American university students learn about the A-bombing from an A-bomb survivor
Jun. 24, 2010
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer
A group of nine university students, majoring in journalism and other fields, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and listened to Miyoko Matsubara, 77, an A-bomb survivor, recount her experience of the bombing. "The A-bomb survivors have risen above their bitterness to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons," she told them. Ms. Matsubara went on to say that she was exposed to the blast at a distance of 1.5 km from the hypocenter and, in the aftermath, suffered from discrimination and from the treatment of her keloid scars. The students gravely took notes as they listened to Ms. Matsubara's account.
Caleb Fleming, 20, a senior at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, said that there are few opportunities in the United States to consider the atomic bombing from the perspective of the survivors and that he had become strongly aware of the tragedy that took place in Hiroshima.
The students are winners of an essay contest held each year by a journalism foundation in the United States. The students arrived in Japan on June 19 for their study tour here, the award granted by the contest. They will also visit such places as Tokyo and Osaka and stay in Japan until June 27.
(Originally published on June 24, 2010)
A group of nine university students, majoring in journalism and other fields, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and listened to Miyoko Matsubara, 77, an A-bomb survivor, recount her experience of the bombing. "The A-bomb survivors have risen above their bitterness to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons," she told them. Ms. Matsubara went on to say that she was exposed to the blast at a distance of 1.5 km from the hypocenter and, in the aftermath, suffered from discrimination and from the treatment of her keloid scars. The students gravely took notes as they listened to Ms. Matsubara's account.
Caleb Fleming, 20, a senior at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, said that there are few opportunities in the United States to consider the atomic bombing from the perspective of the survivors and that he had become strongly aware of the tragedy that took place in Hiroshima.
The students are winners of an essay contest held each year by a journalism foundation in the United States. The students arrived in Japan on June 19 for their study tour here, the award granted by the contest. They will also visit such places as Tokyo and Osaka and stay in Japan until June 27.
(Originally published on June 24, 2010)
