“An explosion so terrible, a flash so blindingly bright, I thought the world had ended,” expressed Shin’s father. “Then, just a quickly, everything went black.” 3-year-old Shin was missing. Father frantically searched for him among the wreckage and found Shin pinned under a house beam, badly hurt. “His face was bleeding and swollen… Everyone was burned, and they were crying moaning and screaming for water… All around, people were dying when they drank water,” Shin’s father said. “So, I didn’t dare give him any.” Shin did not survive the night. ~ except from “Shin’s Tricycle.
How many little Shins died in Hiroshima? Research indicates that 70,000–126,000 civilians died along with 20,000 soldiers. In other words, 4 to 7 non-combatants like 3-year-old Shin died for every Japanese soldier lost. Such has been the tragedy ever since, with children, mothers, and the elderly bearing most of the indescribable pain of modern warfare.
Today the United States nuclear capability is some 2,400 megatons – equaling Hiroshima x 159,000 – and along with eight other countries the world now possess 14,900 nuclear weapons. What does this say about today’s threat towards children like Shin, towards the one-year old playing right now on my lap?