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Commitment to Peace, delivered on August 6, 2012

Sixty-seven years ago, the city of Hiroshima was engulfed in a sea of flames following the blast from a single atomic bomb. In a moment, many precious lives were lost.
Those trapped under the rubble from buildings, those seriously burned, those who kept screaming, searching for their families…
With bodies and hearts deeply scarred, there are many who continue to suffer as a result of the tragedy.

My grandfather did not speak of the events of that day to anyone, even family, for decades.
He had been suffering the whole time.
Finally, with his greatest efforts, he spoke –
The weight of every single life lost in the war,
The survivors’ strong will to keep living…
The desire to convey his experience left a deep impression on my heart.

We have friends who left their hometowns and started attending elementary school in Hiroshima.
At first, they could not speak of the fact that they came from Fukushima, and of the disaster – being unable to live together with their families, the
sudden separation from their friends, not being able to meet even now.
But they gathered the courage, and shared their experiences.
“Thank you for understanding. I am glad I came to Hiroshima.”
These words made us happy.

We may not be able to experience awful events in the same way, but through imagining the event, we can sympathize.
We may not be able to change the sad past, but we can embrace the dreams and hopes to create a better future.

Peace is something that we create.
There is something each of us can do, right where we are.
To respect differences, to think from the perspective of the other, is peace.
To express our thoughts to each other, to join forces to support each other, is peace.
We will continue to create peace.
We promise we will keep acting, alongside all those we know.

Children’s Representatives
Ryuki Miho (6th grade, Hiroshima City Hijiyama Elementary School)
Mayu Endo (6th grade, Hiroshima City Yasukita Elementary School)

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