Junko Watanabe, survivor of the first atomic bomb: "If it could prosper again in Hiroshima, we could also continue"

Junko Watanabe was only two years old when, on August 6, 1945, in the middle of a hot summer day, while he was playing with his brother in a small village on the outskirts d & # 39; Hiroshima, an American bomber B-29 dropped the bomb "Little Boy" on the Japanese city.

It was the second activated nuclear machine in world history, a few months after The Trinity trial in New Mexico, USA, culminated in the conclusion of the Manhattan Project when Germany was already defeated, but the Japanese empire continued to struggle.

The Hiroshima explosion was followed three days later by another similar explosion in Nagasaki, and both accelerated the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War, but opened, at the same time, an arms race between the major powers and the concept of mutually badured destruction, as well as many peaceful developments in nuclear technology that have revolutionized the world.

The destruction and the mbadacre had a level that no one had imagined. Between 90,000 and 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on the day of the attack and in the weeks and months that followed, according to the Atomic Archives of the Library of Congress of the United States. May the 6th of AugustThe majority died either because of the explosion itself, the resulting thermal wave, shock wave or lethal dose instantaneous radiation. Those who lost their lives some time later did so because of the radioactive contamination caused by fallout. EBetween 50,000 and 80,000 people died in Nagasaki for the same reasons.

Watanabe pbaded through the city of Buenos Aires as part of the global voyage for a world without nuclear weapons, organized by the NGO Peace Boat, with the local badistance of SEHLAC, which consists of a cruise of different cities of the world in which "hibakusha ", survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakI have the opportunity to present their testimonials.

The ship left Yokohama, Japan on December 26, 2018 and will complete her voyage on March 31 of this year. After visiting Buenos Aires, he left for Ushuaia, in southern Argentina, then for Valparaíso, Chile, before returning to Japan.

The current edition of this initiative comes in a compelling context for those advocating nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The United States and North Korea have just come out of a dangerous exchange of nuclear war threats and, although they now have a bilateral dialogue, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has made little progress.

United States and Russia, on the other hand, announced the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Energy Treaty (INF) signed in 1988 with the aim of significantly reducing the nuclear arsenals of both powersand there is now a fear of a rearmament race.

And the The Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty (NPTB), approved in 2017, has only been ratified by 21 countries, while it takes 50 to enter into force. This text prohibits for the first time the possession of nuclear weapons in a binding manner and has been questioned and rejected by almost all countries possessing atomic arsenals or an advanced nuclear complex for peaceful purposes.

In Latin America, it has been ratified by Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Uruguay and Mexico, but only the latter country has developed advanced nuclear technology with the Laguna Verde plant. Brazil and Argentina, historical nuclear players in the region and related by the Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC) between Brazil and Argentina, have not ratified the treaty, although the former has signed it.

Watanabe arrived in the city of Buenos Aires accompanied by Kei Moriyama, granddaughter of a "hibakusha" and activist for nuclear disarmament, to offer his testimony as part of the Peace Boat initiative, one of the leading ICAN (International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2017), to "advance the prohibition of nuclear weapons towards their elimination with the power of civil society".

Both were received by Argentina's Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Raimondi, who was recently dismissed, and by Ricardo Larriera from the Directorate of International Security, Nuclear and Space Affairs. who heard the request of the "hibakusha" to add Argentina to the TPNW. The country is now refusing to sign this treaty for technical reasons, although this is part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Tlatelolco, pillars of the legal architecture of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Infobae He was able to talk with Watanabe, 77, about his experience, his subsequent life in Hiroshima, his emigration to Brazil and the moment his parents confessed that he had been a victim of radioactive contamination.

-You were two years old when the bomb of the "little boy" fell on Hiroshima. How does your family remember August 6, 1945?

I was with my family 18 kilometers from the epicenter. And on August 6, my mother was with her younger brother in his arms and carried him in front of the house. And I was with my older brother, who is two years older, playing in a neighborhood sanctuary with friends from the area. It was a very sunny summer day, with a very blue sky. It was really a very rich day and we were all playing for that reason. And at 8:15, despite a day so beautiful and sunny, suddenly a very strong wind is felt. A lot of burnt charred paper started to blow and fall, and my mother was surprised, scared. And she ran towards me and my brother, worried. And at that moment it rained a black rain [cenizas radiactivas que cayeron tras la explosión].

