The lingering scars of nuclear war: Hibakusha’s fight for recognition

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to survivors of the US atomic bombings of Japan recognises their antinuclear campaigning and their physical and psychological scars.

For many of the 106 800 A-bomb survivors, known as “hibakusha”, memories of the discrimination they faced because of their burn and radiation scars, as well as exposure, are still painfully fresh.

Prejudice related to their exposure to radiation made it hard for them to find jobs and affected their prospects for marriage, leading one small group in Tokyo to build a communal grave where dozens were buried together.

So, unlike conventional weapons, nuclear devices have lingering effects on people as well as the environment and that, plus their devastating, indiscriminate impact has, so far, seen the world adhere to its unspoken commitment that “never again” would these weapons be used.

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The timing is appropriate, because Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nukes if he feels Ukraine’s military’s Western-supplied weapons are threatening his homeland.

Ironically, the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, with a combined death toll of 240 000, killed fewer than an American firebomb raid on Tokyo in March that year, which saw 250 000 burn to death.

All weapons – and all wars – are devastating.