On August 6th, 1945, Kikuko Otake lived only one mile away from the hypocenter, the spot where the atomic bomb dropped. At the time only five years old, Ms. Otake and her mother and brothers barely survived. Never wishing to relive their horrific experience in Hiroshima, Ms. Otake’s mother, Ms. Masako did not speak about her family’s atomic bomb experience following the catastrophic detonation. Then one day, Ms. Masako chose to break the silence of nearly 50 years and share her family’s experience in Hiroshima, 1945. 

In Gloria Molina Grand Park, located in Downtown L.A., Kikuko Otake spoke on behalf of her and her mother’s experience surviving the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan. With unwavering bravery and courage, Ms. Otake began her story with the raging flames that surrounded her family after the detonation. She recalls the overwhelming heat that forced everyone to jump into the water; due to the fire, almost all her skin burned off, leaving her raw flesh vulnerable to the sting of the water. 

Sadly, her father, her uncles, and her cousins perished from the bombing. Ms. Otake was now left only with her mom and brothers. Her whole house burned down, leaving her family with nowhere to go. Soon, the black rain, a radioactive rain that falls after a nuclear explosion, began to fall over their heads causing harmful radiation burns and extremely severe illness to come. With no house for protection, her whole family suffered from exposure to radiation and future illnesses including cancer for the remaining periods of their lives. 

Ms. Otake, however, reminds us of our grim reality with more than 12,500 nuclear weapons, all twenty times more powerful than those used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If a nuclear war were to break out, millions of people would die and our world would be permanently contaminated with radiation. The nuclear weapon is a mass-destructive instrument that can wipe out humanity. 

After hearing Ms. Otake and her mother, Ms. Masako's, story, their experience serves as a constant reminder to work together to promote nuclear disarmament and eliminate nuclear weapons. In order to ensure there will be no more Hibakusha like Ms. Otake and her mom, we need to spread awareness of nuclear weapons and their horrific effects to emphasize the need for nuclear disarmament. Thank you, Ms. Otake for sharing your vulnerable yet powerful story to us. We promise to promote peace, security, and hope among the youth.