From: [email protected] (Gary S. Trujillo)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,soc.culture.japan
Subject: Hiroshima Survivors' Accounts (10 of 16) [was Re: Universal Peace Day]
Date: 4 Aug 90 21:05:52 GMT
Organization: gst's 3B1 - Somerville, Massachusetts

90/07/30 11:19:31 SYSOP    HIROSHIMA_WITNESS_No.3-3


Ms.Toshiko  Saeki was 26 at the time of the bombing.  She was  at
her parents home in Yasufuruichi with her children.  Returning to
Hiroshima  on the afternoon of August 6th, she searched  for  her
other relatives for many days, but wasn t able to find them.  Ms.
Saeki lost thirteen members of her family in the A-bomb attack.
Saeki:I  remember an airplane appeared from behind the  mountains
on  my left. I thought it was strange to see an  airplane  flying
that  time all by itself. I looked at it and it was a  B-29.   It
seemed very strange since there were on anti aircraft guns firing
at  it.  I watched it for a while, then it disappeared.  As  soon
as  it  disappeared,  another airplane  appeared  from  the  same
direction.  It seemed very, very strange.  I was still  wondering
what  would happen.  Then, suddenly there came a flash of  light.
I  can't  describe what it was like.  And then, I felt  some  hot
mask  attacking me all of a sudden.  I felt hot.  I lay  flat  on
the  ground, trying to escape from the heat.  I forgot all  about
my  children for a moment. Then, there came a big sound,  sliding
wooden  doors  and window were blown off into the air.  I  turned
around to see what had happened to the house, and at one part  of
the  ceiling,  it  was hanging in the air.  At  some  parts,  the
ceiling  was caved in, burying my sister s child and my child  as
well.   When I saw what the blast had done to my house which  was
far  away from Hiroshima, I thought that Hiroshima too must  have
been  hit  very hard.  I begged my sister to let me  go  back  to
Hiroshima  to  rescue my family.  But by that  time,  things  and
flames were falling from the sky.  I was scared because I thought
that  the  debris might start  fires in the  mountains.   By  the
time, I managed to prepare lunch to take along. It has started to
rain,  but I was glad to have some rain.  I went out to the  main
road,  about  five  or six people were coming  the  direction  of
Hiroshima.  And they were in a horrible condition.   They  looked
much  worse than the actual exhibits today at the Peace  Memorial
Museum.   They  were helping each other.  But  they  were  barely
making  their way.  I cried, "Which part of Hiroshima  attacked?"
Everyone  of  them was only muttering, "Hiroshima  was  attacked.
Hiroshima  was badly hit."  I began to run towards  Hiroshima  at
full speed.  As I was running, I saw a mad naked man running from
the  opposite direction.  This man held a piece of iron over  his
head as if to hide  his face since he had nothing on his body,  I
felt  embarrassed.   And I turned my back to him.   The  man  was
passing by me, then, I don't know why, But I ran after him and  I
asked  him  to stop for a moment.  I asked him,  "Which  part  of
Hiroshima was attacked?"  Then the man put down the piece of iron
and he started at me.  He said, "You're Toshiko, aren t you?"  He
said, "Toshiko!"
Interviewer:Who was this man?
Saeki:Oh, I coudn t tell who he was right away.  His face was  so
swollen  I  couldn t even tell whether his eyes  were  open.   He
called  me,  he said, "It s me!  It s me,  Toshiko!   You  can  t
tell?"   Then I recognized him. He was my second eldest  brother.
He was heavily wounded.
Interviewer:His body was covered with burns?
Saeki:Yes, and he looked awful.  He told me he d been engulfed by
flames  and  barely made his way out.  He said  that  mother  had
woken him up in that morning, and that he was washing up when  it
happened.  He  told me that mother was on the  third  floor,  and
might have been blown away with the blast.  He told me he thought
that  she  must have died.  I finally  reached  Hiroshima,  well,
afternoon  I  supposed.  Interviewer:What was  it  like  then  in
Hiroshima? Saeki:The whole town of Hiroshima was just in a  mess.
