PEACE BE IN THE WORLD
by Kouichi Ikeda (4th-6th grade)
Truly, it was a hell. That was all I could think of as my mother explained to me what had happened as we entered the city of Hiroshima ten years ago. The whole city had turned into a desert. A small water tank overflowed with a number of victims, all dead. Those dead on the streets were scorched black, but those dead in the water were swollen red. There was a dead woman, her standing body scorched black, holding a child in her arms and still in a running position. It may be hard to imagine, but this was reality. We passed by a man who was cremating a little girl, that was probably his daughter. The burnt and melted fat caused a foul smell. I was so little at the time, but I can still remember the smell that was stinging to my nose. As we walked further, we saw the burnt dead body of a child, its hands and fingers pointing to the sky. It was almost impossible to tell whether it was a boy or a girl. As I stared at the child, my mom shouted, "Sadako, come over here!" She had found my grandma's house. My mom and I tried desperately to rescue my grandma, who was trapped inside the collapsed house. I scratched at the clay walls with my finger-nails as hard as I could. When we finally found my grandma, she was already dead and cold. I remember my mom murmuring as she wept bitterly, "The war is cruel. It takes everything away from us."
Nine years have gone by since the nightmare caused by the mushroom cloud on the 6th of August in 1945. My city, Hiroshima, has been incredibly restored. On the anniversary day, I was running back to my home to tell my parents the great news that I had been chosen to be on the relay team! At eleven years of age, my favorite thing to do was to run in a race. From that day on, all I could think about was the race. That was what I wanted to do more than anything else. The more I ran, the stronger and healthier I felt, and I could run faster and faster.
A few weeks later, I was running in the school yard. Suddenly everything in my head seemed to whirl around me, and soon I fell to the ground. I did not know what happened to me, but the next thing I knew was that I was laying on the bed in the hospital room where a nurse took some of my blood. The doctor tapped my back and asked a lot of questions. I heard him say the word "leukemia." That was the sickness caused by the atom bomb! I put my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear any more. They didn't tell me that I was going to die, but I knew how serious the disease was. After my family left for the night, I buried my face in the pillow and cried for a long time. I had never felt so lonely. I was so scared. I didn't want to die yet.
The next day, my best friend, Chizuko, came to visit. When I told her how scared I was, she shouted, "I have a great idea, Sadako! Do you remember that old story about the crane?" She continued as I stared at her, "It's supposed to live for a thousand years. If a sick person folds one thousand paper cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her well again." "Yes, I want to get well so that I can run again!" I have started folding paper cranes since that day, with the wish to become well and to achieve world peace. Ten...I wish I'd get better... Eleven...I wish I'd get better. While folding cranes, I wrote this poem, "I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world."
As I became weaker, many times I felt like quitting the folding of more cranes. What kept me going was the desire that I had to get well and to tell the rest of the world that we must not repeat the same mistake again, for the sake of 145,000 people who lost their lives. Even to this day, the victims were increasing because of the radiation disease from the bomb. I folded more birds and made the same wish. Now there were more than three hundred cranes.
I have been having a hard time folding these days. I don't know how many more days I can live, but I will not give up. I will continue to make paper cranes as long as I can. As I grow weaker, I wondered, what is it like to die? Does it hurt? Or is it like falling asleep? Would I live on a heavenly star? I fumbled with a piece of paper and clumsily folded one more bird. Six hundred forty-four... I looked up at the flock of paper cranes hanging from the ceiling. They seemed to be alive with the breeze coming in from the window. I sighed and closed my eyes. "How beautiful and free they are."
Sadako died with only 644 cranes folded on October 25, 1955, at the age of twelve. The remaining 356 were folded by her friends and classmates and buried with her. Because of Sadako's efforts, the paper crane has become an international symbol of peace. Millions of paper cranes have been folded by children and adults throughout the world in the hope of attaining a more peaceful world. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was built in Hiroshima Peace Park. She is standing on the Mountain of Paradise, holding a golden crane in outstretched hands. The children also made a wish which is inscribed at the bottom of the statue and reads:
"This is our cry, this is our prayer: Peace in the world."
OUTLINE
I. Remembrance of Hiroshima
A. Walking through the city
B. Finding Sadako's grandmother's house
II. Nine years later in Hiroshima
A. Condition of Hiroshima
B. Sadako's hobby
III. Discovery of leukemia
A. Falling down in the school yard
B. In the hospital room
IV. Paper crane
A. Chizuko's visit
B. Folding cranes with a wish
V. Sadako's perseverance
A. Her wish to get well
B. Her desire for peace
VI. Sadako's last days
A. Her expectations of death
B. The death of Sadako
VII. Carrying on Sadako's desire
A. Completing one thousand cranes
B. A statue of Sadako
QUESTIONS:
- How old was Sadako when the bomb was dropped in Hiroshima?
- What was Sadako's favorite thing to do?
- What did the old story say if a sick person folds one thousand papar cranes?
- Describe the character of Sadako.
- What are the lessons that we can learn from Sadako's life?
PROPS:
Paper cranes, pictures of Hiroshima (a picture of mushroom-like explosion, etc), and a picture of the statue of Sadako.
ANSWERS:
- Two years old
- Run in a race
- The gods will grant her wish and make her well again.
- Strong will, love for peace, perservance, concern for people, etc. (Answers may vary.)
- We should not fight against each other. We need to work hard to get rid of all the atomic bombs from the earth. The importance of peace in the world. We should not give up on our desire. The significance that one individual life can make. (Answers may vary.)
SOURCES:
Coerr, Eleanor and Ed Young. SADAKO. G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York: 1993.
Hiroshima Appeal committee. HIROSHIMA. Atomic Bomb Material Preservation Society.
"Nuclear Age Peace Foundation." http://www.peacenet.org/napf/sadakocmnts.html.
"The Sadako Story." http://www.sadako.org/fr-sdstry.htm.
My own knowledge