Our group stayed in Hiroshima for a 2-day visit and we admired the beauty of the city. The bus rides were so peaceful and the people there were very friendly. Despite many places being closed up for the G7 summit, we were able to enjoy our stay including a visit to an incineration plant by the ocean and Miyajima Island. When I imagined our trip to Hiroshima, I pictured most of the city to be in ruins and most people still struggling with health issues. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast this city has recovered with the locals living regular everyday lives.
However, I couldn’t stop thinking back to the past when the atomic bombing occured. The Hiroshima Peace Museum exposed the true reality behind this event in a way American classrooms cannot. The exhibit began with a floor simulation of the bomb and led to a hallway filled with disturbing paintings (ex. people getting burned alive, skin peeling off) and gory pictures showing the unimaginable extent these people suffered. Each picture also had the victims’ stories written next to it making it even more mournful and shocking. I got particularly emotional when it came to the children’s stories and how their items were laid out covered in ash or the victim’s
blood. Some of the victims reminded me of people I know, which is a reminder that the people of Hiroshima had their whole lives ripped away from them the moment the bomb dropped.
One story that stood out to me was “The Breakdown of Family N”. A man named N suffered from several mental and physical issues including depression. He continued working countless hours despite his condition so his family wouldn’t starve to death. N was refused treatment at several hospitals and the moment a hospital took him in, they sent him back with a white plaster cast because “there was nothing they can do for him”. With no will to live, N passed away 7 years later. He had repeatedly cut himself with a razor over the 22-year ordeal, leaving over a hundred scars. He used self-harm to distract himself from the agony he felt.
Even though it was extremely hard to go through, the Hiroshima Peace Museum did a spectacular job in showing the reality behind the nuclear bomb. This wasn’t just a self-defense tactic made by Americans but a mass genocide planned to eliminate a whole population. Realizing how horrific these consequences are is the first step in making sure these nuclear weapons are revoked so these mistakes won’t be repeated.