This week, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For decades, survivors of the bombings, Hibakusha, have been advocating and campaigning for a world free of nuclear weapons. 80 years since the bombings, we must work to make sure the stories and memories of Hibakusha do not fade. We carry their fight forward to create a nuclear weapons free future.
Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the United States used nuclear weapons on entire towns. The loss includes an estimated 38,000 children. These stories too, we must carry forward to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons recently created a new Children’s Peace Memorial, where you can read the stories of many of the children who were killed by the US’s attack.
The United States is the only country to have used a nuclear weapon in war, and the country which has conducted the most nuclear “tests”. It is important to remember and call out this legacy of justifying violence, genocidal acts, and imperialism.
Before the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945, the United States bombed itself, at the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945. In the years following until 1992, the United States conducted over 1,000 nuclear weapons tests. These were mainly conducted in Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado. 900 of those tests were conducted on Shoshone Tribal Land. 100 nuclear bombs were also tested by the US in the South Pacific, where radiation exposure from these detonations continues to devastate the Marshall Islands and the well being of Pacific Islanders.
On Wednesday, August 6th, the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, we marked the first time the world saw the horror of these weapons. Warheads to Windmills, via Anduin DeVos, joined a commemoration event in Boston hosted by Massachusetts Peace Action, Campaign for Disarmament and Common Security, and the American Friends Service Committee and other organizations.
Speeches and speakers from different backgrounds and perspectives shared solemn remembrances of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and calls for nuclear abolition. Many speeches emphasized the role of the United States’ legacy of violence and imperialism in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, connecting with broader militarism and peace work. Over the day-long event, musicians sang songs for peace and video footage showed the horrors of nuclear weapons. Organizations tabling shared actions and connection with visitors who walked the space. Paper cranes were folded in honor of Hibakusha, and those who have died in the bombings.
You can view Anduin’s speech here.
In a few days we will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki with remembrance events planned around the world. There are many things you can do to get involved. Cranes of Memory, a campaign of ICAN, is one way for you to take Hibakusha stories forward, please visit their page to adopt a story and fold for peace. For an overview of Warheads to Windmills campaigning and action ideas click here.