被爆者 (ひばくしゃ)
I lived in Hiroshima for a few months back in 2007. I met a hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) named Shibata-san soon after I arrived. This man, then a young school boy, miraculously survived the explosion while his friend and the school nurse were vaporized in an instant. He was left stranded and alone in the center of the city. He shared his story with me one afternoon after a friend and I come over to visit and practice our calligraphy. I truly wish I could tell you everything I heard that day. I was still struggling to understand Japanese at this point. However, I can recall one thing that he told us about, “The rivers were FILLED with bodies!”
I still feel the terror and anguish every time I think about it. It is hard to explain the connecting and deep love I have to the Japanese people. Living right in the thick of a city that only decades before had be complete destroyed in an instant really changes your perspective on life. After you have seen the deep scars that run through an entire people, you cannot ignore the suffering and pain that conflict causes in this world.
I am ranting about something that I cannot explain. So please just take this thought with you…
Stop fighting. Stop hating. Stop warring. Stop oppressing. Stop discriminating. Life is far too short and far too uncertain to waist your time making someone else wish they where dead. Making someone else feel like they are not even human. We are all just human. That is one race. One chance. Please help get it right!
