..November 2011.. ..Hiroshima..
Today atomic bomb survivor (hibakusha) Mr. Akihiro Takahashi passed away at the age of 80. He was standing in a school yard 1.4km from the hypocenter along with 150 students when the atomic bomb was detonated over Hiroshima.
I was fortunate to have photographed him exactly a year ago at his home. I snapped photograph 12 frames of film before he had to be carried back to his bed.
It was admirable to be in the presence of someone who has given every moment of their life to pleading that the world would be a better place without nuclear weapons. He has sacrificed a lifetime explaining how much the hibakusha have suffered. Likewise, he has urged the future generations that it is crucial for them to have a voice against nuclear weapons, because these weapons are a continuing threat today to world peace.
His peace activism started early in life and has carried on throughout. He attended the first Hiroshima Citizens’ Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, held in 1954, and has feverishly spoken about the need to eliminate nuclear weapons in many countries throughout the world including the United States, the former USSR and China.
His most memorable moments included his trips to the former USSR in 1965 and his speech, in 1983, at the UN European Headquarters in Geneva. Concurrently, he also visited to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) in Vienna, where he requested that photos of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki be placed on display in the IAEA building. His request was rejected. He also traveled to China, in 1986, where he met victims of the Nanjing Massacre.
However, his most memorable moment was during June 1980 when Mr. Takahashi visited Washington D.C. to speak at the Exhibition of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki organized by the Hiroshima Youth Association. A meeting was arranged by a journalist with Paul Tibetts, the pilot of the “Enola Gay,” the aircraft the “Little Boy” atomic bomb was dropped from. It was the first time a crew member met with an atomic bomb survivor.
Today a great humanitarian has silently slipped away.
