Hiroshima

During the month of July we travelled from Osaka down to Hiroshima to talk with individuals and organizations about the possibility of ending the International Peace Pilgrimage in Hiroshima. We were touched by an overwhelming spirit that is calling for the end of the Nuclear Age. Though the radiation is clearly affecting nearly all the aging survivors of the A-bomb they will continue to share their horrifying experience with the world. We have invited a number of Hibakusha (survivor of the A-Bomb) from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to come to Australia for a conference in November 2003. Our hope is to bring them together with the indigenous people of Australia who witnessed the Atomic tests at Maralinga and Emu Junction.


A-Bomb dome Located close to the hypocenter, the building received the blast from almost directly above. The steel skeleton of the dome became a symbolic landmark known as the A-Bomb Dome. In December 1996, the A-bomb dome was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a symbol of Nuclear Abolition and the vow of the human race to persue peace.	Flame of Peace The flame was lit on August 1, 1964, two years after the US recomenced Nuclear tests. It is a symbol of world peace and a rememberance of those who died. The flame is located directly between the A-Bomb Dome and the cenotaph.	Cenotaph of the A-Bomb Victims (Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, city of Peace) Every year the names of A-Bomb survivors who have died or victims whose death from the bomb have been confirmed during the year are enetred into the register of A-Bomb victims. During the ceremony, the names are dedicated and register returned to teh stone coffin in the cenotaph. The characters carved on the coffin mean, "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil".

Memorial monument for Korean victims of the A-Bomb In accordance with the National Mobilization Order of 1939, workers in civilian enterprises were drafted to work in military industries. This order was also applied to Koreans, Chinese and other non-Japanese, thousands of whom were brought to the prefecture by force.	Children's Peace Monument A bronze statue of a young girl holding a huge golden crane atop the monument expressing the dream of a peaceful future. Sadako's story	Children's Peace Monument Paper cranes offered by children all over the world are presented continuously at the foot of this monument. Sadako's story