My mother told me the state of my health afterwards. It seems like I had severe diarrhea and this continued everyday. I ate and could not hold anything back. My parents had already given up, they thought I was dead. But I survived.

– How did the next days go, when did they realize that they had been the target of another attack?

The truth is that I did not know that I was a victim of radiation until the age of 38 years. Because my parents did not tell me. I came to Brazil without knowing my situation.

-Why did your parents decide not to tell you?

Because there was discrimination. At that time, with the simple fact of being in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it had a particular impact on marriage.

When I was 38 years old and I was already living in Brazil for 13 years, I went back to Hiroshima with my parents and that's when they told me about it .

– How do you feel when you learn that you have been a victim of the bombing?

I did not feel anything because I had no knowledge about it, to be exposed to radiation. Because of my life in a rural town, at the age of 13, I moved to Hiroshima, a city where I lived until the age of 25 years. I did not know that I had been exposed and that is why I did not interest myself in it.

– Has anyone else in your family had any complications after exposure?

All, my brothers and my parents, but they did not suffer any complications at the time. What is happening is that after the war, Hiroshima was in ashes. They said that in 70 years they would not even be able to flower plants or grow trees.

But at that moment, nobody knew anything. People got sick, but they did not know that it was because of radiation. After the war, there was even more food, everyone was fighting to survive. I did not even think it was because of the bomb, they were all hooked to life. And even if you fell ill, you did not know if it was the fault of an atomic bomb.

-How was it to live in Hiroshima in your youth, in the middle of the destroyed city?

After the bomb, we had all thought that no tree would grow and that no one could live there for 70 years. But in a month, it has changed. The bomb fell in August and two typhoons pbaded in September. And everything was cleaned up, all the debris exploded.

We were sad, but finally, thanks to the rain, the city was cleaned and that brought good luck at that time. We said that nothing would flourish in this city and that at the end of this year, it flourished. That's why we all started going back to town. If this can prosper, we will also be able to live. We had nowhere to go, so we started going back to town and building our houses.

– What has changed in Japan around discrimination against "hibakusha"?

The Fukushima accident [en 2011] This showed that it was a latent problem and that it had not changed. Because the inhabitants of this place are victims of discrimination, as happened to us. With Chernobyl, the same thing happened. Everywhere discrimination is born. Radiation victims experience discrimination and the reason is the fear that exists for pollution.

– When did you join the Peace Boat initiative and why did you do it?

It was in 2008, when Peace Boat traveled the world with 100 bomb survivors. They had an exchange with many countries. In Brazil, I've seen everything online and applied.

When I started this activity, before Peace Boat, I had a strong trauma. At 38, I knew that I had been a victim. I went back to Brazil and until the age of 60, I did not get involved at all. When I was 60, the president of the Hibakusha Peace Association in Brazil said to me: "You are a victim and you are young, join our badociation and support us". And I came in. Most of the survivors were aging, but I was still young.

I had no knowledge of the atomic bomb. But when August approached, the media came to interview the victims and I could not say anything, I did not remember anything of what had happened and I did not know anything about the atomic bomb.

But I listened to these testimonials and I started to know a lot of things. One day, little by little, they stopped counting because they began to lose their memory. I then knew: "If they stop counting, who will do it?" So, if I am a victim of the bomb, I must continue to express that feeling. And I started doing it.

Little by little, I started counting. But I thought, "What will happen if I start talking about discrimination? I'm going out in the media and what will happen to my kids? & # 39; I have started to worry and I still have this trauma. But I always do it.

-We are in a difficult period for disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, with treaties falling and arms races in preparation, how do you see this situation?

This year, I will be 77 years old, I have been involved in this badociation for 15 years. When I go around the world, I see many victims of war, radiation. People suffering from radiation. Seeing this, I have a lot of feelings. This historical fact of having launched the bomb that I lived, no matter what happens, I must continue to tell all young people, they must know. They will have their families and children, and to build peace we must know the real facts of history. That's why I keep going.