People  were  trying to find shelter, shelter  elementary  school
building, anywhere.  When I reached the local elementary  school,
people  were even jammed in the hallways. Everywhere  was  filled
with mourns and groans and sobs and cries.  Those of us who could
move  around were not treated the injured, but we  were  carrying
dead  bodies out of the building.  I couldn t identify people  by
their  faces. Trying to find my family, I had to take a  look  at
their  clothing, the clothes of the people who were still in  the
building.  I couldn t find any of my family, so I went out to the
playground.  There were four piles of bodies and I stood in front
of  them.  I just didn t know what to do.  How could I  find  the
bodies  of  my  beloved  ones.  When  I  was  going  through  the
classrooms,  I could take a look at each person, but  these  were
mounds.   If  I tried to find my beloved ones, I  would  have  to
remove  the  bodies  one by one.  It just wasn  t   possible.   I
really  felt sad.  There were all kinds of bodies in the  mounds.
Not only human bodies but bodies of birds, cats and dogs and even
that  of  a  cow.  It looked horrible.  I can  t  find  words  to
describe  it. They were burned, just like human bodies, and  some
of  them were half burnt. There was even a swollen  horse.   Just
everything was there, everything.
Interviewer:Ms. Saeki, how long did you search for your kin?
Saeki:I  went to Hiroshima to search on the 6th and the 7th,  but
on the 8th, they told me that there would be a big air-raid, so I
didn t go on the 8th. And I didn t go on the 15th, but I went out
almost  everyday.  I searched for mother for along time.   But  I
couldn  t  find her.  I just couldn t find her.  And  finally  on
September  6th,  my elder brother told us together  in  a  living
room.   He called all the family members there together.  He  put
something  wrapped in a cloth.  And he put it on the table  which
we  used to take meals. My brother said, "Toshiko, unwrap  Mother
yourself.  You ve been out there looking for her everyday."   So,
I  did  as he told me and undid the wrapping  expecting  to  find
pieces of her bones.  But it was the half of the burnt head of my
mother.   No  eyes, no teeth, only a small portion of  flesh  was
left  on  the  back  with some hair.  And  there  were  also  her
glasses.   The glasses are exhibited near the exit of  the  Peace
Memorial  Museum  as  if to tell something  to  the  people  now.
Interviewer:Your  older brother, he also passed away?  Saeki:Yes,
after  seeing  the  half burned head of our  mother,  my  brother
started  to say funny things.  He told us to bandage him well  to
cover the pores of his skin with white cloths.  I asked what  for
and he said he was going to try to do some experiment to  extract
the  radioactivity built up in his body.  He told us  to  bandage
him  well, except for his eyes and his mouth.  So even  his  nose
was covered.  Before he started the experiment, he drank a a  lot
of  water.  He drank more than he could actually take, so,  water
was  dripping from his nose and from his mouth.  Then he said  he
was  ready.  He told us just to leave him alone and not to  enter
the room unless he cried out for help.  He told us to go away and
to keep away from him.  And after a while, I peeped in the  room.
My brother was completely naked. He had stripped all the  bandage
cloths  away.  He was just lying still in the corner.  I  didn  t
know  what was wrong with him.  I thought he was dead.  I  banged
at  the door and I cried, "Brother! Brother, don t die!" He  woke
up  and  sat on the floor.  He told me that  the  experiment  had
failed.  He cried that it was a pity. me."  He looked all  right,
but  he was going crazy.  He said, "I ve grown bigger.   Make  an
opening in the ceiling.  This room is too small and I can t  even
stand  up."  After the horrible bomb hit Hiroshima, my brother  s
mind was shattered into pieces. War does not only destroy things,
killing people, but shatters the hearts of people as well.   This
is war.  And during the course of my life, I learned this on many
various occasions.  I know this now.
Interviewer:Ms.Saeki, have you experienced any trouble concerning
your health?
Saeki:Yes, I have .  By the end of August, maybe around, oh,  the
28th  or  so, my hair started to fall out, I vomited  blood.   My
teeth  were  coming out. And I had a fever of about  40  degrees.
Nuclear war has nothing good. Whether you win or lose, it  leaves
your  feeling futile with only your rage and with fear about  the
aftereffects of a radioactivity.  The survivors have to live with
this fear.  At times I have thought  I should have died then,  it
would  have  been better.  But I must live for the  sake  of  the
people, all the people who lost their lives then.  So I relate my
experiences  hoping  that my talk would  discourage  people  from
making war.  Our experience must not forgotten. What we  believed
in during the war turned out to be worth nothing.  We don't  know
to whom we should turn our rage.  I went through hell on earth of
Hiroshima  should  not  be repeated again.  That is  why  I  keep
telling  the same old story over and over again.  And I  ll  keep
repeating it. This has been testimony by Ms. Toshiko Saeki.
--
Gary S. Trujillo                              [email protected]
Somerville, Massachusetts                     {wjh12,spdcc,ima,cdp}!gnosys!gst