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Welcome to Hiroshima

 

Think of the children

Deaf , telepathic

 

Think of the girls

Blind,  inaccurate

 

Think of the women

Altered routes

 

Think of the wounds

As tepid roses

 

But, oh, don't you forget

Of the rose.. of the rose!

 

The rose of  Hiroshima

The hereditary rose

 

The radioactive rose

Stupid, handicapped

 

The rose with cirrhosis,

The atomic anti-rose

 

Without colour,

without perfume

Without rose

without anything.

 

Rose of Hiroshima

Vinícius de Moraes

 

Pensem nas crianças

Mudas, telepáticas

 

Pensem nas meninas

Cegas, inexatas

 

Pensem nas mulheres

Rotas alteradas

 

Pensem nas feridas

Como rosas cálidas

 

Mas, oh, não se esqueçam

Da rosa da rosa

 

Da Rosa de Hiroshima

A rosa hereditária

 

A rosa radioativa

Estúpida, inválida

 

A rosa com cirrose

A anti-rosa atômica

 

Sem cor

Sem perfume

Sem rosa

Sem nada

 

Rosa de Hiroshima

Vinícius de Moraes

 

Not too far from the A bomb dome there is a statue called the "Children's Peace Monument."

 

It was erected in the memory a Junior High School girl, Sadako Sasaki, who died of an A-bomb disease (leukemia).  When Sadako became sick, she decided to fold a thousand cranes (a Japanese symbol of good luck and long life) in the hopes that they would bring her health back. She died, but near her statue there are thousands of brightly covered origami paper cranes that people bring daily to place there.

This flame will burn until the entire world is free from nuclear weapons.

 

 

 

Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park, April 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to listen to "Rosa de Hiroshima" (video I posted on Youtube)

or here to watch a videoclip (show of Ney Matogrosso).

 
COMMENTS
Wildthing said at 8:22 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
Many excuses and reasons have been offered to in some way lessen the atrocity of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The acts were (in my opinion) a heinous crime; an unforgivable massacre of innocent men, women, children & babies. God forbid that any power uses these weapons of mass destruction again. But somehow I cannot truly believe that our leaders are above resorting to such barbarity. All war is a pathetic lack of the ability to find a way of communicating and settling ANY difference by diplomatic means. Great, thought and anger-provoking set, Eduardo.
DocEna said at 8:37 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
The first pic gives me an idea of brain damage...hope humanity doesn't have to go through this again..I know that many tragities againt mankind have taken place after the 2 atomic bombs in Japan... but this episode was unique and so shocking that it hasn't repeated itself...men , wicked and despotic have wiped out their fellow men for the most absurd reasons and yet no lesson is learned. HISTORY KEEPS REPEATING ITSELF AND MAYBE NATURE WILL WIPE OUT THIS SO BELICOSE RACE OFF THE FACE EARTH. TKS Edu.
NeusinhaGedoz said at 8:41 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
Magnífico tabblo. Impossível ficar alheio a essas fotografias e aos comentários. Acontecimentos do passado... lembranças sempre presentes. Eduardo, parabéns por cada pedacinho de imagem e texto colocados aqui. Obrigado por inserir nosso brasileiríssimo Vinícius com sua letra que encantou multidões. Parabéns.

Wonderful tabblo. Can not be alien to these photos and comments. Events of the past ... memories always present. Eduardo, congratulations for each piece of image and text placed here. Thank you for entering our Brazilian Vinícius your letter that enchanted crowds. Congratulations.
Eduardo.affonso said at 9:09 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
MIKE, ENALDO & NEUSINHA: Visiting Hiroshima was one of the most moving experiences I ever had. Reading about the bombing and the "casualities" is totally different from being there, where the tragedy happened, see the ruins, the remains, see the faces and read the history of those who died. Mankind has made many mistakes, but no mistake is bigger than a war - any war. Hiroshima is a lesson that can not be forgotten.
Charlespop said at 10:25 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
Eduardo, this is a very powerful tabblo. As Faulkner said "The past is never past it is always present. " Let us hope that such an event will never happen again. I share Wildthing's opinion that our great leaders may not be above using the bomb again. Look around today and see how many bombs there are ! However , I know that if it was not for the dropping of this bomb on this city I might not be alive today. You see, my father was on his way to fight the Japanese when this bomb exploded. He was half way across the Pacific when this bomb ended the lives of so many innocent people.....I just saw a documentary last night about the Kamikaze. Not 18 or 20, but over 5,000 kamikaze pilots died during the last stage of World War 2. If this bomb had not been dropped there is very good reason to believe that the war would have continued to 1946 or 1947........Millions of innocent people might have died. There is a good chance that my father might have died too. I am not some half crazy , my country right or wrong nut case. America had no business attacking Vietnam. We should not be in Iraq now. The second bomb on Nagasaki should never have been used. Your tabblo makes us think deeply about our past and our present....I think this is very, VERY important.
Hilah said at 10:51 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
Amazing pics that make me feel sad for those who died as a result of one mans decision. There were many sacarifices on all sides of the war. Mankind always forgets the lessons learned. From the bombing of Pearl Harbor, to the battles of River Plate, Stalingrad, Singapore, Britain, Midway, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and many more, to the Atom bomb that end the war in Japan. Let us not forget the lives lost in Germany, Australia, Russia, England, France, Austria United States, and other Countries. God Bless all who gave their lives. I pray that someday their will be world peace and that all weapons of mass destruction will be destroyed.
Ira said at 11:02 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
So it is terrible. That fire has burnt out all alive. A hell and death. Only because someone has pressed the button and the order has said. Great tabblo. Memoirs on innocent victims.
Pachito said at 11:27 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
People should have learned from the past...however, every day we see scenes of horror on TV. It is a never ending story. Very touching tabblo. We shall always remember the innocent who died during the war.
Eduardo.affonso said at 11:39 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
CHARLES: The A-bomb is claimed to be a "necessary evil". So many innocents were killed to save the lives of so many innocents - big deal, uh? I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision, and nobody will ever be able to assure it was the right choice. The world would be a worse place to live if the nazi-facists had won, but I think visiting Hiroshima Peace Memorial is not less painful than visiting Auschwitz. Your father survived, you were born, democracy won, Western civilization was preserved - so we owe a lot to those whose lives were taken, and try to believe so many atrocities were not in vain.

