Hiroshima survivor recounts horror of atomic bombing

WESTERN BUREAU

“I couldn’t stop crying… Who could do this? Who would do such a horrible thing?” said Hiroshima survivor Junko Watanabe, as her anguished voice echoed through the auditorium at The University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Western Jamaica Campus on Saturday.

Watanabe, who broke down while sharing her haunting memories of surviving the world’s first atomic bombing in Japan 80 years ago, was only two years old when the bomb was dropped on her hometown on August 6, 1945.

She paused multiple times to regain her composure during the emotionally charged public forum hosted by Women of Western Jamaica (WOWJa) in collaboration with The UWI and the Peace Boat.

The event, which formed part of global calls to abolish nuclear weapons, drew students, educators, diplomats and members of the general public into a solemn reflection on one of history’s darkest days.

“The blue skies turned black in an instant … . Eyeballs fell out of people’s sockets. People were walking around with their intestines in their hands, calling for water. Children with skin hanging from their bodies … it was hell on earth,” she said, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Despite being only a toddler at the time of the bombing, Watanabe recalled suffering from severe and unexplained diarrhoea in the days that followed. Her family feared she would not survive.

“I couldn’t eat anything. It just came spilling out … my parents were convinced that I would die,” she recounted. “But, thanks to my parents, and thanks be to God, I am alive today.”

RADIATION EXPOSURE

Now in her 80s and living in Brazil, Watanabe said she had spent many years unaware of the full scale of the devastation. It was only later while volunteering with an organisation of atomic bomb survivors in Brazil that she came across archives containing books, photographs, and documentaries.

“One day, I watched a documentary film compiled by a journalist … scenes of Hiroshima right after the bomb was dropped. I couldn’t stop crying as I watched. I thought, ‘Who could do this? Who did this?’” she said, her voice trembling. “There weren’t only soldiers in Hiroshima. There were ordinary people. Mothers, children, old people … . They were just preparing breakfast. And then this horrible bomb was dropped on them.”

She spoke of the infamous Black Rain, the radioactive fallout that followed the explosion, and the long-term effects of radiation sickness that continue to affect survivors and their families today.

“My older brother, who was playing with me that day, died 16 years ago from liver cancer. My baby brother, whom my mother held in her arms that morning, is still suffering from blood-related illnesses,” she said.

Watanabe also recounted the story of Sadako Sasaki, another child survivor who later died from leukaemia caused by radiation exposure.

“Sadako wanted to live. Her dream was to live on with her friends and family. She started folding one thousand paper cranes. But, 10 months later, she passed away. She was only 12 years old,” Watanabe said, adding that the paper crane has since become a global symbol of peace.

In her final plea to the audience, many of whom were moved to tears, she issued a passionate call for nuclear disarmament.

“In order for nuclear bombs never to be used ever again, all the countries of the world need to abolish nuclear weapons,” Watanabe said. “We must create a world with no more wars, where we don’t have dangerous nuclear weapons … they must not exist in this world.”

Also addressing the gathering was Shorna-Kay Richards, Jamaica’s ambassador to Japan, who urged more Jamaicans to engage with the movement for nuclear disarmament.

“Jamaica remains steadfast in its commitment to peace, and we call on all nations to move towards a world free of nuclear weapons,” said Ambassador Richards.