Others: Gonna Drink Some Alcohol To Forget Bout My Problems.

Others: gonna drink some alcohol to forget ‘bout my problems.

Me: gonna read some fluffy fanfiction to forget ‘bout my problems.

Agnes Strickland (detail) – John Hayes, 1846

75 years ago, on August 6th, 1945, the USAAF dropped the first nuclear bomb ever on the city of Hiroshima.

The level of destruction was incomparable: black rain fell from the sky, some drank it, throats dry because of the smoke and the boiling heat in the air- they died soon. Little kids ran down the streets screaming and looking for their homes, many of which weren't even there anymore. People died on the sidewalks, on the river banks, crying, coughing up blood- they died alone. Survivors and their families are still paying the price of the abhorrent crime against humanity that President Truman committed.

I've had the honor of visiting Hiroshima almost two years ago, and I remember I was overjoyed to witness that it's one of the liveliest cities ever, where the people are kind and happy; they decided not to forget, but to move on nonetheless. The buildings that survived the explosion, like the famous 原爆ドーム (Genbaku Dome, the A-bomb Dome.) are kept as a reminder of the cruelties that men can do, but also of where Hiroshima started again. I've talked to some citizens, and even if they were all in their 30s (so, young.) I was told the same thing: to never forget, but to never dwell in the past either, or you won't move onwards and will only do more harm.

I can't wait to go there again with the Erasmus Programme; among all the places I've visited, Hiroshima is certainly one my first three favourites.

May humanity never forget and learn from the past, to have a better future.

(i do not own these pictures)

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me. -  Matthew 25:40 ‘

By Cezary Korkosz