Organizers plan press conferences, social event for A-bomb victims, delivery of petition to Smithsonian, conference at American University, service at historic Washington church and demonstration on day of opening.
Ms. Tamiko Tomonaga, Assistant Secretary General of Kumamoto Prefectural Hidankyo, was A-bombed when she was 16 years old. She had just entered a Red Cross training school in Hiroshima to become a nurse. She and other hibakusha will share their feelings after viewing a rare 20-minute video taken of the incinerated city shortly after the blast. Other speakers include Joseph Gerson, author, "With Hiroshima Eyes," Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, and Denise Nelson, US Downwinders. See the flyer: <http://enola-gay.org/action/prayer_service.pdf>
For years, the Japanese shunned the hibakusha because they reminded the public, through their disfigurement, of losing the war and the shame at their defeat. But after the Bikini Atol test of the Hydrogen bomb and the deaths of Japanese fishermen nearby, the Japanese people began to change that view and today view the hibakusha as respected witnesses of the continuing nuclear threat. There are thousands of new radiation victims around the world who have become sick from the fallout of other atomic bomb testings, including Americans known as "down-winders," from the fallout of radiation poisoning here in the US and overseas. They too, have come to be called hibakusha. In similar fashion, the Russian Chernoble victims are also called hibakusha. This growing company of atomic radiation victims/sufferers/witnesses are reminders of the grave threat we are still facing. And since the U.S. development of tactical nuclear weapons made of depleted uranium (DU), which can penetrate the thick armor of tanks, we have seen more victims appear. For more information on the service, contact Phil Wheaton 301-270-9038.
Getting There: A round-trip shuttle bus has been established between the museum's flagship building in Washington D.C. and the Udvar-Hazy Center with a $7 charge per passenger, $5 per passenger for groups of 10 or more. Call the Smithsonian at 202-357-2700 for more information. By Car, take Rt. 66 West to Rt. 50 West to Rt. 28 North to the first cloverleaf. Take a right after the overpass. Go through the toll booth. Please do not bring signs and banners; they will be provided
Committee for a National Discussion
of Nuclear History and Current Policy
P.O. Box 21827
Washington, D.C. 20009-1827