This city is a remarkable achievement when one realizes that only 50 years ago it was reduced to ashes, a desolate blackened area more than three kilometers in diameter with only a few buildings left partially standing. The charred and gutted remains of a streetcar were among the debris. Tens of thousands died instantly, others survived some days, weeks, months before finally succumbing to their injuries. The greatest tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the second death of radiation sickness which occurred months and years afterwards, and still lingers in the dwindling numbers of hibakusha, survivors of the two atomic bombs which fell on the two cities.

Another part of this second death was and is the ugly scarification and keloids, excessive fibrous growths, which are hideous appendages to arms, the back and head. They are the stigmata of the hibakusha. Moreover, the hibakusha often became pariahs of this society. People feared marrying them convinced any offspring would be affected with a mutation of some horrible kind or be prone to cancer. They were figuratively exiled by many Japanese, bitter reminders of what had happened to them, humanity's first victims of atomic weapons.

A Flower Festival
We attended this annual Flower Festival which was held on the same weekend as Salisbury's own festival. Hiroshima's Festival was set up in the beautiful memorial Peace Park. Colorful booths displaying and selling a wide variety of food, crafts of all kinds, live goldfish, souvenirs had something for everyone. And brilliant flower displays of all shapes and sizes gave witness to this

city of peace and flowers. The Peace Memorial Park was created on the land between two forks of the Motoyasu River and contains lovely cherry trees, dogwoods, azaleas, rose gardens and many other flowering bushes and plants which have been lovingly planted in the soil that contained only the rubble of destroyed buildings, streets, sidewalks and vaporized humans and animals 50 years ago. The park is at the hypocenter of the bomb's explosion. One feels then, that this is hallowed ground. There is a special quality to the experience of being there.

Springtime in Hiroshima seems especially significant as new life bursts forth, affirming once again that winter's woes do not have the last word. The cycle of renewal is upon us.

Festivals and children go together. Though the latest census report shows that Japan is second only to Italy in having the lowest birth rate in the world, we are always amazed and gladdened by the numbers of babies and children which we encounter. Our apartment complex is alive with children! There were many events going on for children at the festival including performances on a large stage, street entertainers swallowing fire, swords, while performing on unicycles. Their magic tricks baffled most of us. A large parade also took place on Sunday afternoon which was a hit with the kids.

Seeing these children having such fun, eating cotton candy, many carrying goldfish in small plastic bags -- goldfish are of the carp species, and the carp is a kind of totem fish for Japan. Moreover, the Hiroshima baseball team is called the Hiroshima Carp!
They were laughing, wriggling, cavorting, thoroughly enjoying this warm spring day at the festival.

And as they should. We think back to the bomb victims' images. So many were children. The blast came at 8:15 a.m. when all the children were in school or working as laborers in war
related projects. These weapons of massive destruction were intended primarily for civilians making ordinary citizens from that time on legitimate targets for modern warfare. This was a most dramatic use of terrorism. The floodgates were opened for subsequent terrorist attacks from bombing the United Nations' refugee camp, the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway, the strafing of a school room full of children in Scotland, to the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building. In most of these instances children continue to be victims.

How long will we continue to rely on weapons to resolve conflict? The availability of arms and armaments grows daily. And so many of these weapons are in the hands of children -- note recent photos of children fighting in the streets of Monrovia, the capitol of Liberia, west Africa, with sub-machine guns in their hands.

How ironic that we have just received the news that the Center for Conflict Resolution at Salisbury State University, very much a precious community resource, is on the verge of being closed. We would hope that all efforts will be made to keep this Center performing the invaluable services of teaching about the causes of violence, and providing training in conflict resolution skills and peace making strategies to children, youth, and adults in a variety of settings in the Salisbury community and beyond. For more information as to what you can do, call Michael McCormick, Director, the Center for Conflict Resolution, Salisbury State University, Salisbury MD 21801.
Tel. 410-219-2874
E-mail: mamccormick@sae.ssu.umd.edu
Phil and Carol Bosserman 4-10-20-305 Ushita-Waseda Higashi-ku Hiroshima 732 Japan
Tel. 81-82-211-0547
Fax: 81-82-227-4502
E-mail: sjk38410@mgw.shijokyo.or.jp