Team members

Wednesday 14 May 2008

Hiroshima at peace

.

.
Hiroshima today is a city the size of Birmingham and was enjoying it's annual flower festival when we arrived there and it was in party mood.
.
今日の広島はバーミンガム程度の大きさで、私が訪れた時は年1度のフラワーフェスティバルが開催中で、街はお祭りムードでした。
.
I bought a very moving book written by a dozen survivors who were close to the "hypocentre" and whose lives were shattered on a beautiful cloudless morning. They were at war of course but could still enjoy the peace and tranquility of a break from daily routines. Some heard the B-29 and looked up and saw it heading away to the north, and a glint in the sky as something reflected the sun's rays.
.
私はとても感動的な本を買いました。
それは、原爆の爆心地に近く、雲一つ無い美しいあの朝に、人生を破壊された生き残りの人々によって書かれたものです。
.

.
The decision to bomb Hiroshima was made by American and British governments because it had suffered no serious bomb damage during the war despite the significant presence of the Mitsubishi shipyard which had been turning out warships on a massive scale.
.
This meant that the impact from the blast could be measured.
.
広島への投爆は、アメリカとイギリス政府によって決定されました。
なぜなら広島は戦艦を製造していた三菱工場が在るにも関わらず、大きなダメージを受けていなかったからです。
つまり、爆発の影響は予測されていたと思われます。
.

.
The photograph above is one of only 3 taken in the immediate aftermath of the detonation and before the news reporter broke down with the sheer horror of what he was seeing.
.
上の写真は、3枚しかし存在しない、投爆直後の写真のうちの1つです。
.

.
If any place shows a total committment to world peace and understanding it is this one and on the experience of our GSE visit I can honestly add that the same applies to all the people we met in Japan.
.
私の日本訪問の経験から、世界平和と国際理解に全力をあげて献身している場所はここ広島であり、っそいて私が日本で出会った全ての人々です。

No comments: