Hiroshima relived

Ian Orenstein — July 1983

On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was hit by one of the Earth’s first nuclear weapons. Three days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Two hundred thousand people were killed immediately by these explosions. 130,000 more died soon after from wounds and radiation-induced cancer, People in those cities still die from the residual effects of radiation.

For years now, August 6, Hiroshima Day, has been commemorated around the world. The group Hiroshima and Nagasaki Relived have, in the part, commemorated the day here in Toronto. This year the group plans a “War Crimes Tribunal,” to be held on August 9, the date of the Nagasaki explosion. On the same day the Cruise Missile Conversion Project plans to picket Litton Systems Industries,

On August 6, Hiroshima Day, a coalition of the Toronto Disarmament Network (TDN) and ACT (Against Cruise Testing) will sponsor a major demonstration under the slogans “Hiroshima — Never Again” and “Refuse the Cruise.”

“Hiroshima symbolizes what could happen to the whole world,” says Matthew Clark, Chairperson of TDN. “As people become more concerned with the nuclear arms race, they look to Hiroshima Day as a way to express concern.”

Anne Adelson, a member of the TDN Coordinating Committee and active in the Planning Committee for Hiroshima Day, says “Everyone in the world must ensure that Hiroshima never happens again. If it did happen, the world would be a Hiroshima. Computers are eliminating human intervention, making retaliation immediate.” Regarding the second theme of the Day, “Refuse the Cruise,” Adelson says, “To test the cruise is an endorsement of the arms race.”

On the morning of August 6, people are asked to gather at two different places: outside the Castle Frank Subway, and at Christie Pits at 11:00 am. People will march from both points at noon, and will meet at the corner of University Ave. and Bloor. From there they will walk to Queen’s Park for a major demonstration which will begin at 1:00.

The focus of the 1:00 demonstration will he a “die-in” to commemorate the destruction at Hiroshima. There will also be a program of events and speakers, including a Hiroshima survivor. People are requested to wear black arm bands.

The Peace Calendar

Canadian Disarmament Information Service, 1983-1984

Hiroshima relived