"War Makes Everyone Crazy": Hiroshima Survivor Reflects on 69th Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Bombing
"War Makes Everyone Crazy": Hiroshima Survivor Reflects on 69th Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Bombing
AMY GOODMAN: What did your parents say when they saw you?
KOJI HOSOKAWA: (translated) My mother was away to the relief station. And so, soon after that, my sister came home in a coffin. She was burned all over her body, but fortunately, her face was OK. She was almost naked. Aside from her face, she was almost naked, and almost all her body was burned. This is only one of the cases, just one case of many. Many people experienced a similar situation.
AMY GOODMAN: This is almost 69 years later. It was the United States that dropped the atomic bomb. How do you feel when Americans come here to Hiroshima?
KOJI HOSOKAWA: (translated) I hate war, rather than the people of the United States. I hate war. War makes everyone crazy. So, in the war, innocent people are killed. And the ultimate case, I believe, is A-bombing.
AMY GOODMAN: Mr. Hosokawa, as a hibakusha, as a A-bomb survivor, do you feel the United States should apologize for dropping the atomic bomb on your city?
KOJI HOSOKAWA: (translated) The A-bomb was dropped in Hiroshima and also one in Nagasaki. And I think that atomic bombs were dropped not just on our cities, but on the whole human beings. And so, I have many things to talk about, about my experience of the A-bomb, but if the next one, the third A-bomb is to be dropped, then the Earth will be annihilated. I want people to understand, this is going to be—you know, the Earth is going to be annihilated. So whenever I talk, I want them to understand this.
The Peace Memorial Park, until the A-bomb, people lived here. Everything was destroyed. Everyone died around this area. The Peace Memorial Park is a beautiful park today, with so many trees. But later, they planted small trees, and after decades these trees became bigger, and now a very beautiful park today. So, I tell the visitors about this, too. I want them to understand people lived here. Please tell the people that people used to live here. War makes everyone crazy.
the rest of the transcript here:
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/6/war_makes_everyone_crazy_hiroshima_survivor
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