Inspired by the history of her atomic pump surviving great -grandmother, Shun explains tourists and local The tragedy that hit his city in 1945.
Shun Sasaki Guide Tourists at Hiroxima Peace Memorial Park. Is 12 years old and a great goal: to spread the message of peace, explaining Foreigners and locals on the sad past of their city.
Inspired by the history of his great -grandmother and the city where the world’s first atomic bomb was launched in 1945, Shun has offered free English walks in the last five years to help more people discover Hiroxima.
Shun broadcast this message to about 2,000 visitors, telling her imperfect but confident English the experiences of her great -grandmother, a ““that survived the atomic bomb.
“I want Hiroxima to come and know what happened in Hiroxima on August 6,” Shun told Reuters at his home before the 80th anniversary of the atomic bomb launch.
About twice a month, Shun goes to Park of Peace using a yellow vest with the words “feel free to talk to me in English!” Stamped on the back, hoping to educate tourists about their hometown.
“I want them to know how bad war is and how good peace is. Instead of fighting, we should talk to each other about each other’s good things,” he said.
Shun’s great -grandmother, Yuriko Sasaki, lived at just 1.5 kilometers from where the bomb fell and survived despite being buried by the rubble after her family’s house collapsed, Shun’s grandfather Kazuyoshi Sasaki said.
Yuriko died of colorectal cancer at age 69 in 2002, having survived a breast cancer decades earlier. There was no medical proof that Yuriko’s health had been affected by radiation.
“Hearing that his family, his mother, his grandmother, his great-grandmother, was a survivor, certainly ended the story, brought her home and made her much more personal. So it was extraordinary for him to share this,” said Canadian tourist Chris Lowe after meeting the place with Shun.
Shun plans to inspire more people in the coming years.
“The most dangerous is to forget what happened a long time ago … I think we should pass the story to the next generation and then never forget,” he said.
His volunteer work was worth the honor of being selected as one of two local children to speak at this year’s ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bomb launch.
The bomb was instantly killed about 78,000 people and, by the end of 1945, the number of dead, including radiation exposure, reached about 140,000. The US released a second atomic bomb over Nagasaki on 9 August.
