A-Bomb
Guilt, horrors recalled
as Hiroshima survivors
appeal to US for peace
By Sandy Johnstone
OtttwEmarsM
Kaz Suyeishi was an
18-year-old American citizen
going to school in Japan when
the atomic bomb fell on Hiro
shima.
"I was right in the city, one
and-a-half miles from the target
area," she remembers "There
was a clear blue sky It was right
after breakfast, about 8:15 a m I
saw the B29 (bomber) People
ask me why I didn't try to es
cape. but we saw them every
single day. They never dropped
any type of bomb before We
thought we were sate It looked
like an angel to me
"Then I saw a white spot
coming down slowly. I only saw
one, although other survivors
say they saw two or three. I told
my neighbor to look at the white
spot because it was unusual
"Then there was a powerful
flash I was unconscious for a
while. A short time I think. The
house was on top of me. I
crawled out. It was silent. Noth
ing A dead town Just a moment
ago it was a clear day Now it
was grey and I could only see
five to six feet ahead of me
"I heard people say ‘Help me!
‘Help me!’ It was bloody ” She
shudders. "We did not know it
was radiation.
"It was a human barbeque I
went into the bomb shelter and
stayed for a while. The next day I
went to the target area — the
most dangerous area — to look
for the missing."
Suyeishi is traveling in the
United States speaking about
the emotional and physical
problems of the hibakusha. as
the Japanese call atom bomb
survivors. She and Miyoko Mat
subata, a representative from
Hiroshima, will travel to 25 cities
across the United States and
eventually to the United Nations
Special Session on Disar
mament in June.
Suyeishi remembers one
woman who was near the target
area when the bomb dropped,
but had enough strength to get
home to speak to her daughter
"She looked like a hot dog on a
barbeque, like a balloon,"
Suyeishi shudders "She gave
her message and then died Her
daughter, who was about 12,
said Please stay with me I'm
afraid.' But her mother had
private things to talk about to
only the daughter So I stayed
behind the curtain.” Suyeishi
pauses with tears in her eyes "It
was pitiful."
Suyeishi herself nearly died
from radiation sickness She
went to study in Hawaii when
she recovered, joining the large
Japanese community there She
spoke no English
Shortly after her arrival in
Hawaii, Suyeishi started losing
weight and nearly had a nervous
breakdown She wore sweaters
to hide the skin on her arms,
which changed color to purple
and brown Doctors told her she
was just homesick
"Then, one day (in Hawaii) a
Caucasian man in his '50s
stopped and pointed at me You
killed many soldiers at Pearl
Harbor,’ (he said). It was
impossible for me to speak Eng
lish I was feeling I am a Japan
ese-American and an A-bomb
survivor," she says She resort
ed to pantomime, trying to ges
ture a message of peace
‘I never thought until then that
I was a survivor,” she says
"Then I thought ‘I’ll be all
right—I'm a survivor' I’m not a
criminal. I didn't drop the bomb
to attack pearl harbor ”
Matsubata could not speak
about her experiences But she
“is not angry at this country,”
says Suyeishi. “If she feels
angry she would not be here
She comes for peace ” Mat
subata also came on a peace
mission in 1962
After the physical scars heal,
there are other wounds remind
ing victims of the atomic bomb
The mental, the emotional —'
that is the serious sickness,"
says Suyeishi. "We don’t know
when we will be a victim I still
carry the bomb. When I get sick,
or my nephew or my daughter,
there is no guarantee We are
always fighting — there is no
safety anymore.”
“Our psychological and emo
tional feelings needed treatment
all that time,” she continues
"That is the most serious sick
We will have it until we die
“My daughter never shows
she is suffering,” she says. “But
when she is sick she asks me ‘Is
it because you are hibakushu?’ I
think God, what did I do? I did
not mean to hurt my daughter.’ I
cheer up, but inside I cry "
She points out that the hiba
kusha and their children have a
higher cancer rate than non
hibakushu and that the mental
Kaz Suyeithi
stress from worrying about
radiation's effects also creates
stress
Suyeishi said the few insur
ance companies that will issue
policies to the hibakusha charge
them two to three times the nor
mal rate
There are now specialized
hospitals in Japan to deal with
bomb survivors, but there is no
comparable facility for the ap
proximately 500 hibakushu liv
ing in the United States although
bills have been introduced in
Congress to provide some type
of medical care and funding for
them.
Suyetshi is vice president of
the Committee of Atom Bomb
Survivors in the United States
which is pushing for the legisla
tion
By Sandy Johnstone
Photo by Mark Pynes
Weaver, panelists back nuke freeze
"I hate to interrupt your
summery day,” said
Congressman Jim Weaver, "but
we re dealing with an issue that
may not allow us to have future
summers.”
Weaver was one of three
speakers at a panel discussion
on nuclear disarmament held
Thursday as part of Ground Zero
Week. Also speaking in were
University political science Prof.
Tom Hovet, and Sieve Johnson
a member of Students for a
Nuclear Free Future.
All speakers expressed a
desire for a complete halt to
nuclear arms proliferation, citing
many statistics to support their
plea.
"With the 30,000 nuclear
missiles the ll.S. has, we could
blow up Hiroshima every second
for the next two weeks,” said
Hovet. Three Trident submarines
have enough missile power to
destroy all of Russia, he said,
"and we’re building 14 more of
those.”
Pres. Reagan’s bid to increase
the United States arms supply
before negotiating with the Soviet
Union is a step in the wrong
direction, according to
Johnson, “tf we struggle with
reaching parity , we'll never have
reductions."
The panelists conceded to the
risks inherent in a total nuclear
freeze, but claimed that the
Soviet Union would comply and
not “cheat" because it would be
heavily monitored.
And as to the one out of six
Americans employed in nuclear
arms production who would lose
their jobs, Hovet said they could
be given new, "socially useful”
ones.
According to Johnson,
Americans have become newly
aware of the subject since the
announcement of Reagan's $1.6
trillion defense budget for the
next five years. Previous to this,
he said, “everyone went through
psychic numbing, we were so far
removed from it all ”
Johnson continued that
Americans have now gained the
administration's attention, and
"we must prove it’s not a fad,"
asserted Weaver
To avoid this, Ho vet suggested
the audience write letters or call
their representatives, and
participate in rallies.
"But the most effective way is
by single issue voting; asking
each candidate to support peace
and the freeze, and if they don't
during their term, don't vote for
them next time.”
By D«bbi« Jwnm