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It was an emotional and inspirational day for those who made it to the Japan Information Centre on November 27 to hear Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor Setsuko Thurlow speak.
Diminutive, and eloquently spoken, Mrs Thurlow treated the crowd to a screening of the 2009 documentary, “Flashes Of Hope”, in which she and 102 other Hibakusha travelled for four months on the Peace Boat to share their first-hand accounts and their desire to never again see nuclear war on this planet.
After the film, Mrs Thurlow engaged the audience in a question and answer session. She answered Thurlow’s answered difficult questions about “survivor guilt,” the real chances of nuclear disarmament and her own personal struggles with the memory of the terrors she survived in 1945. Her thoughtful responses reflected her 65 years of thinking and living a life of anti-war activism.
She spoke of her own survival amidst the unimagineable death and devastation that followed the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, when she was just 13 years old. Working in a military coding centre, despite her young age, Mrs Thurlow was buried by debris after the blast, and only survived because an unknown person prodded her and helped her escape. Shortly afterwards the building she had been in burned, claiming the lives of many of her young friends.
Despite the heavy subject matter, Mrs Thurlow’s talk was not depressing. She revealed a realistic yet hopeful view of the progress and the work that remains in the fight against nuclear weaponry. She also spoke of the keen interest shown by the Japanese Speaker of the House, and the current Japanese Ambassador to Canada in supporting her in her efforts.
At the end of the two hours, the bright-eyed woman asked the assembled JET alumni and friends to share their own experiences in Japan. More than one audience member was moved to tears by this remarkable woman and her story.
Mrs Thurlow is interested in hearing from JETAA members who are interested in finding out more about her efforts and events such as Hiroshima Day ceremonies each Aug. 6. She can be emailed at jandsthurlow@sympatico.com.
JETAA Toronto would like to send out an otsukaresama to the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto, the Japan Information Centre and their tireless staff-member Marcia Iwasaki who made this event a reality.