“I have dedicated my life to raising public awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons and that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only way to have security.”
On August 6, 1945, as a thirteen-year-old school girl, I survived the catastrophic atomic bombing of Hiroshima. It was an indiscriminate massacre of innocent, noncombatant children, women, and the elderly, and it caused unspeakable horror and suffering, not only then but in the following years and even now—seventy-four years later—with the continuing effect of radiation on human bodies.
Despite the massive suffering of Hiroshima, survivors became convinced that no other human being should ever experience the inhumane, immoral, and cruel experience they went through. They realized their moral imperative to warn the world, and they have been speaking out for the total abolition of nuclear weapons.
I have dedicated my life to raising public awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons and that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only way to have security.
—Setsuko Thurlow