(9) Don't A-bomb survivors hate the United States?

Person-to-person, bitterness can be overcome

It can be hard to overcome the bitterness felt towards someone who attacks you or your family, as the United States is now experiencing in Iraq. We visited survivors of the atomic bombing to ask about their feelings for the United States.

"It's true, I still have some resentment," the ex-curator of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Akihiro Takahashi, 75, replied as he showed the keloid on his right hand and discussed his work to convey his experience to others.

And the President of the Hiroshima Association for A-bomb Survivors, Sunao Tsuboi, 82, recalled, "My classmates were killed by the atomic bomb. I was very angry and I wanted revenge." But he was severely injured and lapsed into unconsciousness for more than a month. When he awoke, he learned that the war had ended.

At the same time, survivors report that interactions with other people and the passage of time have helped them find some peace.

Michiko Yamaoka (left) shares the message "Don't hold hate for others" when she speaks to students about her experience.

The turning point for Mr. Takahashi came in 1980 when he was working as curator of the museum. He had an opportunity to meet the former captain of the Enola Gay, the American plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Paul Tibbets, Jr. told him, "If I received the same order again, I would have to follow it. The logic of a soldier is to obey-that's war. And so we must prevent war in the first place." At that moment, Mr. Takahashi realized that mistrust between people must be overcome or war and bombs cannot really be stopped.

Another survivor, Michiko Yamaoka, 77, suffered from keloids on her face and body during her adolescence. But her experience of receiving treatment in the United States during a stay that lasted a year-and-a-half changed her feelings. She was moved by a nurse who took up Japanese to communicate with her. And after she returned to Hiroshima, she met American high school students through her speaking activities. These students expressed similar horror about the atomic bomb. "How can you hate someone who tries to share your pain?" she says.

So it's clear that interactions as people, not as countries, have shifted the survivors' feelings.

Mr. Tsuboi says he needed 30 or 40 years to overcome his bitterness, but "If you can view the situation rationally, you know that peace is the right path."

Nearly 62 years have passed since the bombing. Since then, many government officials from post-conflict countries have visited Hiroshima to study peace building. One of the leaders in these trainings, Hideaki Shinoda, 38, an Associate Professor of the Institute for Peace Science at Hiroshima University, often speaks to these visitors about the process of overcoming bitterness.

"Government officials from these countries are very interested in this issue," he said. "It helps them consider how to restore the spirit of their people."

Keiko Ogura, 69, an A-bomb survivor and a member of "Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace", has been a guide for international visitors for more than 25 years. In her work, she not only serves as a guide, she also lends an ear to other victims of war, conflict, and terrorism. She believes, "Survivors can share the sorrow of other survivors." One bereaved family of the September 11 terrorist attack in New York told her, "Here in Hiroshima, we now understand how to overcome our hate." Ms. Ogura stresses, "This is exactly Hiroshima's role." (Takashi Kenda, staff writer)