hiroshima or Nagasaki at the time the atomic bomb was dropped. “It had to be kept a secret…no one would marry a survivor because of radiation that could lead to deformed children,” explained Mr. Yamashita.
In an interview with the UN News Centre, the survivor recalled in graphic detail the ordeal he underwent as a six-year-old during the bombing, explaining that “for us survivors, it is so very important to share our experiences because we do not want others to suffer as we have.” […]
[source: United Nations News Centre]