This week, the first Conference of the Parties to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty will be held. I sued.
Participating in the event from Hiroshima were people with "Atomic Bomb Microcephaly" and members of the "Mushroom Association" made by their supporters, and three representatives in turn connected with Vienna online from the front of the Atomic Bomb Dome. I gave a speech.
Of these, Hiroe Kawashita (76) of "Atomic Bomb Microcephaly", whose brain growth is hindered by being exposed in the womb of her mother and whose intelligence and body are impaired, wrote a picture and poem of the Atomic Bomb Dome. While holding a colored paper, he said, "I don't like war because I'm scared. I want war to disappear from the world. I want people all over the world to hear it."
In addition, Toshiko Tanaka (83), who was exposed to the atomic bomb at the age of 6, said in English, "I will continue to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons with my young colleagues. I look forward to it. "
After the event, Yoshio Nagaoka, Chairman of the Mushroom Association, said, "I want people from all over the world to understand our suffering."
A-bomb survivors testify at a rally of international NGOs
A-bomb survivors and young people from the A-bombed areas participated in a rally held by the international NGO ICAN = International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons in Vienna, the capital of Austria on the 19th.
Masashi Iejima, who was bombed in Hiroshima when he was three years old, said about the situation at that time when he heard from his parents after the war, "The glass in the house was blown off by the blast and the roof was turned over and the moon could be seen. My mother had windows all over her body. A piece of glass stabbed me. "
In addition, Kiichi Kido, who was bombed in Nagasaki at the age of 5, said, "Only 4% of my family died, and many people died without being able to say goodbye." He talked about the misery of the atomic bomb that tore his family and appealed to people from all over the world for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The testimonies of the two were translated into English by young people from Japan, such as Mayu Seto, a third-generation hibakusha who had a grandmother who was bombed in Hiroshima.
A woman from India who heard the testimony said, "It's the first time I've met and talked to the A-bomb survivors in person. It made me feel that I should act immediately so that no one will experience the same thing." I was talking.
Setsuko Thurlow's speech appealing for the abolition of nuclear weapons
Setsuko Thurlow is holding an event hosted by the ICAN = International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which contributed to the realization of the treaty, in conjunction with the Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons starting this week. Gave a speech online from Canada calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
In it, Mr. Thurlow described her experience when she was 13 years old and emphasized her significance as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons would end the fear of nuclear weapons.
And she says, "I'm scared to use the fear of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to be advertised as'protected by nuclear weapons'. Before the devastating hurricane of nuclear war destroyed the earth. We must deny this dangerous myth, "she complained.
Furthermore, based on the fact that the Government of Japan has indicated that it will not participate in the Conference of the Parties, Prime Minister Kishida said, "The only way to guarantee that humankind will not use nuclear weapons is to abandon and abolish nuclear weapons. I urge Japan to escape from the darkness of its dependence on nuclear weapons and lead it to the light of the abolition of nuclear weapons. "