Youth Community

Over the past three years, I have been introduced to the beautifully challenging world of disarmament. Above all, every disarmament activity has caused me to visualize Hiroshima and Nagasaki on those two dreadful days, 6 and 9 August 1945. Working with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and Peace Boat US, I have been able to listen to the testimonials of many Hibakusha. Remembering their stories allows me to wake up in the morning with a rejuvenated passion for this field. Almost three years later, I found myself in Hiroshima through the 2022 Hiroshima-ICAN Academy, bringing my disarmament journey full circle. The academy provided the perfect ending for 2022, helping me mark the beginning of a new year by recommitting to persevere in our disarmament efforts.

On the morning of 6 August 2020, I was in Hiroshima. Sitting in the lobby of my hotel, enjoying my breakfast, I looked out of a window at the Motoyasu River. What a beautiful morning, I thought to myself. Then the wall clock suddenly caught my attention. It was 8:15 a.m.—75 years to the minute after the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. Turning back to the window, I saw an ordinary airplane in the sky. My heart skipped a beat. I said to myself, “I do not want to be a hibakusha 2.0.” I remembered how the bomb had fallen towards Hiroshima for 40 seconds. In 40 seconds, it changed the course of history for Japan and the rest of the world. Observing the UN 75 Hiroshima Conference a few weeks later, I decided for myself, I will do everything I can never to let such a bombing happen again.

The existential threat of nuclear conflict can sometimes overshadow subtler risks. For young people, especially, a lack of clear and accurate information can obscure the potentially serious implications of nuclear and other arms-related challenges for our day-to-day lives. Yet, for me, the potential consequences are too grave not to act.