Report by Ms. Laura Monti, Vice Mayor of Cotignola, Italy
On Tuesday, January 15, the boys and girls of the second classes of the Cotignola middle school had the opportunity to listen to the precious testimony of Ms. Sadae Kasaoka.
Sadae is a so-called hibakusha, a Japanese name used to identify a person who survived the atomic bomb, which was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
In remote connection, Sadae told the students, gathered in the auditorium, that she was only 12 years old when the bomb exploded and her house was located only 3.5 km from the hypocenter.
During the meeting, Ms. Kasaoka described with brutal reality the effects and consequences of the atomic bomb on herself, her family and friends. The emotional involvement of the students in the meeting was high and they asked her several questions about the catastrophic event that occurred in 1945.
This significant meeting was possible thanks to the work conducted by Mayor for Peace, an NGO association based in Hiroshima, with whom the Municipality of Cotignola collaborates to promote Peace, defend human rights and promote the nuclear disarmament of the territories.
Photos: courtesy of the City of Cotignola