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Hiroshima survivors tell pope of attack ‘hell’
HIROSHIMA, Japan, Nov 24, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Survivors of the nuclear
attack on Hiroshima told Pope Francis on Sunday of the “scene of hell” after
the bombing, as the pontiff hit out against the use of the weapons.
The pope began his four-day trip to Japan with stops in Nagasaki and
Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to those affected by the two bombs dropped
by US forces in 1945 at the end of World War II.
In Hiroshima, Francis met several survivors of the attack, who echoed
his calls for the world never to forget the atrocity of the bombings.
Yoshiko Kajimoto was 14 years old when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima
on August 6, 1945, killing at least 140,000 people.
“When I went outside, all the surrounding buildings were destroyed. It
was dark as evening and smelled like rotten fish,” she told the pope at the
Peace Memorial in the city.
Her eyes closed tight and her voice trembling occasionally, she
described people “walking side by side like ghosts, people whose whole body
was so burnt that I could not tell the difference between men and women.”
“No one in this world can imagine such a scene of hell,” she added,
recalling the days of white smoke that hung above the city as the victims
were cremated.
Kajimoto found her father three days after the attack, but he died 18
months later from radiation exposure.
She told Francis her mother suffered illnesses from the atomic bomb for
20 years, and described her own battles with stomach cancer and leukaemia.
“I work hard to bear witness that we must not use such terrible atomic
bombs again, nor let anyone in the world endure such suffering,” she said.
In a speech at the Hiroshima peace memorial, the pope said he was
humbled by the “strength and dignity” of the survivors.
“With deep conviction I wish once more to declare that the use of atomic
energy for purposes of war is today, more than ever, a crime not only against
the dignity of human beings, but against any possible future for our common
home,” he said.
As survivors of the bomb attacks age, many fear that their message of
nuclear abolition will be forgotten, and they are hopeful the pope will bring
renewed attention to the movement.
Testimony from another survivor Koji Hosokawa, who was unable to make
the ceremony, was read out to the pope.
“I think everyone should realise that the atomic bombs were dropped, not
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but on all humanity,” according to Hosokawa’s
message.
Hosokawa was 17 when the bomb was dropped and described suffering both
the physical after-effects but also the prejudice that many survivors
experienced.
“Although there is little time left for me, I believe that passing on
the experience of Hiroshima to the next generation is the final mission
assigned to us A-bomb survivors,” Hosokawa’s testimony read.
BSS/AFP/RY/1655 hrs