HILAH: Many Brazilians died in Italy, fighting Nazi-facism (Brazil was the only Latin American country to join the Allies in WW2). I always think of those who live in Iraqi, Afghanistan, Darfur, because for them War is not in the History books: it's still destroying their lives.

IRA: No place on Earth has been as close to Hell as Hiroshima once was.
Chaitiamma said at 11:40 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
Funny why they never think about the 300,000 massacred in Nanjing and millions of others killed in other parts of China and South East Asia !!! My heart goes to the innocent victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but I can never forgive their politicians who teach and preach to the younger generations nowaday that all these killings and massacre never happened !!!
Chilla said at 11:42 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
Eduardo, this is an excellent Tabblo. War is always a crime against the innocent and what happened in Hiroshima was dreadful. It is difficult to express feelings in a few sentences, but it is horrifying to know how many of these hideous bombs are stored in our world. May the flame in Hiroshima be extinguished and the world be made safer without WMD.
Eduardo.affonso said at 11:54 a.m. on May 18, 2009:
PATRICK: The tragedy of Hiroshima will haunt all of us as long as nuclear weapons are allowed in thsi planet. Let's hope the leaders of US, Russia, Pakistan, India, Israel, Iran will think twice (or a hundred times) before using them again.

DAVID: Japaneses were either victims and guilty. What Japanese troops made in China equals (or even tops) what Germans did to the Jew community. May they never repeat their mistakes again.

CELIA: I am afraid that flame will last longer than the Olympic flame...
Ira said at 12:18 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
Why the reason of the man such ingenious, what is capable to create the perfect machines for murder? A nuclear bomb - top. I can not understand the purposes of a fascism and nuclear bomb. Total death. Only it.
.... said at 2:54 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
Você tem a capacidade de fazer as pessoas refletirem sobre diversos assuntos.
Isso é uma marca sua.

Uma lição guardada pra sempre em nossa memória....a força de superação desse povo é impresionante e um exemplo incrível pra todos nós!!
Parabéns,menino!
Só que na minha opinião "o passado nunca é passado,por pior ou melhor que seja,é sempre presente"

.
.... said at 2:56 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
perdão

impressionante
Merja-zerga said at 4:55 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
Terrible, émouvant , poignant...et la vie continue.
Ne jamais oublier.
ThierryKarine
EMA said at 6:01 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
A very dramatic tabblo! I think I could hardly visit a place like that. Too much pain.
DEE-Trow said at 6:14 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
What a sad time in history this was but your Tabblo gives us a glimpse of it in such a respectful way. Eduardo, I like how you used B/W and Sepia in the beginning and then changed to color. I didn't expect that but the addition of color just adds to the drama of this Tabblo. Your Tabblos never disappoint me. Hope you are feeling better!
Andre. said at 6:21 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
Sad and powerful story
Abking said at 9:26 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
Sad tricycle, empty boots and tattered shirt. I don't think I'll see that flame in final frame go out in my lifetime.
Liliana said at 9:54 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
Gráfico, doloroso, testimonial y profundo. Más tu arte. Sin palabras o ... las justas, las que pusiste. Va por mail una historia (dos) muy personal sobre las mil grullas... Aguarde!
Fabio_DL said at 10:37 p.m. on May 18, 2009:
No words, just emotions.
Mrsfabulous said at 11:23 a.m. on May 19, 2009:
Beautiful and very moving.

I've known of the story of Sadako Sasaki and how that monument was built in her memory, but I've never seen pictures of the paper cranes that people bring there to keep her memory alive. Thank you for sharing this.

The Culture Club was right. War IS stupid.
Pkeener said at 3:10 p.m. on May 19, 2009:
i read the novel by John Hershey when I was 16. i wish i hadn't. the childs bike says it all
Leftofcenter said at 9:57 p.m. on May 19, 2009:
I like the way you went from dreary to colorful. hope?
Debdog said at 11:51 p.m. on May 19, 2009:
i hope this never happens again...it is heartbreaking....and the sad fact we did it TWICE
Dyowi said at 3:37 p.m. on May 20, 2009:
this is very moving, thank you for sharing this images.
21-gramm said at 2:22 p.m. on May 21, 2009:
very painful, Edu! Time don`t treat..
Hhwind said at 9:49 a.m. on May 22, 2009:
Eduardo, a remarkable tabblo, the Abomb might "have been necessary to stop the war" unquote but the second one wasn't necessary as facts from history had shown, whatever had happened had happened let us hope that such wanton massacre and destruction do not ever happened again. When can man ever live in peace if only all man have more tolerance, wisdom, compassion and not let greed,hatred and ignorance rule. I have read about Sadako but have never seen the paper cranes that are left at the monument, thanks for a great tabblo
Shenresi said at 1:55 p.m. on May 22, 2009:
very bad memories, Eduardo, but the pictures are wonderful!!!
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